We were lucky to catch up with Paisley Devi recently and have shared our conversation below.

Paisley, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

When I first began to facilitate retreats, I didn’t follow any of the marketing research or feasibility analysis that I learned in business school. I felt in my heart that there was a need and demand for wellness retreats in Northeast Ohio, and knew that despite working as a wellness professional here and being heavily immersed in the Yoga community, retreats that peaked my interest and struck me as deep and authentic were few and far between. There just weren’t many being offered overall.

Having spent much time on the West Coast, I saw that in other areas of the US, retreats where everywhere and happening every weekend. I had participated in a few in Ohio, but they were related to an organization like school or church. Actually, the first Yoga retreat I ever attended was a silent retreat with my teacher Swami Sankarananda, during my 200 hour Yoga Teacher Training at Yoga Central in 2017. It was eye-opening in the sense that I realized just how much spiritual growth could be accomplished in a weekend. There was something so healing about being deeply supported by community (even in silence!) and in an environment that was conducive to intense spiritual practice.

Retreats became like an alternate reality – a mini utopia co-created by a divinely guided group of people at just the right time in each person’s life. Over the next few years, during my time traveling and living in Intentional Yoga Communities, I participated in many retreats and spiritual events, and supported some with cooking, cleaning, teaching yoga practice, and coordinating behind the scenes. It was during my participation in a 2-week Priestess Training Camp immersion in Oregon that I realized that part of my dharma is to return to Ohio and offer wellness retreats for womxn and queer folks here.

The first retreat I hosted sold out 3 weeks in advance. Everyone seemed to have an incredible experience, and offered very positive and constructive feedback. I realized that I learned just as much as the retreat participants, and was growing a lot through this process too. And I was awestruck that I could do something that felt SO in alignment that I found SO very enjoyable, and people would be happy to pay me for it because it is SO NEEDED! :)

Then the next retreat, I began to collaborate with Allison Yanci of Optimal Wellness. I must say, we make a dynamic duo and complement each other beautifully. She is very detail oriented and practical, and as a long time friend in the Yoga community I can trust her fully, which leaves me space to be creative and innovative. I think she equally appreciates that.

That first retreat with her also filled up, and the next, and the next… we just completed our fourth successful retreat (Wild Witchy Womxn’s Yoga Retreat; Oct 2023) and have been working together for over a year now. Each group is a different, powerful container, we are consistently WOW’d by the quality of people that we meet from all walks of life and all over the world, and continue to receive very positive feedback.

Allison & I will continue to host a fall and spring retreat together at her beautiful property in Ravenna each year.

I also have two upcoming retreats that I will be solo hosting: a Rainbow Yoga Retreat for queer & trans folx in March 2024, and a Guatemala Yoga Retreat in April 2024! Open to ALL genders, the “Guatemala Yoga Retreat: an Empowering, Magical Adventure with Paisley” will be my first international retreat. I am so excited!!!

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

I’m Paisley Parvati Devi, and I’m a queer Multimedia Artist, a 500-hour Registered Yoga Instructor, a Retreat Facilitator, and an Intuitive Astrologer & Tarot Reader. All of my services are available through my business, Queer Soul Alchemy.

Ohio is home. In 2017, I received both my 200-hour Yoga Teaching Certification at Yoga Central in Canton, and my Bachelor’s Degree in Entrepreneurship at Kent State University in Kent.

Since then, I have travelled internationally and domestically, spent time in various Intentional Yoga Communities, and deepened my personal practice. I was initiated with the name “Parvati Devi” by one of my teachers, Swami Sankaranandaji, a Swami (or Yogic monk) of the Sivananda order.

I have also been initiated into the Priestess Arts by several wonderful mentors. I am a devotee & worshipper of the Goddess within all beings.

In 2021, I completed my 300-hour Yoga Teaching Certification with the Mount Madonna Institute in Santa Cruz, California. I am currently studying to become an Ayurvedic Health Counselor through the Shakti School.

