You'll love AWAY Online with Pets if...
You have a pet who brings you joy! (Or you love seeing other people's pets.)
You've always wanted to try goat/puppy/cat or some other kind of studio yoga with animals.
You like seeing what other kinds of pets people have.
You are okay with using chairs and other equipment for yoga when you or other people in the class need them. (Or if the pets need them!)
You've noticed that your pets like it--or even try to participate--when you meditate or practice yoga sequences.
You can be patient with your pets if they are ready to leave you in the middle of your practice or if they demand extra attention during your final resting pose.
The Whole Story
Karrie Zylstra Myton
How AWAY Online with Pets Got Started
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Karrie has six pets: one bare-eyed cockatoo, three cats, and two dogs. Mostly, she practices with her calico Sissy, also known as The Girl because she is usually around her two black cat brothers.
For many years, Karrie has found that her pets are drawn to her when she sits still or moves through yoga poses. She's tried goat yoga and really enjoyed that but also thought that it wasn't too much better than the yoga she did at home with her own furry and feathered companions.
Since Karrie has almost always had a pet in her house and has also practiced yoga for MANY years, she's known about yoga with pets for a long time. It's only recently when Sissy joined in an online AWAY workshop that she decided to offer AWAY Online with Pets.
The AWAY Origin Story
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After 25 years of teaching English in higher education, Karrie was ready for a change. She had experienced many personal losses, including the deaths of her sister and mother. (In fact, Karrie inherited her two incredible dogs Ottis and Lola after her sister passed away.)
Through these periods of intense grief, Karrie found that practicing yoga offered a way to experience her feelings, process those feelings, and move more willingly into her next steps.
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She has found that creating artwork, writing, and speaking with others had a powerfully healing impact. All of these practices have allowed Karrie to feel connected to her loved ones, past and present.
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From these practices and that realization, she created Art Words and Yoga. She earned her Registered Yoga Teacher certification through Yoga Alliance in 2022 and her chair-based yoga certification shortly after. Karrie has also taken courses on adapting yoga for students with dementia. She offers many modifications for poses and especially enjoys sharing the wisdom of yoga that goes beyond the shapes people make with their bodies.
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Karrie currently offers Art Words and Yoga at Puyallup United Methodist Church twice a week and at L’Arche Tahoma Hope once a week. She also uses her background in language teaching to offer work to nonprofit organizations in their communications and development programs.
