We recently connected with Feral Yogi and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Feral thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

I never liked going to the zoo. Even as a child I couldn’t bear the sight of animals held against their will, slowly drifting into the abyss of insanity. I stood in abject horror watching them pace restlessly back and forth the length of their cages, far too small to contain any divinely wild being born to this Earth. My heart broke looking into their desperate eyes and feeling the madness that had become their home. Their claws filed. Their instincts blunted. Their minds washed clean of the smell, feel, and taste of inherent freedom. Part stir crazy and part hopeless, but somewhere hidden deep below the surface, a part still primal…longing to activate the cellular remembrance of the wild encoded in their bodies and souls.

Looking back, I guess I saw a part of me in each of their cages, for like so many animals, I too was born in captivity and separated at birth from my inherent wild. Day after day, month after month, and year after year, caged; existing somewhere in the in-between…not fully dead, but not fully alive. Suspended in a perpetual state of despair, one that only comes from drastic departure from natural wisdom and ancient truth. Like a zoo animal, I was controlled and brainwashed; stripped of my natural instincts, abused, beaten back into a cage, and propped up on display for the world to see. By all appearances I was a perfectly trained show animal, but underneath I was screaming – in a primitive language only understood by the soul. So like the octopus that escaped captivity at the zoo, I quietly dismantled my cage, squeezed through the pipes, and blindly felt my way back to the ocean; for like animals, humans too were not meant to be caged.

Escaping mental and spiritual domestication has been a recurring theme in my life. As a child I broke free of religious indoctrination as the daughter of a strict Baptist pastor, teaching myself math and science to enroll in the public school system. As an adult I broke out of the mental stranglehold of the federal government to heal my own instinct injury, pave my own path forward, and empower others do the same.

For a more detailed look at my story to “Feral Yogi” visit https://feralyogi.com/about or the “Start Here” highlight on my Instagram profile @feralyogi

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.

I help people who feel caged, trapped, suffocated, or stuck find freedom in their everyday lives. I do this through a four pronged approach, valuing equally the condition of the mind, body, spirit, and primal essence.

I provide private feral medicine sessions, primal mentorships, group coaching, events, courses, and retreats across the United States. I have worked with celebrities, government officials, billionaires, business owners, and salt of the earth people alike, helping them reclaim their power, confidence, and freedom!

I am best known for my eclectic and empowering methods of primal healing.

For more information about my Feral Medicine Sessions, visit https://feralyogi.com/feral-medicine-session
For more information about my Primal Mentorship program visit https://feralyogi.com/mentorship

I found my way to this path through my own healing journey, hiking over 15 national parks in 3 years, studying with some of the best teachers, professors, and minds in the world, gaining countless certifications, and combining my life experience as a former Senior Federal Investigator (critical thinking, problem solving, interviewing techniques, and subtle body analysis), with my time as a Wilderness professor.

For more information about how I found my way to this point in my career, visit https://feralyogi.com/about or the “Start Here” highlight on my Instagram account @feralyogi.

Putting training and knowledge aside, what else do you think really matters in terms of succeeding in your field?

Deeply understanding that where your training stops, where the book stops, where the pavement stops is where the adventure truly begins. Your formal training will only take you so far. You must learn how to listen with all your senses, stay connected to your heart, and refrain from limiting your questions out of fear of the protocol.

Real freedom comes from learning the rules, norms, and templates, and transcending them. To do this, you must work in collaboration with past, present and future versions of you. Use all of your life lessons, all of your experiences, all of your teachings, all of you pain, all of your healing to meet a student or client where they are at and together chart a new path forward. There is no one size fits all method to personal healing. While your health may be objective, your wellness is subjective, so don’t be afraid to get weird with it.

One more thing, don’t run from or hide your humanity. Iconic leaders and free people understand this deeply. They don’t strive for the image of perfection or attempt to fit themselves into any of the boxes, labels, or norms of a specific industry or society. Your flaws, quirks, and perceived negative attributes are part of what make you unique and magnetic. Don’t be afraid to be human; embrace it, ride it, and allow others to witness what color (nuance, variation, and beauty) looks like in a washed out, black and white world.

If you could go back, would you choose the same profession, specialty, etc.?

My story in unconventional, I understand that. It’s not everyday that a professor and senior federal investigator decides to about face and dive into the world of mental, physical, primal, and spiritual healing, but in my humble opinion that is what makes me such an effective mentor, teacher, writer, human, and guide. Yes, I have multiple degrees, a plethora of certifications, awards from the U.S. Secretary of Labor, and a diverse range of life experiences – but that’s not who I am nor does it fully encompass the frontier of what I now call my profession.

Do I wish I could go back and find this path sooner? Sure. But in all reality, I wouldn’t change a thing. All of the wandering, pain, loss, and searching was integral to not only my professional journey but my personal development. Without it, I wouldn’t be the human I am today.

I had a rough upbringing, but I am not a victim of my life or my circumstance. I am the unbridled force of nature that transformed that pain into power, and I want you to understand deeply that you can do the same.

I don’t waste my time wishing I would have found this path sooner, I am just grateful and honored to walk it.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.feralyogi.com
• Instagram: @Feralyogi
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theferalyogi/

Image Credits

Katie Skinner Photography