In this episode of The Magic Mindfulness Podcast, we’ll dive into the power of prioritizing self-care and authenticity with the warm and insightful Niki Bruce, owner of The Center Yoga Collective. Together, we’ll explore the pervasive superwoman syndrome and the importance of slowing down to nurture our well-being. With candor, Niki will relate how the teachings of yoga have helped her navigate life’s challenges, including a difficult career transition, by empowering her to authentically regulate her nervous system and embrace the feminine power of receptivity.

Niki is very open about how, since she transitioned from social work into her role as a yoga studio proprietor, Niki has seen her life transform through the practices of yoga and mindfulness—a transformation she generously shares with her community.

We’ll dive deep into the philosophy of yoga beyond the mat, the life-changing nature of yoga teacher training, and how Niki and I have expanded our own comfort zones by retraining our nervous systems. We’ll also discuss the mutual growth that occurs between a yoga teacher and their students, the power of self-awareness, and the collective energy we contribute to the world through our daily practices of mindfulness and gratitude.

And, of course, we’ll touch upon the importance of showing up for ourselves, messy and raw, and prioritizing self-care and authenticity as we allow the universe’s potential to unfold. So take a moment to breathe, center yourself, and let’s embrace the wisdom that Niki brings to our practice of Magic Mindfulness.

Learn more about The Center Yoga Collective & Yoga Teacher Training

 About Niki Bruce:

Niki began her yoga journey at an Iyengar-style yoga studio in Atlanta in 1999. As a spiritual seeker, yoga became a life-long touchstone that eventually led her to yoga teacher training at The Center under the teaching of Suzanne Perrine. A self-described “cusser and a crier,” Niki’s practice and teachings are authentic, raw and honest. Her extensive background in the mental health field informs her teaching style. In class, you can expect to move, breathe, and BE…perfectly imperfect, and precisely as you are. Her message?

“Show up. Show up messy. Show up anyway…Just. Show. Up.”

Connect with Niki on social media:

Instagram

Full Transcript:

Rachel: Welcome to another episode of the magic mindfulness podcast. I have a very special guest with us today. Niki Bruce from the center yoga collective in downtown Harrisonburg.

So welcome Niki. Why don’t you just introduce yourselves? Tell us a little about yourself.

Niki: Thanks, Rachel. It’s so good to be here in this space with you. I’m in our big studio that we both teach yoga in. So it’s interesting to be sitting here being interviewed by you. I love it. Um, yeah, so it’s weird to hear she’s the owner of the Center Yoga Collective.

It’s only been over a little, a little over a year and then some months, um, since I stepped into this role and I couldn’t be happier. Um, I feel transformed over this past year that I’ve been here. So super stoked to be here and providing this space, continuing to provide this space that our founder built for us so that we all have a home to come and enjoy together and practice every movement modality we’ve got in here together.

So.

Rachel: Yes, it’s such a wonderful space and it’s so nice that we have this community and support. So tell us a little bit about how mindfulness and how yoga in particular have, um, impacted your life, how you’ve benefited from these practices.

Niki: So this is so interesting to me. I’m usually the one asking the question.

So when I’m being asked this, the first thing that wants to come to mind is the one that sounds so dramatic and probably cliche, but it yoga literally saved my life, like this studio saved my life. So having the touchstone of that practice to come back to, um, when you’re dysregulated or things go awry and life as they will, and as they certainly have, you know, over the past three years

globally, right? Um, so I also, you know, I will out myself publicly now on your podcast because I do things scared and I do them anyway, that I got fired from my last role as a social worker. And I am so thankful and I would never take it back for anything. Um, cause I landed here. Mindfulness made all of that possible.

Tuning into my body, knowing when I was dysregulated. Um, and having to use that mindfulness and hour to hour, minute to minute, right? We can only meet someone as deeply as we’ve met ourselves. So if I hadn’t had to fall back on that and really use that tool, I wouldn’t be able to teach it here, right? As effectively anyway.

Yes. Yes. And it’s all

Rachel: about trusting the flow of life and, you know, meeting ourselves where we’re at. And I also find that mindfulness helps us to embrace each moment as it arrives without necessarily labeling it as good or bad. It is what it is. And we make our way through it with this mindfulness, with this self awareness.

Niki: So I would love to, like, there’s something I’ve always come back to, and it’s, I suppose it’s pretty Buddhist in nature, but it’s like, just sit in the stew of discomfort. Just let it like, stop trying to eject out of your body, you, me, anyone here, like, can we just notice what’s happening and attend to it?

