Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Kim Trimmer. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Kim thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you share an anecdote or story from your schooling/training that you feel illustrates what the overall experience was like?

When I took my first yoga teacher training course, I felt pretty clearly that I’d found what I was meant to do in this life. This feeling was validated by the feedback I received from my trainers and fellow trainees, who shared things like, “it seems like you were a yoga teacher in a previous life”, and “talk about the ‘bhav’ (feeling or attitude) of yoga, there(referring to a sequence I’d just taught) it is “.

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

I started meditating on the advice of a mentor during a difficult period in my life. For many years I had been an avid dancer. People frequently told me that as a dancer and meditator I would love yoga. For some reason this brought out my rebellious inner teenager and I was annoyed that people thought they knew what I would like. Enter another heartbreak and difficult period. I succumbed to the pressure and took my first yoga class . And guess what. They were right. I instantly loved yoga!

At the time I was working as a school counselor and was engaged in therapy myself. I found yoga to be such a wonderful adjunct. In therapy, I learned to understand and accept the ways I was raised and the ways that I got in my own way. In yoga, I felt healing happened. Not that I could put words to the exact wound or quirk that was addressed, but I felt at peace no matter how I’d felt going into class. I pretty instantly knew that I wanted to teach; to use yogic tools to help my students and their parents as well as school faculty and staff to experience this healing.

Now as a yoga studio owner, full time yoga teacher and yoga therapist, I use yoga to help people reconnect (or maybe connect for the first time) to their bodies, their inner wisdom and their love of movement. I use postures, mindfulness and huge doses of lovingkindness and self compassion. Most of us are so hard on ourselves. Yoga helps us to see the beauty that each of us is and allows us to embrace our lives with joy. I created the Realize Your Radiance Formula to accomplish this.

I specialize in working with women in their 40’s and beyond. Our culture is very youth oriented and women can feel very marginalized as we get older. This process I created allows women to accept the things that have changed in their bodies, and more importantly to celebrate the amazing gifts that come with life experience and a broader perspective on life.

That being said I have students of all ages, many who have struggled with anxiety and depression, experienced trauma and/or have food and body image issues. The formula works in all of these cases.

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

Yoga is such a vast and sometimes overwhelming field. There is much to learn and to know about the history, philosophy and ethical precepts of yoga, prana or energy and breathwork, the poses and safe body mechanics as well as mindfulness and the varied meditation practices.

Tantamount even to gaining knowledge and expertise in these areas, is doing one’s own practice. In order to be present for students and clients, it’s essential to have self understanding, self compassion and acceptance.

Those of us engaged in the practice of yoga therapy, do this work to make a difference and to help others to heal. We soon discover that working with other humans provides ample opportunity to discover the places where we ourselves have room to grow and become more whole. If we are not doing our own work and getting supported in that work, we can easily respond to clients from our patterns, rather than our therapeutic presence. Thus undermining the restorative environment we seek to create. As such, one of the many gifts of this work is that it points us in the direction of our own wellbeing, at the same time we support others in finding theirs.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

Working in many different settings has helped me to hone my craft and build my reputation as a yoga teacher. In each distinct setting, from YMCA”s to elementary school and college programs to The Emily Program, I learned new skills and came to understand how yoga can serve students struggling with different issues. All of this has contributed to my making connections in each of these settings and developing my skills as a yoga teacher and yoga therapist.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://ioystudio.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/InsideOutYoga
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9dQ_USMzwclZYvhhTx9ocA
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/insideout-yoga-seattle