The Soul of Soft Haven

I’ve been a student of yoga for 15 years. 5 years ago I felt the urge to deepen my practice and become a certified teacher. During that process, something clicked — the connection between the spaces we inhabit and the way we feel inside them.

How there is a distinct difference between the feeling of instant gratification from a purchase versus the way it feels to find something just right, for yourself or for your home.

I have outfitted or lived in various apartments and houses and when I reflect, the most peaceful & grounded I’ve felt were the 3 years I lived in my 625 square foot apartment in Nashville TN. Despite having moved to Nashville on a whim, leaving my job and my entire network behind in NYC, something in that space let me breathe.

I moved into that apartment with my clothes and bed frame. Everything else that came into that apartment, I chose over the course of the next year, with so much intention. I was spending my hard earned money! I splurged where I felt something, a mirror from CB2, a coffee table and matching end table from West Elm, a silk bedspread from Donna Karan. Each item chosen out of a feeling and not a rush to fill a space, or a void.

That apartment allowed my nervous system to downshift in a way no space ever had. Wrapped in my new Donna Karan comforter, I was able to sleep well for the first time in 10 years.

For years I couldn't explain why that apartment felt so different. The answer came slowly, through the practice. First as a student, hearing words like balance, breath, flow and surrender over and over again. Then during my teacher training, as I explored the principles of the teachings, the anatomy of the body, the spiritual elements of the practice such as meditation and the chakras.

The mind, body, space connection became so clear. We are deeply influenced by our surroundings. Our surroundings can ground us, hold us, support us - or they can trigger us, activate us, quietly stress our system in ways we don’t recognize.

In a culture of more is more, I want to offer a different approach. An intentional, feeling based approach to shaping our surroundings, our home.

Soft Haven was created to meet you where you are. Offer insights that will evolve your space into a calming and balanced one. One that feels like an exhale. Awareness is the act of turning on the light. Let's illuminate the connection between your space and your well-being.