And I hate this term, reparenting, but it’s really what I did, what I had to do to myself over the past. Year and a half, right? So it’s all nervous system regulation. It’s all having to be mindful because you have to get yourself better.

Rachel: Yes, yes, that’s so true. And today, these days, I mean, we are just trying to do it all.

We’re so overstimulated. We’re so, um, you know, we’re trying to do it all and plan it all. And, um, maybe talk a little bit about how. So I want to hear your thoughts on everything we’re all trying to carry everything we’re all trying to do, and how we can get more into that feminine side to fully receive.

Niki: Sure. So I know a lot of well labeled of your podcast has all like minds here so I was gonna say a lot of people might consider it woo, but what you touched on coming into that feminine aspect of ourselves we can even take that term out and just say, are, can we receive. Yeah. Can we receive, I realized that in my past role, it was very, and you can strip the feminine and masculine from it if you want, but it was very masculine in nature.

I was doing planning, overseeing all the things for all the people, you know, that’s your career. And then you’ve got family and then you’ve got, you know, it all just rolls down remembering all the birthdays, all the things, right. The pace we’re asked to keep is absolutely ridiculous and anti human.

Frankly. So, uh, remind me your question again, where are

we

Rachel: going with this? Well, I was just thinking about, you know, from a mindfulness perspective, How

Niki: do we receive? How do we

Rachel: navigate this pressure to constantly juggle all of these roles, all of these responsibilities, because there’s that tendency for us to get overwhelmed.

There’s this tendency for us to get burned out. And so how can we kind of tap into more of that flow, that mindfulness to receive? Right. Thank

Niki: you for that. Right. Thank you for that. So first it requires slowing down. Yes. How can you do that when you’re keeping the pace with everything? Right. So I know some people might be listening to this, like, Oh, that’s what a luxury to slow down.

Um, it was imperative that I slow down. So I’m speaking from experience. Like if I hadn’t stopped, wasn’t forced to stop and regulate myself. Then I wouldn’t be here today. I had to come into that space of, of less, um, doing, doing, doing control. Let’s get real about what the base of that is. It’s a sense of control over whatever your life, your role in life, your roles in life for people.

Um, I feel like sometimes some of us have to do a little free fall before we can really let go. And I would love to encourage people to not be so scared of those. You know, the cracks are really how the light gets in and that’s how transformation happen. Um, so that leads me to this beautiful space we have here and allowing people to come in the door and just feel like, okay, like I can receive here I can turn off here.

Nothing is demanded of me here. Like, I just show up and care for myself here. So that’s back to that, like, reparenting thing, like, minute to minute. Like, what do I need? Am I hungry? Did I eat? Am I hydrated? When we’re not well, it comes back to those basics, right? It does. So, I want everyone to walk in and feel like they can be cared for here, like, there’s tissues everywhere, there’s water everywhere, you know, like, just come.

You don’t even have to take a class, you can sit on the couch and just feel better, but the space is set for you to receive and leave that doing, doing, doing at the door. Um, that’s my hope for people when they come in here because I know how valuable it is and I know how so many of us, specifically female, identifying.

Entrepreneurs and small business owners, just juggle all the balls. And many have ongoing careers at the same time and podcasts on the side and teach like 20 times a week and it’s impossible. Um, part of my answer to that would also be like, understand it’s not possible and stop holding ourselves to these ridiculous standards that we didn’t really fully agree to.

Rachel: No, you’re absolutely right. You’re absolutely right. I did an experiment with myself a few weeks ago. Actually, no, it was about, it was more than that. I wrote down everything I wanted to accomplish in a day, like everything that like I needed to do. It was so long. And so I kept that list until I finished it.

You know, it took me over a month to get everything on that list done. And I somehow in my head, I thought, It was going to happen in a day. We’ve got the superwoman syndrome and we think that we can just power through, we can just push through. But at the end of the day, it’s our mindset, it’s our bodies, it’s our health, our well being that is suffering.

And so many of the people who come to our studio, they, that might be the only hour out of their day that they have to themselves. And so for you to be able to offer that space for them to come in and to receive and to slow down, I just think it’s so powerful. It

Niki: is. And, and just, I would also love people to know that it’s just as powerful for us on the other side, teaching these classes to co regulate with them.

