Kaia Simon

(she/her)

Thank you for pointing the Student Spotlight almost 200 miles northwest of Madison! My name is Kaia Simon, my pronouns are she/her, and I live in Eau Claire, WI where I am an Assistant Professor of English at UW-Eau Claire.

Yoga has been my best lesson in how to live in my body. I spend a lot of my day living in my head as an academic and a teacher. I started my yoga journey about 15 years ago when some friends asked me to join them for a series of Hatha classes. I then studied Iyengar Yoga when I moved to Champaign, IL (proud home of the Yoga Institute). These yoga foundations definitely help me pay attention to alignment when I’m deep in a flow class.

While I was earning my PhD at the University of Illinois, I spent three summers in Madison studying Hmong language in the Southeast Asian Studies Institute and doing research for my dissertation. During those glorious summers (is there a better season in Madison?), I joined Inner Fire Yoga and attended as many Inner Fire Flow classes at the campus studio as I could. I have a fond memory of looking out the windows of the Lucky Building to see several of the folks waiting for the bus at at University and Lake trying out the same tree pose we were holding.

While I wish I could still practice at the studio, the commute would be too far even for the most dedicated yogi! I jumped at the chance to re-join Inner Fire Yoga as a virtual member during the pandemic. I have loved reconnecting with the Inner Fire Flow sequence and trying out all the virtual class offerings.

I want to add a special thank you to Marit, Nora, Anne, Liz, Ally, and Kelly for continuing to teach virtual classes after the studios opened up again. Being able to join virtual classes at Inner Fire Yoga has kept me grounded throughout the pandemic.

Over all the years of my yoga journey, and in all the places I’ve lived, I have learned I need to practice yoga in community. Showing up for yoga classes has helped me learn to be present, has helped me find strength, has taught me how to find joy in trying new and difficult things, and helped me heal during periods of intense grief. I am so grateful for the opportunity to be an active member of the IFY community again.