We were lucky to catch up with Kimberly Farris recently and have shared our conversation below.

Kimberly, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear the backstory of how you established your own practice.

My business, Kymistri Wellness, LLC, was officially established in June 2021, so it is relatively young. While the formal establishment of the business is recent, the conceptualization of the business had been in the works for years. I knew from a very young age that I wanted to be an entrepreneur and I held that goal close to my heart even as I pursued various educational and professional opportunities in non-profit, federal government, and other similar organizations. All of the opportunities that I pursued focused on helping others and making a difference.

My first step was to identify my why, specifically considering my goal of giving back to Black and Brown communities and women that look like me. Next, thinking about my personal and professional work and life experiences as a Black woman and what positively contributes to my physical, mental, spiritual, and emotional health and wellbeing, I knew my services would center around yoga, meditation, and mindfulness. Third, I immersed myself in trainings by completing a 200-hour yoga teacher training to become a Registered Yoga Teacher, followed by training as a Certified Sound and Vibrational Therapy Practitioner, a Trauma-Informed Sensual Yoga Teacher Training, with a few more planned for the future. All of these trainings have provided me with tools to serve as a Holistic Wellness Practitioner. Finally, I’ve been working with a business mentor as I feel it’s important to learn from someone who has built a very successful yoga/wellness business.

The main key challenge that I’ve faced is social media, specifically content creation. It is a little overwhelming, especially being more of a user than a creator on Facebook, Instagram, and others. I just started my TikTok journey, which is completely taking me out of my comfort zone but I recognize that it is an important engagement tool. To lessen my anxiety, I would have delved into it earlier as well as identifying a content creator to work with just as I had with my website development, branding, and marketing.

I encourage young professionals considering starting their own practice to be flexible and maintain a willingness to pivot at any time without feeling discouraged. As things begin to progress, the original plans, goals or focus may need to be tweaked, which is perfectly okay. Also, be willing to ask for or seek out help or advice from a trusted mentor in their field when needed is also important. Learning from someone who’s been there and done that can save you from making potentially costly mistakes that could have been avoided. Lastly, starting a business can be costly so finding programs and tools that are reputable through small business development centers and are low and potentially no cost can help to get the business off the ground.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My name is Dr. Kimberly Farris and I am the owner and founder of Kymistri Wellness, LLC. I am a Lead Health Scientist for the federal government, working in chronic disease prevention research and program evaluation, specifically diabetes prevention, management, education, and support services. I’ve been a public health professional for approximately 24 years and my educational background includes a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology, Master of Social Work degree, Master of Public Health degree, and a PhD in Social Work. I live in Atlanta, GA, where I was born and raised but have lived in other states over the years.

I began yoga as an alternative workout method while in my doctoral program and fell in love with the positive impact on my physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health. While I connected strongly with my yoga practice, my connection to yoga studios (in various states) that I tried was a different story. For years, there were not many studios where the other students or instructors looked like me. There was very little and sometimes no interaction between myself and others in class, which was disheartening, but I kept my focus on my own practice. Yoga and mindfulness brought me through numerous life challenges. My personal life experiences with racism, stress, and discrimination in different settings, as well as learning through research the life altering impact these negative experiences have on health outcomes for Black and Brown women led me to my goal of sharing my holistic wellness practices with my community. I created Kymistri Wellness for Black and Brown women to have a safe space to come to move, breathe, and rest together. As a Certified Vibrational and Sound Therapy Practitioner, I use a number of sound instruments such as crystal singing bowls, wind chimes, a gong, and others to help others rest and heal through listening to and feeling the vibrations.

While my yoga teacher training was Vinyasa (style) based, as previously mentioned, I am also a Certified Trauma-Informed Sensual Yoga Instructor. Sensual yoga is the focus for my community, which encompasses many styles while emphasizing the importance of tapping into our sensual bodies. This is especially important to me as I navigate my way through and hold space for women of a certain age who are entering perimenopause and menopause and all of the ups and downs that it brings. I believe what sets me apart is my view of myself as a Disruptor. I am most proud of building community for and fostering space for liberation. My goal is to serve as a guide for leaning into areas of resistance to get beyond just going through the motions. By setting ourselves free from limiting thoughts and behaviors related to the significant changes that we are experiencing physically, mentally, and emotionally, we are breaking a cycle of suffering in silence.

Through my curated sensual yoga experiences, we explore sensuality through movement, mindfulness, and sensory play. We flow through asanas (yoga poses), specifically focusing on how it feels instead of how it looks. We reflect through journaling and restore with sound healing. As a sensual guide, my goal is to cultivate the perfect experience for women looking for a safe space to explore the power of sensual movement and mindfulness; those looking for support in tapping into the creative, feminine energy and liberation; those who are defining or redefining sensuality while navigating life changes, and we dress in whatever makes us feel wildly sexy, brave, and free.

Training and knowledge matter of course, but beyond that what do you think matters most in terms of succeeding in your field?

My business is young and I am still building and working to grow. Building a business is not for the faint at heart. However, I believe my passion and commitment to my calling, my heart’s work is what is helping me the most. At the end of last year, I took inventory of my year in review, which showed me how far I’ve come, while uncovering where I have yet to go. Documenting classes, vendor opportunities, sharing my story through various publications and through podcasts allowed me to share Kymistri Wellness with the community. The learning curve is steep, but I continue embracing successes and challenges alike. Also, cultivating relationships with other small business owners, new and seasoned, is important as well because it is an opportunity to share lessons learned.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

Pivoting has been a constant theme in my life. I’ve changed career directions from residential youth counseling to public health research and evaluation to working in non-profits, federal government organizations, and university settings to living in various cities across the U.S. to add diversity to my skills, and abilities. In addition, I earned degrees in Psychology, Social Work, and Public Health to also build my knowledge base and position myself as a subject matter expert, specifically focusing on disparities of health outcomes among people of color. With Kymistri Wellness, I am open to pivoting when needed to continue to successfully grow my business.  I will always remain true to myself and my community, but I will also continue to make necessary changes for the betterment of myself and my community as well.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.kymistriwellness.com
• Instagram: @kymistri_wellness
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KymistriWellness
• Other: TikTok: @kymistri_wellness

Image Credits
Image Credits: Natosha McCrary of Amour de Soul Photography