Like I really started teaching that during the pandemic. Right. So it was on a screen, but I left those sessions. I wasn’t moving with them. Right. I was just directing with them, but I had co regulated to their breath. It’s such a gift. It’s so mutually beneficial. It’s, people don’t think about the gift that they, that they are to us.

And they need to know that.

Rachel: Yes. You’re absolutely right. The community is a gift. Every student who walks in that door is a gift and the gift of technology that we have these days that we were able to maintain a sense of community, even through that isolation, even through the pandemic, our yoga community stayed strong throughout all of that.

And I think that that’s a, it’s just such a powerful thing that we were able to keep it going.

Niki: It’s also a powerful testament to Suzanne. Yes, Suzanne Perrine, who’s the founder of the center who had this place for 17 years before me, like none of that. We also as females, um, in my little plug of my own, you know, nonprofessional opinion, I think that we need to understand also whose backs are standing on a little bit

Rachel: more.

Yes. Yes, I think that’s important too.

Niki: And I love it. This community is incredible. Like, I used to think that community over competition was a utopian goal that would never happen. And it’s, it’s happening in real time. Like, I want people to know it’s out there and I’ve seen people move from other states.

And come here and they immediately get plugged in and I’m like, why didn’t I do that right away? I wouldn’t have, I wouldn’t have like floundered for so long. Right. I didn’t feel a sense of community here in Virginia after I moved from downtown Atlanta in 2007 until I landed in teacher training here.

And the community was built in and it was like, all the bullshit was cut. Everyone was open minded, not even like minded, open minded enough to accept other points of view, right? We have this thing today where we just have ourselves in our bubbles of who we agree with. Right. This is very, almost like a contemplative study in thought process, kind of, um, cooler here, our heart family.

So yes, it’s a good place to be. People move from out of town and I’m like, we have everything you need. We have therapists. What do you need? Like, do you need a female care provider? They’re right down the road, you know, like it’s one stop shop. So it’s really cool as an ex social worker to do that job here in a way that doesn’t take away from me, but it brings me so much joy and it’s still connecting.

It’s still services coordination, but it’s. There’s no words for how different it feels.

Rachel: Yes. And at this point, I feel like you’re able to give from a well of wellbeing. You’re coming from a place of wellbeing instead of from a place of depletion. And that’s so important for each and every one of us to recognize that.

I know it’s easier said than done, but we need to slow down. We need to fill our own cups. We need to make time for ourselves. And then we have this wellspring of. Energy and positivity that we can share. So when we’re slowing down, when we allow ourselves to receive, we have even more to give to the world around us.

Niki: And you know what that links me to? I just was recently reading. It was something I heard somewhere. The scale of feelings and frequency. I can’t remember the name of the scale in my head, but I know you’ve seen it, right? So the lowest would be fear, shame, guilt, and the highest would be what?

Love. It’s authenticity. Ah. Can you believe that? You would think it would be compassion. Yeah. So it’s authenticity and we can’t come into that until. We’re okay. We feel safe. We’re regulated. Um, like you said, we feel well. And you’ve seen me over the past year and a half. Like I probably look different. I have people tell me like you, like one of our mutual students the other day was like, I’m just going to tell you, you’re just looking good.

Like, I don’t know what you’re doing. And I don’t, it’s just because I’m happy. Like, it’s just because I removed a depleting monster from my life and started to rebuild myself. So I guess I would say when you’re stubborn like me and like a lot of other women, I know, um, you might feel like you can’t give up on something.

You might feel like, I mean, tenacity is how we get things done a lot in life, right? Um, but sometimes the lesson is to walk away and sometimes that’s not giving up. Sometimes it’s okay to lay the F down and go, I’m tired. Like I’m not well and ask for help. Yes. Yeah. And say, I’m not okay. Like it was the most humbling experience I’ve ever had in the midst of all these experiences in the past year and a half to, to let people know, like, Um, I don’t got it, you know, and what

Rachel: I found when that happens is that we have more people than we ever knew we could count on to hold us up until we get back on our feet.

And it’s just so amazing. Like people want to help each other. Like if, if, if something happened to me and I reached out to you, you would want to help me. And that would be the same. Like people want to lift each other up. People want to help each other. But we have such a hard time receiving that same support that we would so willingly give to others.

Niki: Right. For me and you, right? Like, we have to repair in ourselves in that way. Like, have I gotten the Reiki treatment lately? Have I been to yoga classes that I’m not teaching lately? Right. It’s, it’s the basics. It’s, am I sleeping well, you know? Yes. Yes.

