Life & Work with Crissy Stelmaschuk

Today we’d like to introduce you to Crissy Stelmaschuk.

Hi Crissy, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory. 
I’ve always had a deep desire to help others. I spent my young adulthood working in customer service and then transitioned into being a full-time mom after having my boys. This gave me a chance to really reevaluate my path and afforded me the opportunity to explore the things I was passionate about. I found a deep love in practicing yoga. It was a place to quiet my mind and turn my focus inward when things felt overwhelming or out of control. My body felt better, my mind felt clear, and my heart was at peace on my mat. A few years into my practice, I decided to take yoga teacher training and, shortly after, became a yoga teacher! The joy I feel when guiding others through a yoga class is indescribable. No matter what else I tried or what other avenues I pursued, I always found myself coming back to yoga. 

Last year, I completed my advanced training and became a 500-hour RYT. During that training, I was able to deepen my knowledge in energy healing and tap into my ability to help others heal themselves through energy work. This has been a profound experience for me; getting to take people even further on their healing journey is truly the greatest gift I could ever ask for. 

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
For the most part, I feel very fortunate as I have a lot of support from my husband and kids. With anything in life, there is always a learning curve, so there were definitely some stumbles along the way. While I wouldn’t call it a struggle, the biggest surprise to me is where I ended up. When I began this journey, I was very much into power yoga. The harder, the better! How many calories did I burn? How much did I sweat? I “knew” that was the kind of yoga I wanted to teach for sure! Energy work wasn’t even on my radar. I was attuned to Reiki 1 in my 200-hour training but did nothing with it as I didn’t really understand it. 

Fast forward to today – I primarily teach chair yoga to seniors, and when I’m not doing that, my favorite classes to lead are restorative with supported, resting poses and lots of hands-on assistance to guide my students even deeper into relaxation. 

My love for energy work also came as a surprise to me! I was blessed with a mentor who taught me how to channel and move energy, and it was truly intoxicating. I feel like I get just as much out of it as my clients do! It’s a gift beyond measure. 

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am a yoga teacher, Reiki master, and sound practitioner. I teach a few different styles of yoga but primarily focus on vinyasa and restorative. Over the past year, I’ve seen an increased need for chair/adaptive yoga. I decided to pursue additional training in this specialty and now lead several Chair-based classes each week. Yoga can be intimidating to a lot of people and even inaccessible to some. Showing them ways to adapt this practice to fit their needs has been so beneficial. These students hold a special place in my heart because it’s so rewarding seeing them do things they never imagined they could do. Helping people gain mobility, strength, balance, and flexibility through physical movement is the goal, but watching them find peace and calm in the process is an added bonus! My next goal is to join the team of instructors that lead the Parkinson’s Program fitness classes at the UH Avon Health Center. 

Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
Cleveland is amazing! What’s not to like??? The thing I like least (not really about the city, though) is that I have ZERO sense of direction, so I haven’t ventured into a lot of the areas that have the most to offer. I need my own personal Uber! 

Contact Info:

• Website: YogisKarma.com
• Instagram: @Yogiskarma
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yogiskarma?mibextid=PlNXYD
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/crissy-stelmaschuk-32b525234?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=ios_app

Image Credits
Nick Brilla