We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Carrie Ann McCormick a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Carrie Ann thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

I am currently living my biggest risk! I left my career in public education a little earlier than anticipated, in April of this year. So, just less than 6 months ago I took a major leap into my business of yoga, writing, and embodiment practices. I am exploring the part of me that loves to perform, teach, learn, and grow, just in completely new capacities. I had been saying that I felt that I was spent after my days in the classroom for a number of years. I felt a sense that I had an opportunity to really make a go of it and that is what I’ve done – at age 50!

Instead of moving through my days “bell to bell” every 55 minutes, and meticulously scheduling my restroom breaks, I now have the freedom to set my own schedule with my independent contracting positions. In addition to my coaching practice, I serve as a Brand Ambassador for a national brand, Kate’s Real Food energy bars, and Austin-based Kinship Milk Tea. These roles put me in front of like-minded, health-conscious people in my community and provide me a way to continue to educate and serve others. I am embodying a lifestyle that truly includes health and wellness in all facets. I’ve never felt so alive or empowered!

This deep work led me to writing an entire dating series and I have 6 books in draft for <i>The Chloe Chronicles</i>. The third in the series, <i>Summer Storm</i>, is being serialized on Patreon. It’s spicy and sharing these writings makes me feel especially vulnerable and exposed – it feels very risky!

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

It was July 2017 that I moved to Texas and almost immediately applied to an aligned yoga teacher training. In April of 2018, I had my yoga certification and began teaching bite-sized yoga at my school, offering sessions to the soccer team, winter guard, and student council. I offered a “Healthy Hour” on Fridays for the teachers. In addition, I connected to a local massage therapist and began holding “Backyard Yoga” outside her massage cottage and eventually moved to a local studio space as the weather forced us inside.

In 2019, I stumbled upon an opportunity to deepen my embodiment practice with a training in Embodied Yoga Principles that was being held in Austin. My teacher, Mark Walsh, is based in the UK, and I felt his approach was very much like my own style of yoga and I was delighted to earn a scholarship to participate in this first U.S. training. In 2020, I participated with Embodiment Unlimited holding “Embodiment Circles” on Zoom, during quarantine, bringing people together, when we most needed connection.

My background, prior to yoga, consists of a B.F.A in theatre and a M.A. Ed. I’ve presented professional development for educators on improv, embodiment, creative writing, and served as the social and emotional facilitator for an east Austin high school. I created an interactive character trait curriculum that can be implemented and personalized for teachers to share various embodiment practices with their students, through their own subject’s content.

A poet since my youth, I returned to writing in 2016, when I was changing my relationship with alcohol, and wrote a memoir, <i>I Wanted More Than This</i>, detailing my pieced together process, coupled with hyperlinked resources for readers to explore and create their own path. This is the work I do – I use my extensive training and background experiences to meet people where they are. I can zoom out and see the bigger picture and the blind spots we all have. I have a knack for finding just the right words to highlight possible next steps and will invite gentle inquiry into patterns and behaviors.

I have a broad range of experience, so I’m able to guide my clients to practical steps that feel aligned to them, affecting transformation. I help soul-centered individuals regain their spark and step into their most expressed selves.

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

<i>I Wanted More Than This</i> – Carrie Ann McCormick <i>The Alchemist</i> – Paulo Coehlo
<i>The Prophet</i> – Kahlil Gibran
<i>The Four Agreements</i> – Don Miguel Ruiz, Jr.
<i>Embodiment: Moving Beyond Mindfulness</i> – Mark Walsh
<i>Discipline is Destiny</i> – Ryan Holiday
<i>Feel Free to Prosper</i> – Marilyn Jenett

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

Thoughts are not things. Our mind is a most complex machine and we simply do not have a manual for it.…the thoughts we think and the words we speak make up our reality and thus, mastery of our thoughts and feelings will have a direct effect upon the quality of our lives. Learning to change the stories I told myself about who I am and how others feel about me has given me a new lease on life and allowed me to open my heart to the world again and deepen my relationship with myself. Of course, a solid grasp on “Attachment Theory” is critical in relating to others in all areas of life.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.embodiedlivinghub.org
• Instagram: @carrieannauthor
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/carrieann.author
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carrieannmccormick/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@carrieann.author
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/more-embodied-living-austin-4
• Other: https://open.spotify.com/episode/0Epaz1GuDHD4pjB0y5lZWP?si=z8L21OsURL2fh3FoOSaPjA https://open.spotify.com/episode/6g6VCdQDCbQbGUcAlBXPn8?si=Ajdfvuf2QU-H20-PFidjzw

Image Credits
Studio 1/The Talent Specialists