Rachel: I was, for some of my continuing education credits, I took, uh, it’s a yoga and neuroscience.

I saw that and wanted to take it. Yeah. So one Deepak Chopra did the opening, um, session on yoga and it was just like, and he gave the most brilliant and just insightful overview of the history of yoga in the span of about 45 minutes that I’ve ever heard, but he was basically telling us, how do you know, like, basically he just said, stop throughout the day, periodically check in with yourself and ask yourself these questions.

Am I happy? Am I at peace? And if you’re not, that’s where we need, we have a sign. We have this mindful awareness that we need to make a shift. And so I just thought that I was like, wow, like so simple, but yet so powerful. Am I happy? Do I feel at peace?

Niki: It’s like a tiny pebble in your shoe. Stop and pay attention to it before like it becomes a boulder and you break your ankle or you get fired from your job.

You know, like maybe we can have some proactivity here instead of everyone feeling like they have to keep up with life. Like can we keep up with ourselves first? And then see how we’re feeling for the rest of the right.

Rachel: Yeah. Yeah. I don’t remember who said it, but one of my favorite sayings is that in truth, yoga doesn’t take time.

It gives time. And I feel like that is so true. And that’s why I’m so grateful to see our students show up for themselves to see our teachers showing up, you know, for themselves. And, um, You know, when I first started my yoga teacher training, I, I was so shy. I never in a million years thought I would ever teach a yoga class.

I thought I was doing my teacher training just to like expand my own practice to build on my own sense of mindfulness. And that yoga teacher training was life changing for me on so many different levels. But I just wanted to check in with you and see, you know, what, what was your experience? You already said that the yoga teacher training.

Automatically you were part of this community and I had that same experience, but how did it change your life?

Niki: It really allowed me to ground down in a in a period of time So just for our gen pop that doesn’t know like what yoga teacher training is about there’s so many formats But ours is done in nine months one weekend every month so I knew that I had that one week in a month to really um Focus on myself and I know how selfish that sounds and i’ll be real about it Like I had a young son at the time.

I still have a young son. He was younger You Right. It takes from our partners as well. Like it kind of takes a village to get us in this classroom to dedicate one weekend a month. Um, But it was the stable, it was the constant in a world of toxicity and chronic overwhelm and burnout, like compassion, fatigue on call 24 seven and a system that got so run down because I wasn’t taking the time to go, am I happy today?

I mean, if I did, the answer was no, and there was no choice or time to do anything about it. I just had to plow on. Right. But here I got to do that. Here, I got to really kind of. I would call it therapy, like the deepest dive into yourself. Um, you’ll see where your physical weaknesses are. You’ll see where your physical strengths are.

You’ll see where your mental strengths and weaknesses are, and your mind will be blown open into a new expanse of possibilities. It’s just, it’s a, it’s a little sampling. Like it’s, again, it’s only nine weekends. And there’s so much to teach and learn that it’s like a little sampling of a chocolate box.

Like you dive into a little bit of everything and then we’re flung out into this world, shy, thinking we never want to teach. And then I don’t know about for you, but for me feeling like I didn’t have a choice not to.

Rachel: No, that was exactly the same way. But also yoga teacher training helped me to retrain my nervous system that it was okay to step outside of my comfort zone.

It was okay to push myself beyond my comfort zone. Where I thought I could from the space of being shy and not being able to speak in front of people and then I had everybody there was so supportive. Nobody was judging me. And

Niki: so, but didn’t you still want to throw up the first time you got in front of a class?

Oh, yeah. But I mean, think of that skill we honed like to step in front of a class full of people is not an easy thing. Even if you love what you’re doing and all of it, I would like for this PSA to go out to the world too. Yoga teachers are probably weirder than you are or weirder than you ever think you could be.

I mean, we’re here for a reason. Then we probably healed some things along the way and that’s how we know how to share them with you. Right? So when we’re up here in front of the class and we’re having a bad day. We’re human too. Like it’s, it’s hard to step in front of a group and, and so incredibly rewarding too.

So the nuances, you know, people think we have it all together and I’m like, we’re in it with you. We’re learning with you. We’re teaching you what we’re learning for ourselves. We’re not gurus. We don’t know it all. We’re, we’re like learning with you. We’re holding your hand and going, let’s regulate together.

Let’s get stronger together. So that’s been really cool. I mean, I don’t know how people do it without a community like that. I really don’t.

