Meet Michie
Y4ED Community Member, Michie.
Meet Y4ED Featured Member, Michie. Learn about her healing journey, how she is helping others, and why community has been a force in her personal and professional endeavors. Read Michie’s story:
“Born and raised amidst the vibrant dance culture of Puerto Rico, I grew up embodying the rhythm and spirit of the island. But my true healing journey began miles away, at MoveStudio in Dallas, teaching Zumba. The sight of women shedding their insecurities and embracing joy as they danced ignited a passion in me to delve deeper into movement-based therapies. This passion evolved into a profound appreciation for yoga, where I earned my 200-hour Yoga Certification, specializing in Hatha and Tantra in 2014. With each breath and posture, I witnessed the transformative power of yoga in aligning the body and mind.
Yet, my dedication to these practices isn't just academic or professional; it's very personal. I've grappled with self-doubt, anxiety, depression, and body image challenges. My path to recovery, while challenging, introduced me to the principles of self-love and self-acceptance. Drawing from my lived experiences and my professional journey, I obtained a Life Coaching certification in 2018, followed by a Self-Love Coaching certification in 2022.
In 2018 I opened up my business 'Move to Love You'. Move to Love You is more than just a business name; it's my mantra, my philosophy. With a blend of yoga, life coaching, joyful movement, body positivity, and intuitive eating, I am committed to guiding every woman towards a harmonious relationship with herself.
My journey with Y4ED started back in 2021 by taking a Trauma-informed Yoga for Eating Disorders weekend course. I was a couple of years into my recovery from bulimia and I was also teaching Yoga and Dance Fitness classes from my home. At the time, I was having a really difficult time finding my footing in the fitness and yoga community with an eating disorder. From friends, family, and students to fellow fitness instructors, diet culture and negative body image discussions were ALL around me and seemingly in ALL conversations.
I came across the Yoga for Eating disorder course with Y4ED and I thought it would be a beautiful way to gather more tools for communication and practical ways I could incorporate a trauma-informed approach to teaching in my classes. I didn’t just apply these to my yoga classes but I also applied them to my Zumba and Barre classes as well.
I’ve also since then taken some other courses on writing to further deepen my healing journey with an eating disorder as well as body dysmorphia. I’ve found them all to be greatly supportive not just in my healing journey but also in writing and content creation for my business. The facilitators in all of the courses I’ve taken as well as the members of these group containers have all been so incredibly gentle, kind, and supportive for me.
While I have only taken around 3-4 courses with Y4ED, Jennifer and the entire community have all been instrumental in my healing journey. I love reading Jennifer’s social media posts reminding me of subtle or big ways I can continue healing especially when I’m feeling down about where I am or if I ever feel like “I’m not there yet”. Her posts are sometimes uplifting while also thought-provoking.
I also love their blog posts. I can usually read them and either feel as though I can relate to the writers or learn something new from their vulnerable shares. Overall, I love this community. Y4ED has made a significant impact in my journey in healing my relationship with food, my eating disorder, with my body and it’s helping me in my Self-Love Coaching business. I’m truly grateful to Jennifer and the entire community at Y4ED, thank you for everything you do, you are making a difference in not just my life, but the lives of many!”