We recently connected with Cora Kellerman and have shared our conversation below.
Cora, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today One of our favorite things to hear about is stories around the nicest thing someone has done for someone else – what’s the nicest thing someone has ever done for you?
The kindest thing anyone has ever done for me is to relentlessly ask me WHY, and then allow me to ask the same question with as much tenacity in return.
From a very young age, I have been asked questions that could very well be considered “over my head”, and were likely ones that I was not able to answer.
I can remember so many times sitting down at the dinner table with my grandpa and ending up in tears. I would share a thought, or make a statement and he would want to know why, who said so, how did I know, what else had I considered … He was absolutely RELENTLESS.
But with grace, patience, and a willingness to let me ask every question in return, he showed me not only the power of a great question, but the conviction, confidence and courage that is felt when you do know why. And of course he taught me the equally powerful lesson of being able to say “I don’t know”, and then being open to find out.
I think we commonly fall for the tale that questioning yourself leads to self doubt, and that someone else questioning you leads to friction.
But I would argue the contrary.
I believe it all comes down to the quality of questions that are being asked, and the frame in which you choose to receive them.
A question may not always lead to an answer, but a question always leads to some kind of discovery.
And as a business owner and a steward of my own life, I think the ability to ask questions is absolutely invaluable.
To what level of efficiency can something be done if it’s only been done one way?
To what amount of growth can be experienced if there’s no curiosity of new heights?
To what measure of integrity does a structure have if it’s never been tested in the wind?
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers
If you’re around me for any amount of time, you will soon find out that I am a SUCKER for storytelling.
So from the name, to the actual business here’s the tale of Move Together Yoga…
Back in 2018, my brother and I envisioned a lifestyle brand that we would call VANOMADS. (“Van” as in vehicle – “Nomads” as in knack for covering ground). The vision and mantra for VANOMADS was inspired heavily by our shoe-string travels around the globe.
Rooted in Simplicity. Grown through Community. Spread with Mobility. Destined for Adventure. As life keeps rolling, let’s move together.
Aside from our ideals (consume less, experience more), our extreme passion for conversion vehicles (especially vans), and a pair of nomadic souls that salivate for adventure, we have always believed in the power of community and its ability to challenge, inspire, empower, and truly move the people within it.
More often than not, we’re on different highways, heading in different directions … but then we manage to sync – Be it for a moment or something longer, we share an experience with people that either keep them in our hearts, or by our sides, for a lifetime. Anywhere and everywhere, we continue to Move Together.
Thankfully, I was raised by a yogi and have had the privilege of practicing most of my life.
Throughout my 20’s, I taught Yoga and various movement classes but never had the time to truly take on a consistent teaching schedule because I was a full-time Electrical Engineer and had a laundry list of other time-consuming hobbies and pursuits.
…Bare with me as I blend the seasons of life…
Full-time Electrical Engineer was something that I was, and still am, EXTREMELY proud of. I wasn’t in love with the field, but I excelled at it and the job provided enough security and stability that I was fairly committed to sticking with it for at least a few more years.
However, life delivers gifts in packages that at first glance can look like they’re wrapped in thorns…
So it’s 2019, I’m living in Southern California and working remotely as an Electrical Engineer while simultaneously pursuing professional beach volleyball.
Needless to say, life is good.
On one beautiful summer night, I get an email.
It’s my boss.
He was letting me know that work was slowing down and they would be letting me go on Monday.
At first I was shook, big time shook.
But as we usually come to find out, the gifts that “appear” to be wrapped in thorns are usually the ones that have been requested from the deepest parts of our being.
I decided to shelf Electrical Engineering, and instead pour all of my energy into beach volleyball.
I would coach, train, and spend as much time on the sand as possible.
Great plan. Love that plan. I had four volleyball coaching positions lined up to start the following week.
You can probably guess where this story is going based off of my timeline…
A few short months later, coaching came to a screeching halt and there was yellow tape across the beach.
My personal boat-rock aside, what I noticed most about that time was that people were upset, stressed, hurting, and many people became very nasty towards one another.
I remember sitting in my apartment and thinking “What can I do? What do I have to offer that can bring something positive to (at least) some of the people in my life?”
And in that moment, Move Together Yoga was born.
It began with livestream classes on facebook, and has evolved to what it is today.
Today Move Together Yoga is an online and in-person studio, with a global and growing community!
I mentioned a few things at the start of this story that I’ll now start to weave back in.
I said that whether it be for a single moment or something longer, when we share an experience with people we either keep them in our hearts, or by our sides, for a lifetime.
I said that I was raised by a yogi and have had the privilege of practicing Yoga most of my life.
Something that I know with absolute certainty, is that Yoga is SO MUCH MORE than a mere workout.
It is an avenue for finding peace in the midst of chaos.
