Sharon Rose made the trek out to Arizona following an opportunity in her previous career of hospitality and to experience a much-needed change in scenery. Attending a school like Southwest Institute of Healing Arts was far from her mind. At the time, she had no idea that her recreational and self-preservationist interests in yoga would become such huge components of her life path, and ultimately, the fulfillment of her life purpose.
After four months here in the desert, a sinking feeling began to creep into her soul that something significant was missing. Looking back, she shares, “I became uninspired and mentally checked out. I started practicing yoga at Spirit of Yoga around this time. I realized then that I wanted to pursue yoga full time and decided to look into SWIHA.”
SWIHA can’t take all the credit for helping this divine being discover her passions for Yoga! Sharon began practicing yoga in her early twenties and always knew on some level that becoming a yoga instructor would ignite her soul beyond what the hospitality industry could ever offer her. Still full-time in that field, she struggled to find time in her busy schedule to dedicate to her yoga practice. “I kept practicing everyday and began to feel the shift in my body, and more importantly, in my outlook on life and how I was showing up. At one point when my work schedule and commute became too much, I for a period was not practicing and immediately saw myself falling back into old patterns. I would get angry easily over the smallest things, I was eating poorly, and not taking care of myself at all. When I became conscious of this and had hard evidence to compare and contrast my behavior with yoga vs without it, I decided that I needed to make a lasting change.”
It was then that she began her practice again with the intention of making it priority in her life. Her passion only blossomed from there, inspiring her to begin distancing herself from the hospitality industry until she could kiss it goodbye for good! Once she was clear on her heart’s true desires, she took the bold step to enroll at Spirit of Yoga. “I knew at this point I was going to make yoga my career, I just didn't know what that looked like. I enrolled in the 800-Hour Yoga Therapy program with concentrations in Holistic Nutrition and Life Coaching. My knowledge and passion grew exponentially over the one and a half years I spent at SWIHA and SOY, getting to know myself and the world through a new set of eyes. I was awakened to an entire new way of living and more importantly, [a new way of] being. [Now], everyday I wake up knowing that there is something new to learn, experience, and share.”
Sharon has since put her acquired knowledge to use as the owner and sole-practitioner at Sharon Rose Living LLC working remotely from Scottsdale, AZ with clients all over the world. In her work, she has combined her teachings of yoga, life coaching, and nutrition to create several holistic lifestyle coaching programs. She works with both men and women who are seeking to live healthier, and more abundant lives—and are ready to put in the work to create their new realities. She works with clients to discover why they are or are not taking action, uncover what they truly desire and envision for their lives, and create forward-moving action steps that will propel them into alignment with their highest and greatest good. Sharon disclosed that nutritional coaching is a crucial aspect of the work she does with clients. “…The way we treat our physical bod[ies] with food is often a tell for how we are feeling about ourselves mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. If the client is open, I also include transformational yoga coaching, which encompasses the use of asanas (yogic poses), to help the client embody the emotions they are feeling. Since we as humans are so physically inclined, coming into a posture that actually makes you feel a certain emotion will help to bring up more of the deep-seeded stories and feelings we are seeking to uncover.”
It was Sharon’s own journey from a life of unconscious living, partying, and overworking without direction, to one of abundance, ease, prosperity, and love that inspired her most to launch her business. “I went through a lot of hard growth on my own without a guide or someone to lean on. I began to think about what it would have been like to have someone there to ask for emotional guidance, someone to ask me the hard questions, and then hold space for my response without judgment or actions on how to “fix” me. This is where the inspiration for my coaching programs came from. I knew there were other people out there who were seeking someone just like I was.”
Sharon offers clients a choice of several multi-week programs or ongoing private sessions to help them begin their journeys to happiness, health, and fulfillment. It was simple for Sharon to design these programs because she knew her ideal intimately—as well as she knows herself. “My clients are me 5 years ago. [They] are seekers who can feel, see, envision, and know deep within themselves that there is something bigger happening in life. They are curious and intrigued by a new way of living [and] being. They know we are not on this earth to pay bills and stay busy. [Rather we are here] to explore and be at peace. They have tried and bought many things to pass the time, to make them happy. [However] nothing fills the space of pure curiosity into the ‘why’ of life. They come to me because they see a part of themselves in me. They see the same seeker in me that I see in them. They see my passion for life, for happiness, and for the adventure that life has to offer—if you have the courage to step out of your comfort zone and take a leap of faith. They come to me because they know that I have done the same work they are now seeking to do and I can offer them a helping hand in seeing the way.”
Sharon has deep gratitude for those who supported her on her path to heal herself so that they would one day heal others. “Taking the leap from a well paying corporate job to a life of entrepreneurship and uncertainty was terrifying and everyone around me has been so amazing in making sure I succeed. SWIHA has an amazing support team, my family and friends, the tribe I have found here in Arizona…it’s just been amazing.” Sharon also credited her instructors Melanie Albert and Richard Seamen in helping her to unlock her highest potential.
Her heartfelt advice to SWIHA students and those interested in pursuing a life as a holistic practitioner is this: “When the fear creeps up, which it absolutely will, face it, and be curious. Start asking yourself the real important questions. How is this fear serving you? Is it ego trying to keep you safe and protected? What would happen if you defied the ego? Who would you be without this fear? What would you do?”
Moved by Sharon’s motivational tale? You can reach out to learn from and work with her by visiting http://www.sharonroseliving.com/, on Instagram @sharonroseliving, or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/sharonroseliving.
