We were lucky to catch up with Sarah Woods recently and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Sarah thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What did your parents do right and how has that impacted you in your life and career?
Right or Wrong are such opinionated statements. I have learned a lot from both of my relationships with my parents. The one thing they both always followed through with…they believed in me. Even in times where they might have thought I should have made a different decision, they still said “if you believe in it, don’t give up.” behind it all).
A brief story that carries me through to this day…
My father/my Moon (as I refer to him) and I are/were very close. He is one of my Soulmates and biggest Teachers.
When my father was diagnosed with AML and a rare gene mutation, he was immediately quarantined to a hospital room with no visitors allowed. This was before 2020/covid and lasted for months. His diagnosis did not have a good outlook. He went through trials, tribulations and even a stem cell transplant over the course of 3 years. At times, I felt I was there, in Chicago more than I was at home.
Throughout his fight he would always tell us kids, “Never give up!” Something he did, was never give up. He showed up with all of his heart and humor, even making doctors that gave him grim information, laugh.
He was a fighter and when he turned inward to his heart & spirit, he learned about surrender. Surrender was not giving up but opening up to truth. With truth in his heart, he passed peacefully at home.
Before he passed, he reminded me to “keep showing up for what I believed in,” and this I did.
His words carried me through grief and deep sadness. His words carried me through the covid pandemic. His words carried me though the fire we had at the studio location. His words carry me through the ownership of a small business/Yoga Studio. His words carry me through this moment because they touch my heart on such a deep level. They connect me to my fears, joys and passion. With all of my heart, I believe in this Yoga practice, this community and I will continue to show up.
The last 2 years, the words, “show up” are present everywhere!! One of my teachers even wrote an email all about it! I have seen the benefits of showing up and continuing to show up (exactly as I am). Are there days when I do not want to show up? Yes. My heart tells me otherwise and I do it anyway. Do I give myself rest? YES. Nurturing myself and my heart is the key to showing up, it is that connection to surrendering into truth. It all starts with my heart and breathing into that space, to step out the door and into showing up (however that looks). For Soul Tree Studio, these words can’t be more prevalent. On challenging days, when I show up for my practice, my heart and truth shine. There is that space in time between the action and the reaction…that space is where we get to pause, check in, surrender or fight, nurture. The reaction is showing up for a life worth living. Continue…Don’t give up on your heart!
Sarah , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
Tell my story…why me? Why is my story so inspiring? Because I have overcome some obstacles physically, emotionally, spiritually? Haven’t we all? Something about my story, I haven’t done it on my own. I have had people in my life that allowed me to be weird, different, kind (to a fault), wild, difficult, stubborn, silly…well, me. Though these people in my life, never gave me the answers (though maybe that would have been the easiest)…some just showed up and cheered me on. Something that has always spoken to my heart is community…family. Through many life events (joys, challenges, illness, agoraphobia, panic attacks, births, re-births, loss of relationships and loved ones, addiction, lies to myself and others, etc.), I have been blessed with some amazing people in my life that have taught me so much just by living. Relationships, more times than not, take some or a lot of effort. My heart has done a lot of work. I have been that person who gives everything and not enough. These days, I’m learning boundaries, forgiveness, and the art of receiving, while still following my giving heart…allowing myself to feel the whole way through.
I left my hometown of Chicago in 2006, leaving my dad, my brothers, my grandma, mom, aunts, uncles, cousins, friends. Leaving my family was extremely hard but very necessary. Tears of fear and relief were released all the way here to Colorado. I was a lost 29-year-old that felt EVERYTHING (I had succeeded and fell on my face many times) but I was free to start something of my own. Life’s ups and downs continued in CO, thank goodness for my lifelong friend Liz (her and her now-husband may be a saints!). When I came to Colorado, I was here to start over, take care myself, climb mountains with my dogs. I joked about one day finding a mountain man in the future but wanted to be alone to heal first. A few months in, life had other plans, I met someone who balanced this wild spirit, fed my soul, and reminded me of my heart’s truth. Todd and I are still together today. In fact, he is the person who re-introduced me to yoga.
At first, I practiced in our little apartment on the ground floor, with an air mattress for our bed and no couches! I practiced to Rodney Yee DVDs until I gathered up enough courage to go to a public class. My first public class led me into my first 200hr Yoga Teacher Training and then another training and another and another. Feeling confident, I auditioned twice at that studio and didn’t get the job. My ego was crushed AND I learned a lot about myself. My inner knowing still felt the calling, I was supposed to share the gift of Yoga but needed to practice/learn more. I still practiced at the same studio but also explored other teachers and lineages of Yoga. One teacher reminded me, “Yoga is a practice. Not like practice makes perfect BUT practice makes more practice.” This blew my mind but also set me free once again, free from all the expectations that I placed on myself. Why do we do that? Why do we need to place such high expectations on ourselves? Why do we make it harder than it needs to be sometimes?
