Meet Kelly. Our amazing sober friend. We love how Sober Instagram is bringing us all the amazing people to join our community from all over the world. Alex and Kelly met through social media and that’s when the two connected and invited each others to their communities. Kelly was an inspiring guest on the Sober Yoga Girl Podcast, Ep Telling My Story Can Help Someone Else with Kelly Belew. She also recently started her Sober Curious Yoga Teacher Training with Alex. With all the amazing things she’s been doing, she was generous enough to take the time to answer our blog questions. Get to know our start for the week below….
Hi Kelly! Tell us a little bit about yourself! Who is Kelly?
Kelly: My name is Kelly and I’m a single mom of an 8 year old girl who’s my light. We live in Virginia with our dog, River. I’ve been sober for almost 1000 days (sober date 7/28/19) [congrats on passing your milestone!]. I founded East Coast Sober Squad in December 2020. It’s an amazing virtual community for women who want to be or are sober. Besides working within that platform and having a full time job, I also enjoy working out, reading, writing, yoga (obviously!), and spending time with my family.
How did you meet Alex or know about her?
Kelly: I found Alex on Instagram and discovered that many women in my East Coast Sober Squad community really loved her.
What’s your connection to the MLPC?
Kelly: I asked Alex to come speak with us and she did! Her down to earth demeanor and sweet personality won us over. She also asked me to be a guest on her podcast and I jumped at the opportunity.
Have you ever had any experience with yoga before joining the MLPC?
Kelly: I’ve always enjoyed yoga but didn’t really start a consistent practice until maybe in the last year. I started mostly with doing classes with free apps and YouTube but then decided to start practicing with the Mindful Life Practice. I love the class sizes and the tight knit community. Everyone is so nice and warm! Yoga and meditation play a big role in my sobriety and I feel like it could have the same impact with anyone on a sober path.
What inspired you to start practicing yoga?
Kelly: Self awareness and sitting with the present moment are integral to a successful sobriety and these are obviously imperative to a meditative yoga practice.
How did you end up being so committed to yoga?
Kelly: I love how it makes me feel spiritually, physically, and emotionally. I am at peace when I am in that moment and it’s time to myself to escape the outside chaos of the world.
Did you face any challenges during the month of April?
Kelly: A challenge for me this month has been just being very busy with my daughter’s spring break, Easter weekend activities, work and my social media endeavors (both personally and with East Coast Sober Squad). I am working actively this month to focus on recognizing the importance of taking time for myself without guilt, as well as knowing it’s not necessary to do all things. Everything cannot be a priority and I’m learning to let things go when I need to do so.
“I love the [MLPC] class sizes and the tight knit community. Everyone is so nice and warm!”
Kelly
What are the biggest benefits you’ve reaped from your yoga practice?
Kelly: The biggest benefit from yoga, for me, is the time it gives me to myself. To not think about anything else and to focus solely on my breath and the present moment. I constantly work on not worrying about the past or the future and yoga is helping me to hone in on this skill…with each class I take, I’m improving that skill.
What’s your favorite posture?
Kelly: My favorite poses are downward dog and pigeon!
What’s your most difficult posture?
Kelly: Balancing poses are a bit of a challenge but I’m getting better! One day I would love to be able to do more difficult poses, but I know it takes time!
Any words of wisdom to those just starting out?
Kelly: For those just starting out, I’d say that there is space for everyone in yoga. It’s not about “winning” or being “the best”. That’s what I love about yoga. We do what feels good to us as an individual. Every practice can be made into our own and still is beneficial.
Thank you Kelly for being our star on the blog this week! We’re so happy to have you as part of our community and good luck with everything. Catch Kelly in one of our awesome classes. Check out the schedule below
Appreciate your awesome time reading our blog. Have a question or comment? We have the perfect place for that below!
Until next time, may you all be safe, happy, healthy, and free.
Yasir