About Our Founder:
Painter, harmonium teacher, & yoga somatics educator, Catiebelle leads group trainings & retreats on the power of vocal expression, body acceptance, & re-weaving creativity & intentionality into our every day lives. Her teachings blend the practices of traditional yogic philosophy with modern, trauma-informed self care. A passionate bhakti yogi & kirtan leader, all of her classes include some form of sacred sound & it’s ability to return us to our inner reservoirs of joy. Catiebelle has 900+ hours of certified training in yoga methodology & makes frequent pilgrimages to India to nurture her continued study.
Catiebelle started caring immensely about unexpected things at a very early age. A vegetarian since 11, animal welfare and ecological conservation has always been near and dear to her heart. This compassion most likely stemmed from growing up as an only child on a small ahimsa (non-harming) farm in NE Pennsylvania, catching salamanders, being chased by chickens, and spending many afternoons in the lake or pine grove.
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Catiebelle came to yoga through a 10-day silent Vipassana Meditation with teacher Anthony Markwell in Koh Phangan, Thailand, which revealed how little freedom she truly had from the dictatorship of her mind. From there, she dove head-first into a daily yoga practice, studying in Portland Oregon with Michele Loew of The Yoga Space (200hr), and with Sarah Robinette of The People’s Yoga (100hr). In 2018 Catiebelle travelled to India for a 10-week advanced studies immersion program at Vinyasa Yoga School (500hr), along the banks of the Ganga River and the foothills of the Himalayas in the sacred city of Rishikesh. In 2019 she spent another 6 weeks in India studying Kirtan & Bhakti Yoga (100hr) under Raghunath Cappo & Madhuri Pura Das at Radhanath Swami’s world renowned Govardhan Ecovillage. Her education has also been greatly influenced by the Sutra teachings of Bhavani Maki, the Gita teachings of Ram Dass, the Subtle Body teachings of Tias Little, the Restorative teachings of Judith Hanson Lasater, and the heartfelt Mantra of Krishna Das, as well as other teachers along the way: Edwin Bryant, Zoe Slatoff, Ramesh Bjonnes, Janet Stone, Kaya Mindlin, Dayal Gauranga, Vineet Chander, Marcy Braverman, Daniel Simpson, Yogi Simon Gill, Rush Dorsett, Shanon Kaiser, & Janne Robinson.
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An eternally eager student of multiple disciplines, Catiebelle is an embodied educator blending the practices of traditional yoga, Vedic philosophy, and Hindu mysticism, with self-care, mindfulness, trauma-awareness, intergenerational-patterning, and social activism. Catiebelle speaks around the world, advocating for body acceptance, female empowerment, and the importance of re-weaving connection to the Divine into our every day lives. Catiebelle’s raw and authentic teaching style has been shaped by her experiences of getting sober of alcohol, recovering from disordered eating and bulimia, being a vegetarian of 20+ years, liberating herself from codependent relationships, and stepping away from a successful career in corporate-America that championed chronic overwork and stress.
Her teaching is always playful, unexpected, and down to earth, sprinkled with absurd stories and personal insights. The goal of her teaching is to help facilitate community spaces where others can feel good in their bodies, feel safe to be seen and heard for who they truly are, and feel inspired to re-write their norm and create deep inner paradigm shifts. She is dedicated to rocking the boat of broken systems that keep us asleep, and to platforming those voices who’s mission it is to liberate.
As a queer Chinese American Womxn and grandchild of immigrants, Catiebelle is becoming a leading voice on intersectional identity in 21st century yoga. She is committed to creating a platform for more diverse voices in the yoga, wellness, and self-help industry. Catiebelle uses her spotlight to highlight the work of others - featuring a wide array of teachers, healers, and activists in her programs and retreats - and to talk about difficult topics like intersectionality, cultural appropriation, racism, sizeism, inequality of access to health services and more. She hopes to spend even more time in 2023 listening to and uplifting voices that are chronically + systemically overlooked.
More personally, Catiebelle is happiest when living out of a back pack in a far off land, singing around a campfire, upside down in acro yoga, gliding across a lake on her SUP, cycling around town, painting large scale butterflies, throwing pottery at a wheel, chanting kirtan on a mountain top, and plotting ways to change the world from her favorite table at the local coffeeshop.
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In 2023 she is exploring the important role of Death Doula, inspired by her caretaking role with her Father who has had a 10-year relationship with Parkinsons. This year, she hopes to focus on shifting her community's perception of death, practicing deep listening, and learning how to compassionately help others create legacy stories and passing rituals, while meeting grief with whole-heartedness and presence.
Beyond the world of yoga, Catiebelle has always had a flair for creative expression, loving to have paint on her jeans and under her finger nails. She received her BFA in Illustration, an MFA in Advertising Design, and went on to spend over a decade on creative teams working with national brands such as Crayola, Kashi, Procter & Gamble, and Kellogg’s. She spent 3 years as a University Professor at the Art Institute of Portland, instructing BFA students in 11-week courses including Art Direction, Publication Design, Illustration, Collateral Advertising, Rapid Visualization, & Corporate Identity. During her time at AI, Catiebelle fell in love with the craft of teaching and guiding students to their life’s purpose — so much so that she stepped away from the corporate world to dedicate her energy to serving others on their journey home to their own hearts and unique dharma.
Currently, Catiebelle is a commissioned painter of large scale butterflies. She also offers her freelance services to small wellness businesses as a branding, illustration, and design consultant – seeing projects from logo, business card, website, marketing collateral, and copywriting, through to launch and platform management. Catiebelle always enjoys working with small, fearlessly creative teams who lead with their hearts and are passionate about making the world a better place.