It is a practice that restores power and self-belief.
It is a springboard to possibility.
It is a key to unlocking personal freedom.
And above all, it is a TOOL for FEELING GOOD!
Our world is a reflection of our heart.
The way we show up for ourselves is the way we show up for the people around us.
When we FEEL GOOD, we have more capacity to DO GOOD!
And when you invest in becoming your best, the world gets better.
I offer online Monthly Memberships, Weekly Livestreams, 1-1 and small group Coaching, In-Person Events and Corporate Wellness Programs.
My mission is to help you develop practices for self care, build a foundation that sustains a lifetime of movement, empower you to live the life you imagine, and most importantly, share thoughts and practices around FEELING GOOD.
And you’ll never stop hearing me say it…
When we feel good, we have more capacity to do good!
Our ripple goes far and wide.
Coast to coast, one side of the globe to the other, inside, outside and in between, it remains that anywhere, everywhere and ANYTIME when we move, we MOVE TOGETHER!
If you could go back, would you choose the same profession, specialty, etc.?
One thousand and ten percent, YES!
I mentioned it in the story of Move Together Yoga, but I was previously an Electrical Engineer and although I don’t work in the field anymore, I wouldn’t change it for anything.
Engineering in itself is repeated and frustrating proof that with enough trial and error, there WILL be trial and SUCCESS.
It is a field with a TON brilliant minds and plenty of challenging questions, which only reinforced the fact that what we can do together is far greater than what we can do alone.
Every day that I showed up to work I was asked to do something that I didn’t know how to do, perpetuating my commitment to being a lifelong learner and softening my ego for anything that I thought I knew.
And given that it was a chapter that eventually came to a close, it gave me a head-on reminder that our identity is never defined by what we do, it all comes down to who we choose to be.
I am so happy to be able to apply these same teachings to the continued growth of Move Together Yoga!
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
During middle school, I was haphazardly diagnosed with a “hereditary tachycardia” – of which there was “no risk, but I’d probably feel off now and again.” I took the “no risk” as the punch line and interpreted the rest as such: I can do anything as long as I’m willing to win the battle against whatever I feel – mind over matter. Besides, the medical professional said I was at no risk…
For almost two decades my heart worked and worked and worked. As I got older, my episodes became more frequent. By the age of 19, I was in my third year of college and my third season as a Division 1 NCAA athlete. I was spending more time in a state of tachycardia than not.
It would race in the middle of the night, during class, during practice, during competition, while I hung out with my friends… and calling it an accelerated heart rate doesn’t even scratch the surface – it was off the charts (when I finally got on a monitor, over 310 bpm was nearly routine – NO, THAT IS NOT A TYPO!) .
There were numerous times when it maybe should have, or could have, just said no more.
In the summer of 2010 I had one exceptionally bad episode that, thankfully, led me back to a specialist for the first time since middle school. This particular episode was all of the normal symptoms, but the severity of them was far beyond what I could endure … and my tolerance for “discomfort” had grown quite high.
I had fully lost feeling in my limbs, lost most of my vision, could barely stand up, wasn’t able to speak and eventually began vomiting excessively without warning. The episode lasted more than 8 hours.
My third year of college came with a red shirt season, two unsuccessful surgeries, a real possibility that I may never return to athletics again, pain that gave a new definition to the 0-10 scale, fatigue that even to this very moment seems indescribable, and enough, with what at times felt like, loss to have me look in depth at every fiber of WHO I am …
… but with that also came resilience, gratitude, joy and conviction to take each day as a gift and bring more light to the people around me.
My team of doctors across the US would tell you that there is no science-based explanation for never losing consciousness, or how my heart and body kept going throughout the years. In disbelief and half chuckle, one doctor said it was truly a testament of my will.
Over a 4 month span, I had experienced two heavy and absolutely silent operating rooms. But just three days after my 20th birthday, less than 24 hours after a blizzard that nearly halted my journey to get there, in one of the most prestigious hospitals on the East Coast, following 10 straight hours on the table, at about 8PM, I saw my first ever smile in the Operating Room.
I would not wish it upon anyone, but I am so grateful that this is part of my story.
Physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually – what we can endure by choosing to not give up is immeasurable and the strength we receive by asking is undeniable.
At the end of my yoga classes, I often offer a moment to be proud of yourself for showing up and CHOOSING to move, a moment to give THANKS to your brilliant and capable body for doing great things for you, and an even longer moment to say it out loud: I FEEL GOOD.
Ask, and you shall receive. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened to you.
Believed. Tested. LIVED.
My movement is my celebration.
And today is a great day to celebrate.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.movetogetheryoga.com
- Instagram: @movetogetheryoga
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cora.movetogetheryoga
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cora-kellerman-2088a344