my epic, squiggly journey
A white settler, I was raised on the southern banks of the Patawomeck (Potomac) River, in the orbit of Washington, DC. Now connected to different people and places, I am grateful to call Virginia, O'ahu, and Siʔal (Seattle) home.
A seeker and forever student, I treasure and transmit the teachings of several schools, including yoga, circle facilitation, public health, and ʻāina (n. land, that which feeds).
A dear friend once described me as a person of many rivers that flow into one ocean of love and service. In that spirit, I’ll invite you to read about some of my rivers of inspired work:
photo credit: mahinahoku
-
I was introduced to postural yoga as a teenager, sweating alongside adults in rec center basements and mirrored gym studios. Over the past 15 years, my relationship to yoga has changed, as I have changed, too. I still appreciate the focus on the physical body. I’ve also committed to learning about the different genealogies and practices within this ecosystem of Indigenous wisdom.
I was first drawn to yoga out of curiosity. I stayed to heal my relationship with my body-mind. And I envision that yoga continues to (re)build communities and repair relationships with land and non-human kin.
My current sweet spot is leading quiet, contemplative classes in the yin and restorative styles. My approach to space-holding is rooted in and guided by land, embraces a trauma-informed praxis, and strives to be inclusive and responsive to as many bodies as possible.
-
I am an introvert and a highly sensitive person. I was also a deeply shy child and remained terrified of speaking in front of people well into my 20s. Always an avid reader and strong writer, it’s taken years for the written and the verbal to reunite, and to share with a group without scripting every sentence.
One of the most powerful experiences and roles I hold is that of pilina circle facilitator. I facilitate group conversations uplifting identity, land, and Indigeneity in Hawai’i. Along with teachers and friends including Dr. Kaiwipunikauikawēkiu Punihei Lipe Dr. Kawehionālani Goto, and Makanalani Gomes, we have shared a transformative place-based curriculum with hundreds of members of the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa community.
Everywhere I go, I seek to create welcoming and engaging spaces, where people feel able to show up as they are and look forward to being together. I believe that speaking our truths, sharing our stories, and listening deeply is among the most healing and sacred work we can do.
-
I resonate deeply with the ‘Ōlelo No’eau (Hawaiian proverb or poetical saying) ’A’ohe pau ka ‘ike i ka hālau ho’okahi (Not all knowledge is taught in one school). A seeker and forever student, I treasure and transmit the teachings of several schools, including yoga, circle facilitation, public health, and ʻāina.
I am a RYT-500, with 15 years of practice, 600 hours of training, and 2 years of full-time teaching experience. Some of my beloved yoga teachers include Susanna Barkataki, Linda Lopes, Hien Hong, Sarah Hyde, Faith Macauley, Travis Ka’eo, and Nicole Merat.
My connection to Hawai’i and Native lifeways deeply informs my teaching. My understanding of ʻāina, kuleana, pilina, aloha, and genealogy will be forever shaped by the leadership of Punihei Lipe and the Hawai’i Papa O ke Ao team. I am a student of Norma Ryūkō Kawelokū Wong Roshi (Kumu Norma) and a far flung sangha of applied practitioners of Zen and Indigenous teachings. I am also a (very) beginner Twulshootseed learner, as I look to deepen my relationship with the people and lands of Puget Sound.
I hold a Master of Public Health from the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa. I spent over 10 years working in the global health and reproductive justice field, where I cultivated many of the communications, facilitation, and relationship-building skills that enliven and support my work today.
some FAQs
-
I hold teaching and spaceholding as soul activism and sacred duty. I choose this work as it chooses me. While I hope that yoga offerings continue to evolve to center a social justice lens, this is not the norm as I’ve yet experienced. I uplift yoga as Indigenous knowledge & praxis that is in conversation with the Native lands and lifeways we rely upon.
Yoga offers a living practice space to embody our commitments to ourselves and others. In a context of rising genocide, fascism, and political violence, yoga invites us to feel for freedom and wholeness of the mind and soul. This path (re)builds communities and systems of care and mutuality.
-
I teach weekly classes in downtown and west Seattle. Like many yoga guides, my schedule is often evolving. Please click here for my most up to date schedule, and follow me on IG @kateypeck.
I am also available for private and small group sessions. Send me a message to get the conversation started! -
Every yoga asana class I offer invites connection to the multifaceted path of yogic experience. Beyond the physical postures. pranayam (breathwork), awareness & concentration practices, and philosophy are mainstays.
Expect plenty of time and space to settle in, kind and intentional movement, and classes themed to the season and moment.
-
Collective liberation refers to the innate interdependence of our lives and our thriving. “Nobody’s free until everybody’s free” – Fannie Lou Hamer. It recognizes and organizes around our shared humanity to dismantle the interconnected systems of oppression that ultimately harm all peoples, places, and beings.
Not a new concept, but rather an evolving framework, collective liberation weaves together thinking and practice from Black, Brown, and allied activists spanning generations, including Paulo Freire, bell hooks, Audre Lorde, Chris Crass, and Micah Bazant.
Yoga (योग) comes from the root yuj (युज्), which can be translated as to join, unite, or yoke. While not connected to a single religion, yoga is a path of inquiry that invites us to connect deeply to ourselves, other people, land, and the energy of the universe (creator, divinity, nature, or whatever that means to you).
With oneness at the root, yoga demands that we hold both the self and the whole all at once. Yoga offers a living practice space to embody our commitments to social justice. If you’re wanting to learn more about the connections between yoga and social justice, check out the work of my teacher Susanna Barkataki.