Hidden Gems: Meet Kirstyn Rawlings of Move Your Wellness

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kirstyn Rawlings

Hi Kirstyn, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
“The biggest risk is not taking any risk.” – Mark Zuckerberg

They say that if you discover what truly ignites your passion and find a way to earn a living from it, you’ll never work a day in your life. This is what most people dream of, but how many people truly achieve this? I wanted to be one of those people making a career and business out of my passions. So, why was I not doing this? What was I waiting for? Why not me? The truth is, I stayed in a 20 year career because it was safe and I was too fearful to take action on turning my passion into my career. You can do and be anything you desire in life, but often, we are the ones who stand in our own way. We are afraid to take risks and stay in something that just doesn’t fit for far too long. I had been yearning to change this for years. But how? Sometimes, all you need is a little nudge. More on that later…

My true passions are in movement, adventure, and exploring the depths of all things wellness (with a touch of woo-woo, too!). I was also in pursuit of living a fiercely magical, authentic, and happy life.

Dance and movement had always been my world. From the age of three, I began formal dance training across various genres, performing and competing through high school. In 2010, I rekindled my love of dance when my friend asked me to take a pole dance class. From that very first class, I never stopped. I dedicated all my free time to this sport and art form, which opened doors to compete, perform, and teach around the world. It was during that time I fell deeply in love with travel. Travel broadened my perspective, taught me many lessons, and enriched my life with new experiences.

In 2017, I embarked on a transformative six-month solo adventure through Southeast Asia. While traveling, I wanted to see the world, not the inside of a dance studio, and began to practice a lot of yoga in breathtaking outdoor spaces. I was quickly romanced by yoga’s impact on my body, mind, and spirit. My dedication to yoga led me to India in 2019, where I earned my 200-hour certification in Hatha and Vinyasa.

To close out that impressionable decade of exploration and discovery, in December 2019, I had a chance encounter that changed my life. For years, I had been trying to meet with an intuitive in the healing arts space who went by the name “La Doctora” in Mexico City. One day, our schedules finally aligned to meet. After a brief conversation in my broken Spanish, she began to lead me through a series of breath patterns.

I had no idea what was going on, but I leaned into the experience and went with it. After about 15 minutes, crazy things started to happen to me. My body was buzzing. My hands writhed into gang signs. Visions of memories past came flooding back in technicolor on my brain’s movie screen. Pings fired throughout my body. The things that were pouring out of my pursed lips shocked me. I cried and I laughed. At the end of the session, I was on another planet. I felt fantastic and had tremendous clarity. I felt lighter from releasing so much. Unbeknownst to me, I had just experienced my first breathwork.

For days to follow, I couldn’t think of much else but that session. My mind was blown that I experienced all this with just my breath. I was hooked and vowed to explore this modality more. Breathwork lingered in the rafters of my mind for years.

Fast forward to early 2023 and I found myself laid off from my remote corporate job. Once the dust settled from losing my job (and quite frankly, shedding an identity), I realized how burnt out I had become from two decades of a fast-paced, ladder climbing career. I found myself with no job, finite savings, and no desire to go back into corporate. Probably sounds like an all too familiar situation for many people. At the time, I was living in Costa Rica and moving back to the United States was not an option. I sat with this predicament for days. I thought, “What should I do?” Then one day, an email came in my inbox from Pause Breathwork for a free group breathwork session. At the end of the session, they announced dates for an upcoming facilitator training. I immediately registered.

In preparation for the facilitator training to begin, I began doing breathwork on a regular basis. With each session, I gained more clarity on the question of “What should I do?” I was quite literally breathing life into my vision. It became abundantly clear that every experience in my life had been guiding me to this very moment. It was through the practice of breathwork I felt empowered and finally built up enough courage to bet on myself. Now was my chance to create something rooted in my passions to help me live a life of greater fulfillment and impact. I let my dreams craft how to share my passions of movement, adventure, and wellness in community with others. My goal was to help inspire others to move their wellness through yoga & dance, breathwork, and adventure-filled immersive retreats.

Move Your Wellness was born.

Moving your wellness is about taking control of your life, making intentional choices that align with your highest good. It’s not just about physical movement, although that’s a big part of it. It’s about moving your mindset, shifting your energy, and embracing the power you have to create change in your life. Wellness is holistic—it’s how you feed your mind, nourish your spirit, and honor your body. Every small step you take in your wellness journey is a powerful act of self-love, and when you commit to that, you’re not just moving your body, you’re moving your whole life in the direction of greater health, happiness, and fulfillment. My mission with Move Your Wellness is to feel good and help others do the same – one move at a time!

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
To me, obstacles are either a lesson, a redirection, or both!

