Yoga with Annalise

CONCEPTION & CREATION OF TRIKONA YOGA CO. > 2019-Present Day

welp... it's be a "journey" yall

TLDR; I'm here to transparently share my story, to aid and serve those in my community who are hopeless. I’m here to help guide healing to those who are suffering, by helping them connect & open up on their journey of self discovery within yoga, peer support and self care.

FIRST, HOW'D WE GET HERE:

Yoga with Annalise (formerly Chicago's trikona yoga co.) was created after a long internal battle between my own mental health and substance abuse disorder, one that I was in denial of. I had been suffering in silence for the past 12 years and I had no idea wtf to do.

SECOND, WHERE ARE WE NOW:

Though a native of Michigan, I lived in Chicago from 2011-2022. That's where this whole part of the story began. Chicago is the city that I consider home, even still to this day. Now after 3 years here in Denver, I'm opening back up my practice & collective to help serve this amazing community through the healing powers of yoga and Peer Support.

hold up, slow down...

NEED A SYNOP, START AT THE BEGINNING:

In my early twenties I was diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder and clinical depression. Struggling to manage the stresses of life and shamefully battling my failing health issues, my life unraveled and led to unveiling my impending alcohol abuse disorder. In 2018, my mental health and substance abuse disorder peaked and I relocated briefly back to Michigan after bouts of some seriously dark thoughts. The move was an attempt to try and fight my way through recovery for the first time. To my surprise, the “geographical relocation cure“ didn‘t work, as I only continued to struggle to keep my health in check.

BYE BYE COMFORT BUBBLE, SEEYA NEVER:

May of 2019 I decided that I could no longer live like this - I wanted my life back. So I surrendered... I let go and relinquished control of my life over to the universe, the trees, the moon, the stars, a higher power, heck ANY higher power would have suffice, whoever would listen really. Within that first year, the veil lifted both slowly & in rapid succession. The rose colored classes turned clear and I was at the beginning of day one, no booze, for the first time in my life.

2019; YOGA SCHOOL & RECOVERY, ENTERS THE CHAT:

All of the things I was looking for in life, all of the things I looked for in alcohol, suddenly became within my reach when I entered my 200 RYT and Y12SR teacher training, early 2019. Asana. Pranayama. Nidra. Yin. Namas. Niyamas. Kleshas. Sanskrit. Sutras. - I had just scratched the surface of this 5,000 year old ancient wisdom & had an insatiable hunger to learn all that I could. Over time through practice, meditation, silence, music, energy & intention, things slowly burned into making sense. Kind-of like a plethora of universal truths gradually revealed themselves in some way, shape, message or form. Life's unanswered questions became easier to understand with each passing day that first year. All the what if's & why's suddenly aligned into a perfect fragment of energy and it was up to me to decide what to then do with it.

don't gatekeep, what's the run down?

HOW'D YOU DO IT?

I finally took back my power through intensive psychotherapy modalities, eastern & western medicines, somatics and a huge variety of healing work. This combination of therapeutic treatments + movement, coupled with a lotttttt of hark work, worked. It helped me manage my thoughts, balance & regulate my emotions, intentionally plan my forward movement (both personally and professionally) and drastically improved my overall health both mentally, spiritually and physically.

WHAT'S THE MESSAGE THAT GOT YOU TO HERE, TODAY:

Not only do the principles and values of yoga synergistically align with the teachings of many recovery programs, but yoga finally helped me personally start believing in myself that I could do this - I started to finally, actually, believe that I deserved happiness, community, fun & challenging life experiences, love. Though a practitioner for over 7 years, it wasn‘t until my life was on the line with my mental health and substance recovery that yoga became so instrumental in fueling my healing process. It has been through my recovery and consistent yoga practice, that I've made it my mission to re-frame the conversation around those struggling with their own mental health & substance abuse disorders. I am here to help break the stigma (or at least try to). My numerous years in small business, wellness & yoga, my continuing education and training within the industry & field + 3 years in a new city with a rolodex of networking and collaboration contacts, have equipped me for this new path.

2026; the year of the horse, me in my "sophia" era & channeling lilith by candlelight

PRESENT DAY:

I wasn't planning on such a career change and going back to school. 2026 is looking up with things having fallen into place harmonious, lately. Trying not to jinx myself. But I made the intentional decision of continuing this journey because I feel with every fiber of my being that even though I thought this life of living through yoga was lost, this newfound path is where I need to be. So I am once again bringing yoga, wellness and purpose back into my life once again. And you know what? I'm going to follow that calling…what have I got to lose?

Yoga with Annalise (formerly trikona yoga co.) + my new role as a Peer Support Specialist (CPFS) here in Colorado, combined, will fuel this collective forward, It's offerings & mission will become tangible, living proof that there is a still hope out there for those battling with their own health and recovery. My goal for this collective is to let others know that they are not alone & we are here to help guide from lived experience. They are not broken, they are not their disease or disorder and they are worth it. Whatever "it" may be for them.

LAST WORDS?

Since 2019, there have been many of life's ups and downs (too many peaks & valleys to list on both hands and toes quite honestly). But since beginning a life of healing and recovery, I've honestly never been the same. I am a forever student of life, yoga, healing, love, communication, critical thinking, among many others. Truly, I am so humbled and really honored to be here in this timeline with all you good folks.

Shame, guilt, lack of sufficient resources and help, was what kept me in the closet with this vicious cycle for so long. Having first hand, lived experience with being a target to the negative stigma + battling this disease alone, is what propels me to become a leader in creating a community where those struggling can find an affordable, holistic method to improving their mental health and recovery.

GREAT! SHALL WE BEGIN?

Books are now open for Spring 26'-27'. See yall on the mat.

2/10/26