Around the same time I started using Instagram to build Compliment's following, I started following the beautiful, inspiring feed of Stephanie Birch (@stephynow). Her feed consists of lots of super-bendy yoga poses, showing off the amazing things the human body can do. Her captions often talk about love and joy and vulnerability and motherhood. It was months later that I found out that this incredible soul I'm often inspired by, lives blocks from me! I sent her an email to see if we could meet up for this interview.
Full of light and as gorgeous inside as she is on the outside, it is my pleasure to call Stephanie a friend and an inspiring presence in my life, as well as the lives of her gajillion fans on Instagram. :)
Interview
Melissa from Compliment: Tell us about yourself and all the hats you wear.
Stephanie Birch: Hello! My name is Stephanie. I am currently loving and living in Sacramento, CA. I love hats, straw hats, beach hats, ball caps, beanies! Kidding. Clearly, I like to think of myself as a comedian. I am a mother, partner, lover, friend, sister, daughter, student, teacher, playful photo-taker, hobby-artist, and light-seeker.
MC: Give yourself a compliment.
SB: You are powerful beyond measure. You love hard, you give effortlessly, you live in truth, and know that you are enough.
MC: Give a compliment to a woman in your life who doesn't know you're being interviewed?
SB: My compliment goes to my girlfriend, Erin. She is an amazing super-mom and truth seeker. This woman needs to write books, she is very poetic with her words and her honesty on life. Love that woman. Erin, you are a strong, bold, vibrant, stunning woman. I admire your strength and honesty that you exude in your everyday life. You are unapologetically you and for that, you inspire me. I hope to read novels of your written word someday.
MC: What inspires you?
SB: My son is my biggest inspiration. He continues to teach me so much about life and love; he fuels me to go after my dreams and actively participate in our/my life.
MC: How do you care for your soul?
SB: I think a lot of maintenance and checklists could answer this question for me. To put it simply, love...
Loving myself without expectations, without judgment.
Simply loving and Being myself.
MC: What three soul-care tips can you provide to readers?
SB:
- Love.
- Understand that you are enough, as you show up in this very moment. Accepting that you are human.
- Forgive yourself. Loving ourselves is a true testament of how we love others. If we can love every fiber of our Being (our faults, our flaws, our triumphs, our loss, our life), we can certainly find that same love for our brothers and sisters.
MC: Do you have any projects up your sleeve?
SB: Yes! I'm co-hosting a really cool workshop coming up in April. We are teaching the Introduction to the 8 Limbs of Yoga at Enchanted Tree (on Capitol & 19th in Sacramento) for 7 weeks starting April 1st-mid May, every Tuesday night from 6:30pm-8:30pm.
This one is something we are holding close to our hearts, as we delve into what yoga is and how it’s so much more than a physical practice. We are sharing the universal morals and how to lead a happier life through love. We will be teaching a themed yoga class which includes the philosophy teaching for a intimate group of people.
To learn more about this Stephanie's workshops, or simply to follow some beautiful pictures, follow @stephynow
Instagram @stephynow | Twitter @stephynow | Facebook.com/stephynow
About the Compliment Soul-Care Series
Compliment's mission is to help women feel beautiful on the outside (with lovely, hand-crafted jewelry) AND on the inside (through words of affirmation.) We women have a tendency to compete, compare, and believe in scarcity (as in, "if you get yours, there's not enough for me." Think about it-- youth, slimness, money, men, success.)
We say that's BS. Instead, we want to work together and believe in abundance: that there is enough love and joy for all of us. How do we spread that? By loving others, of course.
But that's impossible if we are on empty.
That's where the Compliment Soul-Care Series comes in. Once a month you will receive in your email a little inspiration on how other women, just like you, who are doing wonderful things for this world, are taking care of their own souls.
The hope is that you might put some of these ideas into practice for yourself, that we all grow together, and that we experience the true joy by edifying and building up one another. Enjoy!
With love,
xox Melissa
Compliment
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What a beautiful soul! We all need a reminder to love ourselves without judgement.
Melissa, thank you for this lovely interview and for introducing me to another radiant Sacramentan!