Rachel: No, no. And the level of self awareness and self acceptance and self discovery that we find on our mats and just this, like you said, authenticity, knowing that it’s okay to meet yourself exactly where you are, exactly how you are, how you show up on your mat is going to change from day to day to day.

And the mat is always going to be there for you. The practice is always going to be there for you. And it’s just so powerful to know that no matter where we are, we’ve always got that practice to come back to.

Niki: Right. So I want your listeners to also know, like, whether we’re coming back to a meditation seat or like an Asana movement, meditation practice, um, it doesn’t matter.

I think that the power part of the power comes from that just constant return to the mat or the seat or the effort or the intention or the pause. Am I happy? Am I peaceful? Right. It’s just the, it’s, it’s a muscle. It’s just like when we practice.

I believe you can build mindfulness like a muscle, and I believe we all have an imperative duty to do so. And I know how cheesy it sounds, but when our students come in and we tell them, thank you for attending to yourself today because you’re making a safer place. For everyone around you and therefore you’re making the world a safer place.

And I know how cheesy that sounds, but it’s true.

Rachel: Well, it’s like the ripple effect, that little drop that drops into the pond and ripples out to affect everybody else around you, you have the choice. Say I get off work and I’m flustered and I had a crazy busy day. I can go straight home and I can. I can stop by the yoga studio, attend to myself, calm and regulate my nervous system, and go home in a more grounded, centered space, and that’s going to ripple out whichever energy I choose, whichever energy I am in, that’s what’s going to ripple into the world around me.

So you’re absolutely right.

Niki: And that’s what we’re translating. And so I asked people to tune in, like, what is your symphony sound like today? Is it discordant? Is it like out of tune? Can we breathe? Can we get a little bit more in tune? And it all comes back to the self. It’s all about returning to your own inner wisdom that we all have within and empowering people to do that and empower themselves to feel better in their own bodies, make their bodies a safe space because we didn’t even get in all that.

Yeah. But. There’s all that too. Oh, yes, wanting to eject out of the body ways. We harm the body ways We don’t care for it. So it sounds simple. Let’s make ourselves a safe space or let’s make a safe space to come to But that little thing starts to shift everything. I think I think that’s what mindfulness practice can be That’s what it that’s what it’s meant to be to bring you back to your own safe space within and no one can take that from you

Rachel: No, no.

And I’m glad that you said it’s like a muscle. It’s something that gets stronger with time because it is a practice. It’s something we come back to over and over and over again, but the more we practice it, the easier it is to drop back into it. And the more often we find ourselves in that space. So it is, um, We find ourselves with as busy as life is so often not in the present moment worrying about the past or worrying about the future.

When we can bring ourselves back to the breath, we can bring ourselves back to the body as many times as we need to. And that’s mindfulness. That’s all it really is. It’s just coming back to the authentic person you are in the moment you’re in right now.

Niki: That’s it. Mic drop. Like that needs to be a soundbite.

That’s all it is. And people are like, I can’t meditate. I can’t sit still. Great. Let’s walk and meditate. You don’t have to sit. Right. I mean, there’s so many ways to work mindfulness in the householder life. Yeah. Yeah. You have to take tiny little bite sized practices and we know we’re sitting in privileged, um, skin color in privilege, socioeconomic status in a yoga studio and everyone may not have that, but you know what?

You do have your breath and the ability to stop and value yourself long enough to just put a little stop gap in your day. Like that’s all it takes. Yes.

Rachel: Yes, you are absolutely

Niki: right. It sounds so easy. That’s why we come here. So we can remind ourselves.

Rachel: Yeah, as many times as we need to. Yeah. So for those that may be considering yoga teacher training,

how could they get started? I know that the Center yoga collective has a yoga teacher training coming up. Um, how can they find out more about that? What can they expect from it?

Niki: I would encourage them to just come see the studio. Like if you’re interested know that this is kind of going to be your touchstone for the next nine months.

I wouldn’t want anyone to be anywhere they wouldn’t want to be, like, just come, come to my class, come to a class with Rachel, come to a class with anyone here and just check the vibe out. If it feels safe and like a healing space for you, I think it’s a no brainer. It’s one week in a month for nine months.

Like I had circled, how many years did you circle the whole wagon on your, your first yoga teacher training? How many years did you think

Rachel: about it? Oh my gosh, at least six or seven. I couldn’t find one that fit into my schedule and the one week in a month for nine months And

Niki: I was like, if finally, like I can make this happen, I can’t go to Costa Rica for yoga teacher training and stop my life.