The universe continuously conspired to redirect me towards my true purpose by eliminating multiple unaligned jobs through acquisitions, layoffs, closures, and the pandemic. Even with all the constant redirection, I kept clinging to what felt ‘safe’ in my career and ultimately going back into the next unfulfilling job. When my last job ended in 2023, I finally listened to the lessons that kept showing up for me and chose a different path. It was then I enrolled in the breathwork program, started teaching yoga, began ideating my first retreat, and started Move Your Wellness. My new path was flowing effortlessly. Why? Because I finally started living my truth. When we align ourselves with our authentic path, everything conspires to help us, guide us, and to support us every step of the way.

And, let’s be honest — oftentimes, the biggest obstacle in our lives is ourselves. It’s a truth that many of us grapple with but seldom talk about openly. We often think that external factors are the main hurdles standing in our way. But the reality is, many times, we are the ones holding ourselves back. We create our own barriers with limiting beliefs, fears, and insecurities. These self-imposed obstacles can be so powerful that they prevent us from stepping into our fullest potential. We let past failures dictate our future possibilities. We cling to the familiar because it feels safe, even if it’s unfulfilling. ←This was me!

Recognizing that we are the ones holding the keys to our own freedom is empowering. We can challenge those limiting beliefs, confront our fears, and take brave steps towards our true desires. It requires a deep honesty with ourselves, a willingness to face our inner critics, and the courage to push beyond our comfort zones. When we begin to dismantle those self-created barriers, opportunities that once seemed out of reach become attainable and we find that we are capable of achieving far more than we ever imagined.

Do you know what helps overcome a lot of these things and allow us to discover who we truly are?

Breathwork.

Do you know what else helps?

A trip to Costa Rica with a Move Your Soul retreat (where we do a lot of breathwork!).

As you know, we’re big fans of Move Your Wellness. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Move Your Wellness encapsulates a host of aligned wellness products, movement classes, breathwork sessions, and transformative retreats, all designed to nourish your body, mind, and soul. At the heart of Move Your Wellness are products I personally use and passionately endorse, including LumiVitate, Shaklee, Beautycounter (returning this fall!), and Rootless.

The Move Your Wellness is built on three core pillars:

*Move Your Body: Grounded in Hatha and Vinyasa yoga, as well as dance instruction, this pillar encourages vibrant physical movement and flexibility, helping to strengthen the body/mind connection.

*Move Your Breath: Offering both private and group breathwork sessions, this pillar is designed to help you tap into the healing power of your breath, fostering inner peace and transformation.

*Move Your Soul: Features transformative adventure retreats in Costa Rica, where you can rejuvenate and inspire your mind, body, and spirit through immersive experiences.

While I prefer in-person experiences, most of my movement and breathwork offerings are currently available online, ensuring they’re accessible to everyone. When I’m on the road, I love to connect with local communities. This 2024 fall, I’m excited to be on a “breathwork tour,” bringing group breathwork experiences to major cities across the US and Canada.

My absolute favorite offering is the Move Your Soul retreat in the breathtaking Playa Avellana, Costa Rica. This retreat is a beautiful fusion of yoga, breathwork, and deeply soul-moving activities like floating sound baths, cacao ceremonies, beach cleanups, surfing, sailing, stunning sunsets, and so much more. The next Move Your Soul retreat is scheduled for December 2-8, 2024, with more dates to come.

As a special gift, I’m excited to offer Voyage readers $200 off a Move Your Soul retreat! Reservations are made through a discovery call, which you can schedule via my website.

For more information on any of these offerings or just to connect, please visit my website. I look forward to connecting with you!

Are there any apps, books, podcasts, blogs or other resources you think our readers should check out?
Books:
The Mountain Is You by Brianna Wiest
You Are a Badass by Jen Sincero
Women Who Run with the Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estes
The Untethered Soul by Michael Singer
The Four Agreements by Miguel Ruiz

Podcasts:
The Owaken Podcast
Aubrey Marcus Podcast
Highest Self Podcast with Sahara Rose
Why Isn’t Everyone Doing This? with Emily Fletcher
Heal Thy Self with Dr. G
And of course… Huberman Lab

Some fave quotes I live by:
“Nothing is softer or more flexible than water, yet nothing can resist it” – Lao Tzu
“Whatever is meant for you will not miss you” – Unknown

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.moveyourwellness.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/moveyourwellness
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/moveyourwellnessnow

Image Credits
Photo Credit: Lena Galasko
@lenagalaskophotography
www.lenagalaskophotography.com

Photo Credit: Clay McCutcheon
@walkonwateradventures
www.walkonwateradventures.com

Photo Credit: Don Curry
@donqphotography
https://www.donqphotography.com/