Walking through my neighborhood one day, I found myself in front of this local studio. My experience was like something out of the movies. It was like I was outside of myself for too long and when I stepped foot inside Soul Tree Studio, I came back home to my heart. I could breathe deeply. From that day forward, I never left. A couple weeks later, I auditioned and began teaching immediately. To say that my practice has grown from that day on is an understatement. I am a student and a teacher…my students are my teachers. There are many teachers & students to give credit to… gosh, the list is endless and continues to grow. They are students, teachers, friends, family, my children, and husband. I have been offering Yoga at Soul Tree since 2011, amongst other studios but have always stayed consistent. Some say, “Home is where the heart is,” and that has remained true since that first day I stepped into Soul Tree.
Community has always been important to me. It makes sense to me. Let’s support one another! Why wouldn’t we? Soul Tree offers this amazing community that I thought only existed in my heart or dreams. Meghan, the founder of Soul Tree, created something special and offered the community an experience that was authentic, connecting each of us that walked in the door. Not just connecting us to one another but to ourself, our breath, our body, our spirit, and mind.
Covid hit in 2020. As for many of us, it was not pretty. We were unsure of what would happen to Soul Tree. From that fear, we fought and rose to the challenge. Sometimes kicking, screaming, and crying. In my eyes, I have never been seen as much of a fighter but in 2020 I learned that maybe I am. Alongside, Meghan, Melissa (Soul Tree’s spectacular manager), Kat, and many more, I tried to help as much as I possibly could to keep Soul Tree and its community together while also trying to hold our household together. We worked tirelessly. Why? Because we believe in Soul Tree’s purpose and offerings. We have felt the importance of keeping Soul Tree alive and did not give up. These amazing women inspired me to another level. Our community did not give up either…they showed up consistently. People came together in loving support of one another, whether it was on Zoom, in person masked up, texts or calls. It may have changed us all but we all still believed in the practice and Soul Tree. In that time, we fought for Soul Tree (as many other studios & businesses fought to keep their doors/screens alive). This became our norm, amongst all of the other life changes.
Daydreaming is an activity that I frequently rely on…I feel into the world around me & within me, imagining the Earth breathing with us, all as one. I have many times daydreamed about having a yoga studio of my own but always thought it was out of reach. On May 1st, 2021 my daydream became a reality. Meghan the founder of Soul Tree, passed on the Soul Tree ownership to me. Sometimes, I have to pinch myself to make sure it is all real. It has not all been that easy, I learn something new every day. Stepping into ownership of Soul Tree, I have a vision of people coming together in support of one another and our planet. What if local yoga studios came together in support of one another? Could we change the world? Could we help heal the deep wounds? I don’t know the answer to that question but I believe in it! I believe in Yoga as a life practice…the good, the challenging, beautifully flawed, kicking and screaming, laughing and crying AND doing it all together. It has been my mission to include everyONE, as one…guiding from all that I have learned and continue to learn.
Another one of the ways that Soul Tree gets to give back is offering our 200 hour Trauma Informed Yoga Teacher Training AND continuing education. It is one of a kind and is the heart & soul of Soul Tree’s offerings. It exceeds the standards of Yoga Alliance and is a foundational space of growth at Soul Tree. It reaches our students, teachers, family, friends, our community and spreads into the world around us.
In my life, I have always tried to bring people together and will continue to do so as we rebuild our Earth and Community! Alongside my husband, two sons, 2 dogs, and a cat, friends, family, neighbors…we can’t do it alone so may we rise together supported in this community, our Soul Family.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
Resilience AND grace…
On August 28th, 2022, I received the call that there was a fire at Soul Tree Studio’s building. Thank goodness our teacher, Melissa Carey showed up when she did and called the fire into 911. We were a mile away but that drive seemed like it took forever. Upon arrival the studio parking lot was filled with police and 2 fire engines in front of our suite. Everyone was safe but our hearts hurt…our neighbors suite was gone and so was their business. Though our space was not burned through, we had a significant amount of smoke damage and had to close our doors. We were closed a full month. To say it was a challenging time, is an understatement. AND we were blessed. Blessed with a supportive community and neighbors that reached out and offered help. I sent bi-weekly updates to our teachers and community which sometimes consisted of just hope. Again, I found myself believing in this yoga practice and the importance of continuing to “show up” in all of my messiness, fear and heart. My dear friend said to me, “You are handling all of this with such grace.” At that time, I didn’t really know what she meant. As teachers/friends show us, I am learning what that means and can’t imagine it being any different. Soul Tree had a much needed cleanse and update! She is shining in all of her beauty and grace.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
See above…
Contact Info:
- Website: www.soultreecolorado.com
- Instagram: @soultreeyoga
- Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/soultreecolorado/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUsDPYRKqHJ1Z0x_eUjKDuA
Image Credits
Photograph credits to Marin McCallen