Life & Work with Kenny Mayo Imery of Culver City

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kenny Mayo Imery.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
My journey has been shaped by a lifelong search for belonging. I immigrated from El Salvador to the U.S. at eleven, navigating a new language, culture, and identity while quietly carrying the weight of being undocumented. Early on, I learned to adapt, to perform, and to earn safety and love through achievement and people-pleasing.

For years, that pattern followed me into my relationships and adult life. On the outside, I looked successful. On the inside, I was disconnected from my body and my truth. A painful heartbreak and the breakup of my core friend group became turning points that forced me to finally slow down and choose myself.

That moment pushed me deeper into therapy, yoga, and meditation. What started as coping tools became a way of living. Yoga reconnected me to my body, meditation taught me how to sit with myself, and together they helped me rebuild trust in my intuition and worth. Healing stopped being about fixing myself and became about remembering who I am.

Teaching yoga and meditation felt like a natural next step. It gave me a way to turn my personal healing into something shared and meaningful. Rising Dharma was born from that place, as a space rooted in presence, self-trust, and compassion. Everything I do now is about helping people come back home to themselves, just as I learned to do.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Not at all. My path has been messy, painful, and full of hard lessons. Growing up as an immigrant meant learning very early how to adapt, stay quiet, and work twice as hard to feel safe and accepted. I internalized a lot of self-limiting beliefs as a kid: that my needs were too much, that love had to be earned, and that being “good” and agreeable was the safest way to survive.

Those beliefs followed me into adulthood. I struggled with people-pleasing, overworking, and staying in relationships and situations longer than I should have. I ignored my intuition, abandoned my boundaries, and tied my worth to achievement and external validation. On top of that, carrying the fear and shame of my immigration status shaped how I showed up in the world and how much of myself I felt allowed to reveal.

The hardest part wasn’t the external obstacles, it was unlearning what I had been taught about myself. Healing required confronting old wounds, grieving versions of myself that stayed silent, and relearning how to trust my voice and body. The road hasn’t been smooth, but it’s been a huge learning experience. Every struggle forced me to shed survival patterns that once protected me but no longer served me, and that process is what ultimately led me to the work I do today.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Today, I live in two worlds that actually inform each other more than people might expect. I work full time leading the Globalization team at Tinder, where I focus on building systems, teams, and strategies that make products feel culturally intentional and human at global scale. That work keeps me deeply connected to questions of inclusion, language, identity, and how people experience belonging.

Alongside that, I’m a yoga teacher at YogaBox and the founder of Rising Dharma, where my work is rooted in embodiment, presence, and nervous system regulation. I specialize in yoga and meditation practices that help people slow down, reconnect with themselves, and move out of survival mode. My classes and offerings aren’t about performance or perfection. They’re about awareness, breath, and creating space for people to meet themselves honestly.

What I’m most proud of is building something that’s aligned across all parts of my life. Rising Dharma is an extension of how I live and lead. It’s a space for intentional movement, meditation, and community that supports real integration and sustainability of wellness practices for modern living. Whether I’m guiding a yoga class, leading a meditation, or designing an experience, my focus is the same: clarity, compassion, and sustainable growth.

What sets me apart is that I bridge our structured lives and the softness we all crave. I understand systems, strategy, and scale, but I also understand the body, the nervous system, and the power of presence. My future focus is continuing to grow Rising Dharma into a platform for deeper healing experiences, retreats, and community spaces, while staying grounded in the belief that success doesn’t have to come at the expense of well-being. You can build meaningful things and still live in alignment.

Is there any advice you’d like to share with our readers who might just be starting out?
Yes. A few things I wish someone had told me early on:

Don’t wait until you feel “ready” or healed to start. You grow by doing, not by perfecting yourself first. If you feel called to this work, that’s already enough information to take the next small step.

Unlearn the idea that success has to look a certain way or happen on a specific timeline. Especially if you’re balancing a full-time job or other responsibilities, slow and steady is not a failure. Consistency and alignment matter more than speed.

Protect your nervous system as much as your goals. Burnout doesn’t make you more legitimate, and overworking is not a badge of honor. Build practices and boundaries that support you long-term, not just in the moment.

Trust that your lived experience is part of your offering. You don’t need to copy anyone else’s voice, brand, or path. The work lands when it’s honest and embodied, not when it’s polished.

And finally, let it evolve. What you’re building now doesn’t have to be the final version. Give yourself permission to grow, pivot, and redefine success as you go. That flexibility is what keeps the work sustainable and true.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://therisingdharma.wixsite.com/my-site-3
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kenergy.yoga?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kenny-mayo-imery-639962bb/
• Other: http://insig.ht/Kenergymayo