Background~

I have been a student of life doing my best to follow the non-linear path of passion, interest, intuition and adventure. I took my first yoga class at Findlay College as a freshman and that was the planting of a deep lifelong study and experience of the spiritual realms of life, of the unseen but felt. One of my most memorable classes at Findlay was a Woman’s study course. It opened my eyes, my heart and shifted who I was. It was the beginning of empowerment. I went on to received my BA in Psychology 1998 from Kent State University. I was invited to join a team of graduate students under the tutelage of Dr. Newburry in the research department of the Psychology School and from there was given numerous responsibilities. Our team traveled to multiple states sharing our research results in the field of psychoneuroimmunology and I became co-author of one of our studies and was published in The Psychological Record in 2001. At this time I was deeply swept away in motherhood and my days in the lab became a distant memory.

Motherhood introduced me to the natural world, the one where birthing is spiritual and honored. Where breastfeeding is a gift when one is able to do it. I found cooking and it became my art. The walk to the local health food store with my first son was our weekly way to get out of the house together. The bumps in the sidewalk a reminder of how bumby life was as a young mother without family close by. I navigated uncharted waters and simultaneously was thrown into the depths of the darkest current and also the deepest love I had ever known.

When I was 28 I became certified to teach yoga. The spiritual side of the practice spoke to my being in a way that nothing had in my life thus far. I soaked in it’s ecstasies. I revered every aspect and tapped into a well that was forever giving of itself, of its knowledge, of its depth. It began a 22 year dive into the unknown, the unseen, into personal experience and enriched every part of who I was. I came alive, breathe filled me and everything expanded. I noticed where the tightness came from, not the physical, but the personal constraints, where I held myself back, where I tried so hard without getting anywhere. I stepped outside of societies norms and took my first real breath.

I held my children in a love so deep that I would do anything for their wellbeing. And I know I didn’t do it perfectly because we can’t. I homeschooled my boys and we lived life’s uneven path all the way until they went to college. For 11 years I was the co-founder and administrator of FLOW - Free Learners on the Westside. It was a creative journey full of all that life offers us joy, creativity, defeat, fear, uncertainty and also deep connections, endless growth and the powerful teachings of what we can do in communal spaces. It wasn’t because of one of us, it was because of all of us. During these years teaching and experiencing yoga grew and deepened. It was threaded through and in between all areas in my life. My passion lead me closer to the Earth, the Great Mother and I explored backpacking, travel, adventure and the beautiful world of birds and writing.

In 2015 I began offering Yoga Teacher Training programs based in nature and founded Gathering Tree Yoga. I was also lead to explore meditation and became deeply involved with a yoga ashram for 8 years. During that time I took many advanced meditation and yoga programs and eventually traveled to India for a month to take an 8 day silence program in Tamil Nadu, India. I have not shied away from intense spiritual experiences and have been blessed to participate in Native American sweat lodges as well as other shamanistic practices. Native American spirituality has been deeply influenced my life and as a young adult I was swept away by the beauty of these teachings. In 2015 I was blessed to study under Cynthia Gale for two years who generously shared her knowledge and deeper knowing of the spirit world.

I became involved with the Save Soil conservation movement as was Regional outreach coordinator for two years. My love of birds has moved me into bird conservation and my work there is continuing to evolve as I help spread awareness about birds, migration and the environment.

I honor the sacredness of aging and offer spiritual practices that support our deepening wisdom, conscious ways of living and connection to Mother Earth. Drumming has been a part of my life since a dear friend offered me his drum to play in our monthly kirtan offerings around Cleveland which began in 2003. After being introduced to frame drumming I began to offer sacred song in community and as a part of spiritual ceremonies. I now lead regular offerings that bring us together in community song writing, drumming and sacred singing and as a way to shift our consciousness and connect us to our inherent right to be here.

I am a licenced Minister in the State of Ohio and hold wedding ceremonies for those I am close to.

I have been leading spiritual retreats for 10 years and write daily. Growth holds deep beauty, vulnerability and an uneven path. I look to each day and Mother Earth as a guide of where to step. I look forward to those I meet along the long winding road of life.

Spiritual offerings throughout the seasons~

Sacred Feminine Rhythm - A gathering connecting to the drum and its roots as a primordial feminine archetype, vocal toning, communal song writing, world rhythms and sacred song.

Guided birding hikes during migratory season

Writer and facilitator of poetry as a meditation

Earth-Centered ceremonial practices in community and individually - Welcoming new babies into the world through ceremony, wedding ceremonies, seasonal ceremonies & transitional times in life

Spiritual centered retreats and silence offerings

Weekly yoga classes at Cultivate Yoga Studio - a non-profit, gift based intentional community in Lakewood, Oh

Feminist offerings through various writers, excerpts, poetry and perspectives

Personal plant-based organic chef and cook for families, retreats and ceremonial gatherings

Psychology of the Archetypes through the energy systems of the body writer and facilitator based off of Jungian Psychology

“If I am ever not in awe, I have lost my way.” ~ Kimberly Urban Payne