Namast'ay hOMe Spotlight: Meredith Hogan of The Beauty Way & Embra Yoga Studio
During Namast’ay hOMe, Cincinnati yogi Meredith (Mer) Hogan led a beautiful Sacred Flow and Serenade for ticket holders. Mer is the owner of Embra which has a Cincinnati and NKY location and the founder of The Beauty Way, which “offers you a way to easily incorporate monthly ceremony, movement practices, and meditation into your life so that you can KNOW and TRUST that reciprocity with life will continuously show you the next right action.” Learn more about The Beauty Way membership here.
We asked Mer to share a little about herself, her yoga journey, and what inspires her.
I am a shaman, yogini, singer, dancer and healer. I was born with an understanding of the power of love, the great force that moves all things. Full of dance and song from my first moments, I’ve well understood that we humans are the dancing and the singing species and that this is an essential part of our happiness.
My yogic journey began in adolescence when physical injury met emotional heart break. The longing to heal and to enjoy life again after this first deep dive into pain, gave me a thirst for the spiritual medicine that would be my soul’s compass and my life’s work. I know in my marrow that deep healing occurs when we have the support of community, intimacy/reciprocity with the earth, life and spirit and the ability to see through the eyes of beauty.
I’m a graduate of the Four Winds Society Energy Medicine School as well as a recording artist and sacred musician. I offer my gifts through ceremony in many forms including retreat experiences (locally and internationally), public yoga, dance and journey spaces as well as private shamanic healing sessions, both in-person and via Zoom from anywhere in the world. I am an earth keeper, devoted to living in beauty and assisting others as they navigate the glorious journey each soul came to make. I am currently working on launching a subscription program so I can share these teachings that are calling out to be shared.
What is your personal yoga practice?
Before the pandemic, I was on my mat in the studios almost every day. I think one of the gifts of this time is that we get to loosen our grip on habits, good and bad and be radically present to the moment. My personal practice is pretty fluid, these days. Still, there are some constants:
I always make the space to move and breathe and give thanks. Yoga to me is an embodied prayer. The first thing I do in the morning, upon waking is whisper "Thank you". Then I scrape my tongue, brush my teeth, and throw cold water on my face. I then open the shades and greet father sun. I stretch up and out and thank the sun for shining upon us and gather the sun's light into my luminous body. When I take my puppy out, I bow and touch the earth and thank her, for all her love and beauty, and resilience. From that point on, besides my shamanic breathwork, my practice could look a thousand different ways. I could do more traditional postures, I could crank up some tunes and move freely to whatever plays. Headstand is my go-to when I need to change my perspective or enter the spinal river. But it's really dancing, this life, so I just do my best to stay awake, grateful, and connected to the earth, stars, and the great mystery.
Why do you teach?
It's really a calling. I started teaching ballet in my basement at 9 years old. Creating and holding sacred spaces for people to move and breathe and worship life in their own way is what moves me to teach. Yoga is a form of self and community healing. Yoga brought me back from deep depression as a very young woman and I got a clear message that I needed to share that magic with others.
Tell us about your yoga journey.
Larrison Photo
That's a big one!
As I said, I have always been a mover. The dance was my first love and is my forever love. When I was 16 years old I had ankle hip injuries that took me off the dancing path and I was heartbroken. I was on the path of the wounded healer really young. I was just discovering the shadow side of being an empath and in those teenage years, I felt swallowed up by an ocean of pain. I could feel everyone's woundedness, and like many young women in this culture, I had a serious eating disorder. I wanted to break free and disappear at the same time, something opened.
My first yoga class was spiritual healing for me. I felt a gentle form of kundalini shakti travel up my spine in a spinal twist, and I felt a sense of dignity. For a few moments, there was peace and grace, and just the sound of breath, life. Yoga brought me back to life.
From there the journey has been ongoing study with many wonderful teachers and planetary healers, including; Ana Forrest, Shiva Rae, Rod Stryker, Gabrielle Roth, Lucia Horan, Gur Singh, Vinn Arjuna Marti, Marcella Lobos and Alberto Villoldo, Lilias Folan, and many many more.
The times with my Yoga Home family, were my first real experience with Sangha and those relationships remain golden and true. Katy Knowles and Sheila Wilson Pinto gave me wings to let my creative spirit fly. They fostered my growth in so many ways and I'm forever grateful. I entered the stream of the Sri Vidya Lineage of Tantra through that portal.
I met my darling friend, Katie Silcox, who is a luminous teacher and a twin flame to me. I ran a studio for ecstatic movement (The Shakti Factory )💃with my beloved friend, Lisa Stegman. I studied shamanic energy medicine with The Four Winds I became an owner of Modo Yoga, now Embra studio and we are offering our first Teacher training this January. It is beautiful to see the circle of it all. The journey continues, the beat goes on and on and on...
What resources do you recommend?
I'm a huge fan of the book " Broken Open" by Elizabeth Lesser. An amazing story of a healing journey, which is what it's all about.
I'm also a huge fan of all of my teacher, Alberto Villoldo's books. Every one of them is awesome. I can't even begin with Music! Too much amazingness. Follow me on Spotify if you want to hear what I'm playing for class or dancing to.
Advice to anyone looking to start a practice:
Do it! There are so many resources available. Fall in love with your body and your breath and just begin. The path will take you from there. Try different teachers and when you find something you like, Enjoy it! Let go of perfection and just have experience!
Where can we find you?
I'm thrilled to share that I've created an online community to support, inspire, and share the wisdom teachings I have gathered for the past 25 years!
The Beauty Way membership was birthed to help nourish and connect us during these times of uncertainty. I invite you to take your seat around this sacred fire of belonging. This is the way that you can study with me if you are called. I'm so honored to share this nectar with you!
I'm also teaching in-person and online at my home studio, Embra.
“Our soul, our true self, is the most mysterious, essential, and magical dimension of our being. In fact, it is not a separate reality, as traditional Western thought views it, but the cohesive force that unites our body, heart, and mind. It is not a ghost trapped somehow in the physical machinery of our body but the very essence of our being.”