"Continuously growing into the best expression of myself, through humility, joy, hardships, and laughter.” -Kelly Stern
I am a farmer. I am a yogi. I am a chef. I am an animal lover. I am a partner. I am a lover. I am a friend. My joy for understanding the body and its movement began at an early age. As a competitive gymnast, I learned about my own personal discipline, strength, and awareness. This passion continued beyond gymnastics to many other body-oriented activities such as dance and other performing arts. As a high school student, I was introduced to yoga. The love for yoga came naturally, as it shared many of the same qualities as my childhood activities. I practiced many styles of yoga over the years and knew this was something I wanted to KNOW more deeply. In 2007, I moved to Hawaii to complete a 9 week Bikram teacher training. This opened up many doors for me to travel around the world to share yoga and deepen my own exploration of myself. I continued my training in Bali in 2009, where I completed my 500hr advanced training certification with a foundation of Vinyasa, Astanga, Iyengar, and Jivamukti. I have worked with so many amazing teachers over the years that have brought me to where I am now and inspired me to find my own voice, such as David Swenson, Daniel Aaron, Nicki Doane, Simon Borg-Olivier, Edward Clark, Alanna Kaivalya, and many more.
After many years of traveling, I rooted myself on the island of Oahu, where I co-created the business Yogarden with my partner Paul Izak. Yogarden’s mission is to educate the community in the importance of growing your own food and living a healthy, sustainable lifestyle through the principles of yoga philosophy and organic farming techniques.
“Everyday I am a student. A student of Life. I’m beyond grateful for each lesson, for each opportunity for growth, and for all the love that is surrounding me and within me.” -Kelly Stern