Hi, I’m Alice Miller, mother to one beautiful daughter, grandmother of 2 awesome grandsons, wife of an amazing guy as well as ½ of a song writing duo with said amazing guy. My full-time gig is working in agriculture helping farmers improve soil health. I love my two horses Gus and Poco and my dog Lulu. I grew up in this area, (Hartington to be exact), moved away and eventually found my way back. That’s the easy picture I can paint to sum up who I am, but really, I’m much more than that shaped by all of life’s experiences that have taken me to and through these things. I became a mother at 16 years old, a grandmother at 35, a musician at 36, and am working full time in a competitive field. All beautiful, wonderful things that are also full of hardships. I say all of this because we never truly know what someone is going through and who they are from the outside looking in. Depression, fear, anxiousness, self-doubt, shame, guilt and all the hard things that are difficult and complicated were and sometimes still are under the surface. I noticed I was falling into patterns of self-soothing, whether that be with food, or smoking, using alcohol for avoidance, looking for ways to numb out, or to not feel the feels. I used to think of these things as negatives, but now I see them as signs that I was hurting. Struggling. This is what brought me to Yoga. I started noticing that if I began my day with a morning meditation or yoga practice, it made a difference in my entire day. It set me up for success.
In 2018 I made the commitment to myself to enroll in yoga teacher training at Evolve Yoga and Wellness in Sioux City, IA. My initial goal was to dive deeper into the practice and philosophy for myself, but what I found is that I was driven to share with others. For me, the path to becoming a teacher was terrifying. I pushed through fear, limiting beliefs, looked at those parts of me that I didn’t want to acknowledge and felt the feels. What I found is that I’m strong, resilient, compassionate and courageous too. A friend once told me, “The way to it is through it.” So true. You have to go through the things to get to the goal at the end. I look at yoga as a map for exploring our inner world. It helps us bypass our thinking minds with breath and movement, allowing us to anchor more deeply into our bodies and senses. From this space, we can begin to cultivate a connection to our deeper selves, creating space for positive change. This has a ripple effect. As we make changes within, our outer world changes too. I’m driven to share this with others. I want to help them see just how magnificent and strong and resilient they are too! Community empowerment – yeah! We all do better together.
So that’s that and how I came to Yoga, but I feel it’s important to tell you how I found myself at Empower. Niki reached out to me about teaching yoga here at Empower at the exact time I found myself struggling again (I’ll be so bold as to even name it…perimenopause. It’s a thing). I took a little time to consider, and what I realized is that I needed the support this time. I needed to take classes instead of being the coach or teacher. However, it wasn’t long before I realized I just had to be a part of this amazing team that truly does empower women together in community! I have really been enjoying digging in and working hard, building the strength which I believe is going to take me through this next transition in life. I look forward to journeying with you all, both as a fellow human working hard AND as a coach helping you dig deep. A bit more about my certifications and training: I completed my 200-hour yoga teacher training with Erin Kuehl at Evolve Yoga and Wellness in Sioux City IA in 2018, becoming registered with Yoga Alliance in 2020. During yoga teacher training, Erin introduced us all to the depth and beauty of the Andean wisdom teachings of Peru. These teachings are steeped in energy medicine and earth honoring practices. I went on to deepen those studies further by completing Mesachakuy with Celia Blackwood of Tucson, AZ becoming a Mesa Carrier in 2021. I continue to deepen my studies and learn ways to navigate the uncertainties of life in a deep and meaningful way. I look forward to our journey!
