photo by Nousha Salimi
What is TrustLoveKnow?
TrustLoveKnow (informally known as ‘TrustLove’) is the Christian wellness company that I founded in 2021. The fitness arm of the company, called “The Studio”, exists to encourage you to tap into your full potential through chant, stretch, meditation, and journaling. We offer classes and workshops.
History: My journey from YogiSealy to TrustLove
When I first started practicing yoga in 2009, I did not like it—at all. I thought it was boring, lacking excitement and rhythm, desperately needed 8-counts, the list goes on. Ultimately, it wasn’t the movement practice I was used to—dance. But I soon accepted that it will never be dance, so I should not expect it to be. Six years later on a very stressful day of graduate school, a sweet friend of mine who I danced ballet with, Yumiko, invited me to a yoga class. I reluctantly said yes. It was only then that I realized the power of the practice: the calming pranayama, the opportunity to spend 75 minutes with my own thoughts, and the space to mindfully reflect and ground myself and my emotions. One of the yoga instructors was a powerful Black woman who not only was a great teacher, but also embodied so much of what I was striving towards as a Black woman. These regular experiences were so significant that I went on to take a class at a studio outside of my NYU home. The studio, Mang’Oh Yoga, welcomed me with open arms. The classes themselves offered clear instruction, great hands-on adjustments, and nourishing meditations. The owner, Erica Whalen was incredibly sweet when we met and discussed our dance journeys. Four years later, I pursued and completed my yoga certification, worked with private clients, and taught classes at Mang’Oh Yoga. The practice became not only an opportunity to reframe and refine my perspectives, but has helped me to learn that yoga is more than just asana (poses), but it is a lifestyle where one continues to strive towards a more peaceful life.
As I continued my search for more peace and more direction in life, I began to incorporate my Christian faith with the asana sequences and paired this with Biblical meditation. This gave me peace like nothing else could. The more I combined these, the deeper I got in my relationships with God, and the more excited I was to bring other parts of my faith practice to the mat. I soon began adding spontaneous chanting to create space for thoughts and words to resonate, and I added journaling to hold myself accountable when I’d receive a revelation during my practice. I taught my first Christian yoga classes in the summer of 2019 at a church camp and it felt so right.
By May 2020, TrustLoveKnow (informally known as ‘TrustLove’) was born! TrustLove is a faith-based organization encouraging you to tap into your full potential through chant, stretch, meditation, and journaling. I made the decision to call the movement portion of the TrustLove process “stretch” instead of yoga, after learning so much about the breadth of a true yoga practice. It goes far beyond asana. I am also committed to a Biblical focus for the meditation aspect of TrustLove in order to share the component that has had such a deep impact on my life and personal practice. that this has had in my own personal practice. I am filled with gratitude that the asana practice is such a key component of TrustLove, and glad to bring so many parts of my life into this process.
Want to learn more about the company? Click below.