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ABOUT

About Living Beyond The Mat

Living Beyond the Mat shares yoga teacher trainings, workshops, programs and retreats with the global yoga community.  We lead programs to live by, to guide you to find the best version of you beyond the yoga world. Our highly qualified and passionate mentors will help you reach your aspirations, whether its changing the lives of students by becoming a yoga teacher, changing the lives of a community by opening a studio or wellness center, or finding your most vibrant, balanced self.  Our online store is stocked with intentional items to support your practice and lifestyle. Whether you are training, practicing, shopping, or being mentored with us, we will help you connect with your yoga for your mat, for your teaching and for your life.

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About Jess

I found yoga right out of high school, as an addition to a fitness regime. It didn't grab hold right away, but after my first yoga class I remember thinking, "I'd like to teach yoga someday." I started by earning my certification to teach pilates, then adding yoga and other movement styles to be able to pick up more classes. By 2009 I had completely fallen in love with yoga, mainly heated vinyasa, and opened my studio Peace Love and Yoga in 2010.  Peace Love and Yoga, PLAY, was built on love and passion for yoga and was welcomed and supported immediately by the community.  I loved PLAY so much and gave my whole heart and then some to it to see it grow and thrive. 

After a few years and continuing for many more, I lived completely burnt out. I wore my busyness like a badge and associated my self-worth with how much I could and did accomplish. My health wasn’t great, and I felt disconnected from my personal practice as a result. What I thought was healthy, wasn’t for me. I realized that even though I had been teaching for years, I was completely out of balance. In 2020, I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, a degenerative neurological disease. Being given that kind of diagnosis is scary, life-changing, but for me was also a very motivating wake-up call. My perspective on life, and health has changed dramatically. I’ve learned health is multi-dimensional. The human system is a whole, and the things that affect one area of your system, affect the whole system. I really feel what it means to live my yoga beyond my mat.  

The support that Ayurveda and yoga have offered me on this journey continues to inspire me to create programs, trainings, classes, and other offerings. My goal is to help others see what it's like to practice more than just asana, to guide you to be an active participant in your own healing journey and to thrive not just survive. 

Certifications

  • 500 E-RYT 

  • YASCAP (CEU) Provider

  • AFAA Group Exercise 

  • Stott Pilates Mat, Reformer and Injuries/Special Populations

  • IAYT Yoga Therapy Student in training 

About Amy

Quiet moments curled up on the couch are Amy’s absolute favorite. Of course it wouldn’t be complete without her husband, kids, and fur babies snuggled in tightly!

 

Amy found her love for yoga later in Carlsbad California at Peace Love and Yoga.  One class, and she knew her life was going to change. She believes the healing capabilities of a consistent practice are mind blowing!  Amy loves this way of life so much that she left her corporate career behind to bring people the joy of yoga to people full time. She currently teaches 5-10 classes per week, is leading an upcoming TT, and mentors new teachers in Arizona. 

 

Amy is a Yoga Alliance Registered 500 hour yoga teacher. She earned both her 200 and 300 hour teacher training certificates with Jess McGimsey at Peace Love and Yoga in Carlsbad California. Amy has studied and teaches, trauma informed yoga, prenatal, yin, restorative, vinyasa, heated vinyasa, pranayama, and yoga sculpt. 

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About Anna

My very first yoga class was in college. I remember caring more about how I looked in my yoga pants back then. There were a lot of self-critical thoughts and judgement looking in the mirror, but I liked pushing myself and loved the release of anxiety as I became more aware of my breath.

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Then in my thirties, I worked as a massage therapist and practiced Hot Yoga in Huntington Beach, CA. It was a great stress reliever and I loved feeling energized and relaxed…all at the same time! But eventually life got busy, Covid changed my priorities, and eventually I found myself an empty nester. I realized that it was finally time to take care of me. I knew that yoga had changed my life, my spiritual connection, and I wanted to share that with others.

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So, at the suggestion of a friend, and yoga teacher, I went to Peace Love and Yoga in Carlsbad. There, I met Jess and registered for the 200-hour teacher training. It was so much more than I ever imagined, and I was hooked. I felt connected to my fellow students because of what we had shared, and I felt a connection to Spirit and more comfortable in my own skin. I then continued with my 300-hour teacher training with Jess and the Living Beyond the Mat curriculum. I was not only able to incorporate the yoga tenets I had learned into my daily life, but I was able to enjoy being still on my mat for the first time in my life. I was so impressed by this that I chose to teach about the “Obstacles to Stillness” as my final workshop.

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Learning the yoga philosophy has also helped me to understand myself better, and incorporate this into my daily life. Living Beyond the Mat Teacher Training has not only been a catalyst to a lifelong journey of self-knowledge and spiritual growth, it has been the biggest gift I’ve ever given to myself. My hope is to share this gift with others, and create a world with more compassion and gratitude. 

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About Amber

I first tried yoga as a young teenager at a community gym and couldn’t believe how challenging downward facing dog was. It was years later when I had an inner call to try yoga again and found my l self at Peace Love and Yoga in Carlsbad, California, where I would later meet Jess. A few minutes into my first hot vinyasa I was hooked. The power of the community movement and breath captivated me and the more I attended classes the more change I noticed within myself. 

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At the time working in a fast-paced, high stress environment in the hospitality industry, yoga gave me a safe place to slow down and connect with myself so I could continue to go out and serve others. I often daydreamed about quitting my stressful job and becoming a yoga teacher. In 2020 when the pandemic shuttered hotels and restaurants around the world I was forced to take a step back and slow down. It was during this time I decided to commit to myself and something new and began my first yoga teacher training with Jess at Peace Love and Yoga in 2021. Living in Pensacola, Florida at the time I participated in training virtually and made several trips to join the intensive training weekends and modules in person. 

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It was early in my training when I again felt captivated by the experience and environment and quickly realized that one day I would love the opportunity to help train yoga teachers. 

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I expected the yoga teacher training I received to prepare me to teach classes with confidence, and it certainly did. But what I didn’t expect was the deep learning of Living Beyond the Mat’s curriculum would inspire such profound growth and change within myself. The 200hr training gave me the knowledge and tools to take yoga outside of the studio and far beyond my mat, incorporating the teachings into my daily life. Yoga has helped me manage the symptoms of scoliosis & anxiety and recover  from the PTSD and injuries of a car accident. 

 

Continuing with my 300hr training from Living Beyond the Mat’s curriculum gave me the opportunity to dive deeper into the philosophy and techniques of yoga that go beyond asana. I plan to be a forever student soaking up the ancient knowledge from the beautiful practices and teachings of yoga so I can continue to weave them into my life both on and off the mat. It is now my joy to be able to share the experience of teacher training with others as a part of Living Beyond the Mat in the hopes that they may also know the gifts of healing and self-knowledge that yoga provides. 

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