15. Living Liberated
Kennae Miller (she/her) was born in Frankfurt, Germany in a strong military family and was raised on Arapaho and Cheyenne Indigenous land (now known as Colorado Springs, CO) where her father completed his military career and her family planted their roots. While living in Colorado and being exposed to many different experiences and forms of art she discovered yoga as a junior in high school. Initially lured by the invitation of a free class for relaxation as she navigated her teenage years she enjoyed the calmness of mind a yoga practice provided for her. It was only after the beginning of her parent’s difficult divorce was she able to observe and benefit in different aspects of life, from focus to self-inquisition, stemming from a yoga practice. Kennae credits the practice of yoga as the only place she could go to just be herself and relax her mind.
In Spring 2005 she enlisted in the United States Air Force Reserves and as she traveled around the country, found stability in continuing her yoga practice. As Kennae approached motherhood in 2012, she dreamed of having more freedom outside of wearing a uniform where her individuality and desire to serve others could be of better use. She recalls in 2013 Tweeting, that she would become a Yoga Instructor and own a yoga studio. In 2015 she completed her first Yoga Alliance compliant 200-hour teacher training at Hawaii Yoga Institute on the island of O’ahu, Honolulu, Hawaii. She has since furthered her knowledge base by training with Dr. Gail Parker on Restorative Yoga for Race-Based Trauma Injury, Gentle Yoga, Restorative Yoga, Yoga Nidra with Tracee Stanley and Chanti Tacoronte-Perez, and Reiki. She has also attended CTZN Summit and Wanderlust Wellspring with Kerri Kelly, Seane Corn, Michelle Cassandra Johnson, Rev. Angel Kyodo Williams, and Marianne Williamson and Tracee Stanley, which bridges the wellness world and activism.
As a yoga instructor or what Kennae likes to call ‘Space holding’, she enjoys sharing her truth, of difficulties and triumphs, and what she has learned on her journey to hold space and encourage others along their journey. Kennae believes as she continues to grow as an individual through her personal practice, she has been able to learn and experience more of all yoga as to offer. Her goal now is liberation and to become a good ancestor by holding sacred and brave space for others to reconnect with their truth and live it daily on and off their yoga mat to transform their lives and thus the world around them.
Kennae is a giver that enjoys pouring back into people and the community through her time, talents, and skills. Because of this Kennae is a strong believer in connecting with nature through urban farming, reconnecting with ancestral and cultural practices, community skills classes and yoga experiences for each individual. In the future, Kennae strives to further her training to better serve the members of her community through the use of Yoga Therapy, Ayurveda, essential oils, Reiki, and other holistic healing therapies. Kennae is the founder of Transformation Yoga, a community of yogis utilizing tools of yoga and meditation to serve marginalized, underserved, and underrepresented communities in (Kusso land) South Carolina with a framework of anti-racism and oppression and the reduction of harm. Kennae is also the co-founder of Enough, where inclusively they bridge yoga, racial and social justice together to provide funding and awareness to local issues and grassroots organizations owned and led by BPOC. Transformation Yoga Studio opened in December 2019 to provide a home and brave space for healing and transformative work on a person, community and collective level.
In this very special episode Kennae and I talk about:
Living Liberated
Modeling Liberation for Others
Control vs. Liberation
Embodying Liberation
Paying homage to the Ancestors
What it Means to be a Living Ancestor
The Meaning of Yoga
Transformation Yoga
Prioritizing Healing and Self-Care
The Power of Journaling
Cancel Culture
Warriorship
You can connect with Kennae Miller online at transformationyogasc.com or on Instagram @transformationyogasc
Enjoy the episode!
Podcast music by Charles Kurtz