Right. So this one works. And I would invite anyone, whether you think you’re going to teach or not, because I certainly didn’t. I know you didn’t. Um, I would say probably over half of us didn’t do that with the intention to teach. Um, so to anyone kind of thinking about it, I would say. It’s a no brainer.

Like I don’t listen. I’ll tell you something that remember Shane O’Hare. Yeah, he, I haven’t talked to him in forever. He moved away. He used to teach here, but I was in yoga teacher training and. He was like, well, you’re going to teach after your training. And I was like, I don’t think so. I was like, the last thing this world needs is another mediocre yoga teacher of this particular makeup physically.

Right. And he was like, maybe, but the world does need more yogis. And I was like, that’s it. That’s it. Like the world does need more people who are, um, working on their own emotional intelligence and arming themselves with these huge tools, toolboxes full of tools to, um, Regulate themselves, their loved ones.

Like if you don’t do it to teach, do it for you, your own healing so that you can maybe offer that at home or in your workspace or to your animals, or, you know, just be a more fully optimal functioning human. We didn’t arrive with like instruction manuals for this meat suit. Nope. Right. So we kind of, we kind of give you a little bit of like, how that might function and how we might have a smoother ride in this meat suit with yoga teacher training.

Rachel: And what I love is that Each and every one of us is unique. Each and every one of us is beautiful in a different way from anybody else. And so what you bring to the mat, what I bring to the mat, what every single teacher at the studio brings to the mat, every one of us has a different offering. Every one of us has a different gift.

And so yes, we’re all teaching the practice of yoga, but we’re teaching it as it comes through our vessel. And so it’s going to be a different experience with each and every person. So I think that’s really powerful that you are sharing that, you know, that. You know, your light is your light. Nobody else can share it the way you do.

Niki: And the world needs it, you know, and when I have imposter syndrome, which is right now, and just about every single day that I operate, um, I mean, seriously, I’m subbing Suzanne’s class at 545 and I was like, Oh, just keep it real, you know, but I think another thing that yoga teacher training taught me, probably you too, was Was to show up scared and do it anyway.

Yes. Yes. Do it anyway. It’s, it’s, it’s okay. Just take the leap. You know? Well, that’s

Rachel: exactly it. I started out thinking that I couldn’t teach a single person because I was so shy. And then last year you gave me the opportunity to teach at Red Wing where I taught to over a hundred people. And I was like, I was nervous.

I was scared out of my mind, but I was like, but I know I can do this. And it was so fun.

Niki: So I’m sorry, I couldn’t catch it in person when I taught it the year before my voice shook the entire time. Ah, I couldn’t regulate it. I was so nervous. So I like to keep it real like we it’s so fun. It’s not easy, you know, so I guess what I’m saying is if this hot mess express can do it Anybody else can too?

truly It’s affordable. I think it’s a wonderful program We have some amazing people helping us out like there’s a million to choose from there’s a million reasons to choose us and not to choose us Um, I would just ask that the people that are thinking about choosing us would want to make sure that they feel You They’re worth the commitment.

Yes.

Rachel: Yes. And I like that you said that they should come check out the space because I remember when I was there, it felt like my home away from home. Like, I was so comfortable there. We spent so much time there. But, um, it was definitely like, it felt like my second home for a little while, just because it was a regular, I was

Niki: always there.

Yeah. And you could show up, you, me, anybody. We meet ourselves on the mat. Day after day after day and we start to build the muscle of Meeting ourselves and whatever shit show we showed up with however many personalities are walking with us that day. Yes And we meet them anew every time so it’s kind of like a built in self acceptance practice in a way You meet your body your body’s limitations every day.

I always say in class We’re thankful for the level of abilities our bodies are showing up with today Yep. Because it’s different tomorrow. You’re absolutely right. I could go on forever. Like I have chill bumps. Like how many gifts has the practice, this space, Suzanne, building the space, how many gifts has it rippled out to the entire community?

Yes.

Rachel: Yes. You are right. And I think we could talk about this all day, but we’ll go ahead and wrap it up. Yeah. So what, um, if you had to leave the listeners with one final takeaway, whatever’s on your heart right now in this moment, without putting you on the spot, just if anything arises, what would you leave them with?

What would I leave them

Niki: with? You’re worth it. Show up, show up messy, show up anyway, but just show up and just keep doing that for yourself. First and foremost and the rest just starts to unfold and the universe explodes with potential and possibility. That’s it. I think that’s beautiful. Thank you so much for having me. This is good chatting.