It was October of 2010 when Keeley took her first Yoga breath.
If the journey of a thousand miles does begin with one single step, then I suppose my pivotal single step began with a retail store in West Suburban Illinois.
During my mid-twenties, I began working for the yoga-inspired apparel company, lululemon athletica. With prior and successful retail management experience, I knew I would enjoy the professional role and the company culture. However, I was unaware of the transformative, quarter-life Soul Journey on which I was embarking. Immersing myself in team leadership and devoted brand enthusiasm, I quickly became interested in the practice of yoga. I had always felt connected to my spirituality, and was conscientious of health and wellness. Yoga seemed a natural extension of these traits. As a result, a to-be-expected physical metamorphosis was accompanied by the most gratifying and visceral sense of: physiological awareness, peace, calm, and clarity. I witnessed both my body and mind connect to my most balanced being. I noticed as my 20-something-self got centered, and I felt self reflective and free. This culminated into a permanent spiritual shift. I understood the power of yoga because I had experienced it firsthand. I uncovered something too important to keep to myself. Yoga turned from hobby to ritual. From then on, I knew this was a practice I wanted to pay forward. And so it began. |
It was October of 2013 when Keeley began searching for a deeper connection to her profession.
At work, I was stuck. I was following a path, but felt oddly restless. I wasn’t having an identity crisis, but I knew I needed to make a transition from retail management to... where?
Something was missing. I didn’t have the answers, but I began with a question that changed my life:
Something was missing. I didn’t have the answers, but I began with a question that changed my life:
If not this...then what?
Wasting no time, I hired a life coach, became a dedicated and personal mentee of notable Yoga Therapist, Laura Jane Mellencamp-Murphy, and set out on a voyage to fuse everything I knew I loved about yoga, and everything I had yet to discover about yoga.
Over the span of the following two years - and in the midst of getting engaged, married and relocating one thousand miles away with my new husband - I logged hundreds of hours of Yoga Alliance training, yoga teaching, and goal coaching. I have held yoga teaching positions in fitness and wellness group settings, hospitals, and served clients one-on-one.
Today, I work alongside dedicated clients to heal and strengthen their body, mind, and emotional wellbeing.
Over the span of the following two years - and in the midst of getting engaged, married and relocating one thousand miles away with my new husband - I logged hundreds of hours of Yoga Alliance training, yoga teaching, and goal coaching. I have held yoga teaching positions in fitness and wellness group settings, hospitals, and served clients one-on-one.
Today, I work alongside dedicated clients to heal and strengthen their body, mind, and emotional wellbeing.
And in 2019, that’s how my passion meets my purpose.
Keeley Michael is a C-IAYT 1,000-hr Yoga Therapist. She has been a committed practitioner of yoga since 2010 and has dedicatedly studied under Yoga Therapist, Laura Jane Mellencamp-Murphy, since 2013. Keeley has served clients one-on-one using yoga as therapy for Dan’s House of Hope in Houston, TX and started a yoga therapy program at MU Health Care in Columbia, MO. Currently, she serves patients through UAB's Integrative Medicine Clinic and as Founder of Keeley Michael Yoga in Birmingham, AL.
