I am Danielle Schwartz. 
I am a Curvy Yoga Teacher and an Usui Ryoho Reiki Master. 
I empower women to live a life full of wellness and passion!
I specialize in providing personalized yoga experiences
for women and guiding them on their wildest journeys.

I am a desert loving, wild traveler!

+ I am a truth-seeker.  I aim to find understanding and insights, harness my intuition, to uncover deeper meanings.

+ I am a fantastic listener.  People naturally open up to me, share their darkest secrets. I am a confidante.

+ I am empathetic.  Often times, compassionate to a fault.  Fiercely loyal and passionate in my relationships.

+ I am an adventurer.  I enjoy new experiences, being pushed from my comfort zone.  But I also require quiet time to reflect.

+ I trust my gut.  I make decisions on insight and deep emotions.  My wild intuition guides me.

+ I am a big picture visionary.  I plan ahead and can easily see where the road will take me.

+ I am a lifelong learner.  I am a deep-thinker, an old soul, a curious reader.

In January 2015 I set off on a goal to travel to all 50 states and take a yoga class in each one.  So far, I have completed 48 states!  {Look out Ohio + Michigan, I'm coming to you soon!}  One of those trips led me to Curvy Yoga Studio in Nashville, TN.  I took a class with Anna Guest-Jelley, the founder of Curvy Yoga, and the rest is history.  I was inspired in ways I never thought yoga could.  When the opportunity arose to do my 200-hour Hatha Yoga teacher training under Anna in Nashville, I sprang for it!  It's a blessing I am now able to share with you!

Certifications + Credentials

​+ 200-RYT / 200-Hour Registered Yoga Teacher {Yoga Alliance} - specializing in Hatha Yoga
+ Curvy Yoga Certified Teacher
​+ Y12SR {Yoga + 12 Step Recovery} Certified Leader
+ Ayurvedic Aromatherapy {Skyline College}
+ AromaTouch Technique Certification {doTERRA}
+ Certified Traditional Usui Reiki Master {Levels I, II, & Master/Teacher}
+ Certified Crystal Reiki Master/Teacher {Focus on crystal energy healing}
+ Adult + Pediatric First Aid/CPR/AED Certification {American Red Cross}

My Story.  It is not unlike many that I have heard along the way.  That is the beauty of being human.  As uniquely individual as we are, we are also incredibly alike.
I always felt like the big girl.  I never believed I was anything more than average in high school.  There were prettier girls.  Smarter girls.  Thinner girls.  I felt like the outsider.  I wandered.  I didn't have a clique.  I roamed between groups, never felt like I belonged.
I cried for help.  I felt ignored.  I didn't think I was unloved, but I didn't think anyone cared if I was gone.   I dropped out of school.  I dabble with drinking, drugs.  I took off cross-country, alone.  I didn't have a plan, but that didn't seem to matter.
Eventually, I thought I had figured it out - then the realities of adulthood smacked me in the face.  Again and again.  It felt like the harder I tried to make my life better, the worse it got.  So I stopped trying.
I became deeply dependent on alcohol.  I began to treat my body in punishing ways.  I stopped trusting my intuition.  I disconnected from my world completely.  And then, I stopped loving myself. 
It pains me to say that, but it's true.  I stopped loving myself.  I don't know exactly when that happened - but at some moment, I gave up on me.
15 months into my struggle to learn to love myself again, to gain more than a few weeks sober, to stop punishing myself, I finally saw the light.  It was my disconnection from my world that had made it so easy for me to hide what I had done, whom I had become.  I had to reconnect.  And the moment I did, my life changed.
I learned to honor myself.  Trust myself.  Forgive myself.  Listen to my needs - emotionally, spiritually, physically.  I have found my truth on this wild journey.  I don't just accept myself, my body, my flaws - I embrace them.  I love them.  I love me.  That hasn't come easy.  But it is mine.  And it can be yours, too.  xo-d

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Press, Interviews, Podcasts, Guest-Blogger inquiries - Please contact me at danielle@vagabondzen.com