Yoga With AB

Deep Breath In … Long Breath Out!

Saturday morning was for learning, connecting, and experiencing wellness from the other side.

I spent the morning at the Next Health Longevity Summit here in Nashville exploring some of the newer conversations and experiences happening across wellness and longevity.

I tried a few things (including an infrared sound bath experience 👀), connected with other people in the wellness space, and—one of my favorite parts—sat in on a conversation about menopause.

I’ve been thinking a lot about how our generation is asking questions and building communities around conversations that previous generations didn’t always have access to. Even my mom has reminded me that many of these resources and spaces simply weren’t available to her generation in the same way. There’s something really special about being able to learn, talk openly, and better understand what’s happening in our bodies as we move through different seasons of life.

As someone who works in wellness, it felt good to simply show up as an attendee. To listen. To learn. To experience. And to stay curious about where wellness is going next.

A Saturday morning well spent. ✨

This is what joy looks like. 🤎

Still smiling thinking about my time with the MPI Carolinas Chapter and the opportunity to share The Wellness Effect: Designing Wellness into Experiences.

I’m incredibly grateful to the chapter for having me and honored to be among such a phenomenal lineup of speakers. There was so much intention behind the storytelling throughout the conference—you could feel it in the room. People leaned in, participated and were truly present.

Every time I share The Wellness Effect, I’m reminded why I created it: to expand the conversation around wellness and explore how we can intentionally design experiences where people feel cared for, connected and engaged.

Seeing that message received and appreciated brings me so much joy.

And of course, we had a dance party. 💃🏾✨

What would one of my keynotes be without one? This time, we danced in tribute to the one and only Dolly Parton. May she rest in peace. The joy her music brought into that room was absolutely beautiful.

I left Winston-Salem with new connections, a full heart and so much gratitude.

Thank you, Meeting Professionals International - Carolinas Chapter MPI Carolinas Chapter, for making room for The Wellness Effect. ✨

📸: Greenville Wedding Photographer

Deep Breath In … Long Breath Out!

The last little frolic of summer. 🧋🍸🍣🍜🥂☀️🍃

🧋☀️🍃 Coffee shops and pizza. Dancing until our feet hurt. Jamaican food after midnight. Wandering around the city with nowhere we really needed to be. Slow mornings over coffee, retelling stories we’ve told a hundred times and unlocking memories somebody swears they don’t remember.

🧋☀️🍃 There’s something so special about doing life with people who have known you through so many versions of yourself.

🧋☀️🍃 We’ve grown up together. Taken the road trips. Gone to the concerts. Celebrated the wins. Walked through the hard seasons. Changed and evolved and somehow, all these years later, we can still get together and just… frolic.

What a gift.

Summer has been full in so many ways, but ending it here — laughing, dancing, eating good food and making more memories with some of my favorite people — feels pretty perfect.

The dog days of summer, indeed. 🍃

So, so grateful for this life. And even more grateful for the people I get to live it with.

Deep Breath In … Long Breath Out!

Some conferences fill your schedule. Others fill your cup.✨

Event Konnector did both.

What I loved most about EK was the environment they created—intimate, intentional, and designed in a way that allowed us to actually spend time with one another. Not just exchange business cards or have quick conversations between sessions, but really connect.

There was space to be present. To listen. To debate. To learn from incredible speakers and from each other.

And I think that’s what made the thought leadership in the room feel so powerful. Ideas weren’t just presented—they were discussed, challenged, expanded, and carried into conversations long after the sessions ended.

I’m grateful I had the opportunity to bring The Wellness Effect into a space like this, but even more grateful for what I walked away with.

EK, you created something special. Event Konnector

📸: Katie McDonald Photography

🏈🩵

Deep Breath In … Long Breath Out!

Of all the titles I’ll ever hold, Auntie will forever be my favorite. 🫶🏾

Watching you grow from the very beginning into the beautiful young woman you’re becoming has been one of the greatest honors of my life. You, your sister, and your cousins are truly my greatest joy.

I am so proud of who you are and how you show up in this world. I love you more than anything in this lifetime, and I’ll always be right here—cheering you on every step of the way. 🎓✨🥹

Deep Breath In … Long Breath Out!

📌 Sometimes you have to see the picture to realize you’re standing inside a prayer you prayed years ago.

That’s what these photos did for me.

📌 A few years ago, speaking was a dream. I knew I had something to say. I knew there were stories, experiences, and lessons inside of me that I wanted to share. I just didn’t know exactly what it would look like—or how I would get there.

And now?

I’m on the stage.

Not only speaking, but watching rooms breathe together, move together, laugh together, think differently together.

📌 The Wellness Effect started as an idea about what could happen if we stopped treating wellness as an “extra” and started understanding the impact it can have on the entire experience.

But every time I present it, it becomes more.

And so do I.

📌 I’m discovering how much I LOVE this part of my work. The storytelling. The teaching. The connection. That moment when you can feel the room shift because something you said landed exactly where it needed to.

There’s a different version of me showing up on these stages—and I really like her. 🫶🏾🐞

So when I received these photos from the Event Konnector Conference, I didn’t just see a keynote speaker.

I saw the girl who dreamed about doing this.

And I wanted to tell her:

🗣️ Keep going. You have no idea where this is about to take you.

The Wellness Effect is growing.

The speaker is growing.

And the dream?

I’m living in it. ✨🙌🏾

📸: Katie McDonald Photography | Event Konnector
📍: Kansas City, Missouri

Deep Breath In … Long Breath Out!

Sun-kissed & Unbothered 🌊☀️🥂⛱️👙🍋‍🟩

a stulized resistance: COMMUNITY DINNER SALON 🍃

Some spaces stay with you long after you leave them.

Grateful to have been part of such a thoughtful gathering in honor of Juneteenth—surrounded by people committed to listening, learning, and imagining what a more liberated future can look like.

Thank you to everyone who shared your time, your stories, and your hearts.

Inspired by the conversations, the connections, and the reminder that community is one of our greatest strengths. 🫶🏾✨

Hosted by: Virginia A. Cumberbatch x