“Become aware of your body as the manifestation of your own spirit. You will be able to read your own body like a scripture.”

— Caroline Myss, PhD

Hi, I’m Sam, the Founder of Midwestern Yogi. Thanks for being here, I’m stoked to be on this journey together.

My story with yoga started to unfold when I was in high school as a tri-sport athlete living as a neighbor to the owner of the only yoga studio in town - Harmony Yoga in Ohio. At 15 years old, I certainly wasn’t focused on achieving any sense of mental tranquility; I cared more about that ‘yoga high’ after a 6am hot class or that leg-quivering warm restorative flow that left my body tingling. I enjoyed challenging my body in a way that didn’t feel competitive. I loved completely sweating through my yoga top and leggings. I loved breathing in a room full of strangers with all different bodies, synchronizing our movements.

I remember laying in savasana, class after class, being flooded with images of teaching healing practices like these ones. I loved the idea of curating the vibe and space for magic to happen.

But at 18, I went to attend a small private Lutheran college in Indiana for International Business and Spanish with a minor in Mandarin. Leaving everyone and everything I knew was something I wanted, but the format of our education system wasn’t all that inspiring to me; what I really craved was travel and yoga.

My intentions were true, but the pressure of society and my family to ‘go to college’ and ‘get a good job’ ultimately took precedence. Within my first year of college, I already felt like I just was trying to keep my head above water. Not because school was difficult, but because I felt severely misplaced. I wasn’t religious and definitely didn’t have a small personality. Yoga pulled so hard at my heart strings and this is really where, after 3 years of physical asana, my practice turned intensely inward ~

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I would spend long nights at the library reading philosophy in Spanish, have long meditations/practices in the hall and taught myself ukulele.

Although I self-secluded because I was confused about what I was doing with my life and who I was becoming, I choose to look back on this time as a much needed reflection period.

And knowing I needed a reason to encourage myself on the college route to please my family, I booked myself to attend a 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training in Costa Rica directly after my first year was finished.

So in June 2017, at 18, I jetted off to this tropical paradise to get certified in my most favorite activity in the world with 13 other wonderful women doing the same. Our one-month training was intense and exactly what I yearned for. Every day and thought was focused around yoga philosophy, the physical practice, and mental discipline.

I finally started to feel like I was floating instead of floundering.

It was also here that I surfed for the first time, planting the seed for yet another one of my favorite hobbies. And naturally, I fell in love with the fact that everyday was a free lesson in Spanish, it just being a part of the everyday routine rather than a forced event. And with all this inspiration, I hit the ground running when I came home, teaching free yoga classes wherever and whenever I could to my community, talking only about how great life was, and just feeling like a big bright ball of wonderful.

But shortly after returning, I began to realize how negative people were as a default or simply because it’s easier to joke about how life sucks rather than analyze how to make it better.

Now, I realize this was me not knowing how to re-integrate into everyday life in the U.S. after a super magical experience in Costa Rica; reverse culture-shock if you will.

I continued to teach yoga as much as possible, started a yoga organization at my college, and got connected with the local studio, but I fell into a deep depression having realized I was involved in toxic relationships and not living out my purpose. This resorted in poor self-care; there was one month I didn’t even shower and my hair was starting to dread (and not the pretty kind). I turned from this super outgoing blondie to a sad caged bird, wishing I could use my wings to fly away - identity crisis.

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This depression was the perfect catalyst for change.

I transferred home to Cleveland State University for one more semester and then had the best summer of my life, meeting the most inspiring group of people to encourage me to chase my wild dreams. So I dropped out of CSU and for New Years 2019, went to Thailand with two of these newfound friends to get Thai Massage Certified. I completed the course, lived in Thailand for one month, then jetted back off to Costa Rica to surf and speak Spanish - yogi style. I ended up meeting a Psychiatrist and working as a neurofeedback technician for the next year and a half, earning a living remote… a story for another time. Then, Covid hit.

I returned back to school online and finished my Bachelor’s in 2 years. The reason I went back to college was because I had a boyfriend while living in Costa Rica during quarantine and realized that education is actually a huge privilege. My boyfriend at the time was from Nicaragua and didn’t speak any English, he also couldn’t read Spanish because he had to drop out of school in the 3rd grade so he could harvest crops so that his family could eat for the day. This life story of his sobered me up and I returned to America with a fresh perspective. Instead of seeing all the bad,

I was feeling grateful for the opportunities we have here to be and become whoever it is that we want and need to be.

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All my traveling and bouncing around didn’t convince me yoga was that profitable. After college I took a full-time role in Industrial Sales ~ forklifts baby, to go and make some money. Now that I got to live the full-time hippie and full-time corporate life, my dream is to find a happy medium. And through all these ebbs & flows of life, yoga has remained my constant.

Midwestern Yogi because I’m not a full Eastern yogi, nor a full Western yogi - somewhere in the middle; Mid-Western, and I happen to be from the Midwest.

Midwestern Yogi because my vision is to grow the brand beyond myself - to include other amazing individuals that share the same simple mission: to make yoga available to every body.

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So why Midwestern Yogi?

It took me 10 years to realize & be ready to take yoga as a career seriously…

“The best time to plant a tree was 10 years ago, the next best time is now” - Chinese Proverb

I currently reside in Pittsburgh, PA and when I’m not slanging forklifts, I’m working on my YouTube Channel, building the Midwestern Yogi brand, and hanging out with my loved ones. I love sparking my creativity through reading/writing, practicing yoga to a bomb playlist, making music, hiking, and meditating in the sun. I believe yoga is a lifelong journey that has the power to transform us as our guide to tune in with who we really are at our core through discipline, gratitude, and consistency.

I look forward to connecting more on our journeys together to inspire & empower one another!

All my love,

SAM’S EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE:

☀ Certified Yoga Instructor YTT (200-Hour Course Study) in Hatha, Vinyasa and Yoga Philosophy - Sadhana Yoga School, Playa Grande, Costa Rica (2017)

☀ Certified in Thai Massage (50-Hour Course Study) - Aree’s Traditional Thai Massage, Chiang Mai, Thailand (2019)

☀ Neurofeedback Therapy Technician (1.5 Year Study) - Myneurva, Costa Rica + Remote (2019-2020)

☀ Certified in Yin Yoga (50-Hour Course Study) - Loka Yoga School, Remote (2020)

☀ Continuing Education in Dharma Yoga (50-Hour Course Study) - Dharma Yoga Center, NYC, New York (2022)

  • A Young Sam ~ 2002

  • Tri-Sport Yogi ~ 2015

  • Thai Massage ~ 2019

  • Om Sat Nam

  • Envision Yoga/Music Festival ~ 2020

  • Performing Thai Massage in Studio ~ 2021

    Performing Thai Massage in Studio ~ 2021

  • Teaching Yoga at Harmony ~ 2022

  • Teaching Yoga at my high school Alma Mater ~ 2023