I AM Mari Gisele
It took me a while to figure out WHO I AM. And I am feeling more aligned than ever.
It’s a pleasure to meet you…or see you again <3
Welcome to the site that all encompasses my passions and projects. Where my offerings of Yoga and Music merge. The home base to all that is….my art in sound and motion.
When I first thought about stepping out of a full time job with security and into this work full time with my full heart; I’ll admit my fear levels were high….as were my husband’s. Thoughts of failure flickered through like trailers to featured films in my head; and yet the main production continued to be exactly this: No matter where I’ve gone in life, I keep coming back to these two passions. And through them, I’ve been able to help people heal.
I’ve written songs for friends in high school, yelling out our angst to the tunes. Felt my heart heal after breakups with the catharsis of melancholy love songs. Fell in love for the first time to Connor Oberst singing “First Day of My Life”. Brandi Carlile’s ’The Eye’ was my anthem when I found my rock bottom. When I got sober and graduated from a treatment center, my song of choice was “Don’t Give Up On Me” by Lissie (her version of Pursuit of Happiness totally rocks BTW…)
Yoga found me when I was at my most awkward point in life. Struggling to feel comfortable in a quickly growing body, it helped me access a place of peace I had no other way of tapping into. I was in high school when I took my first class at our local YMCA. Thinking it would be calm and peaceful, I remember my thighs burning like hell and strangely feeling addicted to the feeling in the resting pose at the end.
By the time I was 17 I struggled with my body image and sense of belonging so much I ended up in my second round of Eating Disorder treatment. A local yoga teacher would come and give us restorative sessions, and I remember thinking ‘if she can help me feel like this, I want to help other people feel like this”.
Between music and yoga, the two have saved me time and time again.
Already I’m finding sign after sign, and synchronicity after synchronicity that this was epically the right choice. To embrace what I feel called on this earth to do and give my offerings some real focus and attention. Already I’m witnessing a 1:1 student thriving after only three weeks of sessions together; surpassing her goals of regaining strength and mobility tenfold. Exploring the expansion of the prenatal yoga program here in town to have a mama-baby class to attend postpartum. Venturing into the real possibility of bringing yoga into our schools here.
What I’m most excited about in this recent transition is my ability to be radically more present for our rapidly growing kids….the cliche “can’t pour from an empty cup” is nothing to scoff at. Burnout is real. Refusing to acknowledge your needs only exacerbates the mess you’ll be cleaning up later.
So I’m here to offer alternative healing modalities to the status quo.
We’re all seeking alignment. Our bodies are constantly seeking homeostasis. Balance. And that looks very different from person to person, changing constantly. What I’ve found through a consistent yoga practice going on 12 years and a love of music over a lifetime is a sense of belonging as I keep coming home to myself. Keep saying yes to what feels in alignment with my truth, my goals and an my ability to spread the love of intuitively guided, deeply engaging, artistically curated movements….the love of coming home to yourself.
One of my favorite sayings, is ‘always a student before a teacher’… and I intend to hold myself to this standard. Even with feeling like I’m sure in myself and what I have to offer, I’m continuously ’Finding Mari’ every day. Always learning new things about this world we live in. New ways to speak up and use my voice as an active participant in humanity as we all seek balance in the larger sense. New ways to flow, strengthen, BREATHE. I am constantly in awe of the human body, and the human existence in general. The amount of functions beneath the skin conducting without a single formed thought about it.
The music I play and the sequences I journey through are an ever woven patchwork quilt of past experiences, future longings, other teachers, friends, mentors, poets, songwriters, hopes and dreams and calls for guidance. My curiosity towards life fuels the work I put out.
I Hope you always Stay Curious
Mari Gisele