A life-long artist, I self-published my first original coloring book, Creatures of the Earth: a Trippy Coloring Book for all ages, in 2020. This first hand-illustrated book was mostly completed during my time backpacking in Guatemala, and is inspired by both my international travels and my internal spiritual travels. My second original coloring book, 12 Signs of the Zodiac, was published in 2022. Many clients and friends have mentioned that they would like to learn more about the archetypes of astrology, so I created this coloring book, journal, and workbook with learning exercises to help them.

I believe that Yoga, Ayurveda, dance, and all art forms have an immense healing ability to open us to the Primal Divine Energy (adi para shakti) within. We need to come together in sacred community to create a shared safe space for our collective and individual transformation. That is why retreats, spiritual events, and intentional spaces are so important.

My sankalpa, or intention, is to offer my own authentic expression, and to cultivate safe space for others to feel liberated in theirs. I am passionate about empowering others with tools and opportunities for self-development and self-love.

Jai Ma! Blessed be.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

So many lessons. The years of my life since graduating from college have been a constant process of unlearning and de-programming the matrix of conservative midwestern malarky we were all indoctrinated into. And forgiving it, as well.

You mean it actually IS okay to be gay? That having a gender expression outside of traditional binary and cis norms is not only VALID, but beautiful?? I was raised to see queerness as the result of early childhood trauma, of severe mental illness, of inherent perversion, or of “hating” a certain gender. So as I acknowledged the queerness within me, I had a process of questioning what was “wrong” with myself. The biggest thing that I’ve had to unlearn is that actually, nothing is wrong at all!

Queerness is beautiful and normal, even revered in some indigenous cultures – and others’ malicious opinions on the subject actually reflect more on their character than on mine. Most homophobia stems from genuine ignorance, religious trauma, indoctrination into very toxic belief systems, and a lack of self-awareness or self-love within people. Rather than hating “those” people or the system that left me feeling ostracized, I’ve been able to cultivate a great deal of compassion and empathy for their experience, while validating my own.

The same could be said for unlearning taboos related to sex and sensuality, menstrual blood/ periods, death, feminine power, astrology and tarot, paganism, natural methods of healing/ wellness, and even Yoga. The “powers that be,” namely the larger structures of capitalism, patriarchy, and organized religion have benefitted from taboos related to all of the above. These taboos disconnect us from our own innate power, and cause us to rely on an external authority for spiritual guidance, health, and even pleasure.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

Time freedom. My schedule is wacky. Those who know me, know that I am constantly busy and I work weird hours. BUT here’s the thing: I would so much rather work a lot and work long hours and make my own schedule. I have worked plenty of service jobs with set hours, and my mood and overall satisfaction is much much higher when I have full control over my time and schedule. I’m a workaholic working for myself because I’m obsessed with what I do and it doesn’t feel like work. Meanwhile even a day spent working for “someone else” completely drains the life from me. Entrepreneurship problems.

This also means that I have to stay disciplined, because no one else is holding me accountable for my time management. With great freedom comes great responsibility – no time clock to punch here. Just a lot of love and energy investment, and plenty of hours I don’t necessarily get “paid” for. Yet in any given day I might spend several hours tending to my home and self care, as well as caring for my cats – I love having the ability to move things around so that I can try different classes and workshops too. But then I’ll end up working late into the evening when most people are off of work. Weekends too.

So it can be a bit isolating in the sense that many people have 9 to 5 jobs. I never have and probably never will. But the taste of freedom, flying down the highway at 2pm on a Thursday to run some errand for my business or on my way to a retreat location, is just too sweet. I need variety and will not be cooped up in an office. I prefer to work from home with my cats on my lap or be able to go to many different places for work and expand and explore.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.youareloved.one
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/queersoulalchemy/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/queermystic
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/paisley-devi
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@QueerMystic/
• Other: Booking Private Lessons: https://teachme.to/listings/yoga/yoga-with-paisley-yoder/exposed Guatemala Yoga Retreat: https://www.tourhero.com/en/epic-adventures/guatemala/guatemala-yoga-retreat-an-empowering-magical-adventure-with-paisley-961179 Optimal Wellness: https://optimalwellness.health/