Today we’d like to introduce you to Amber Shumake.
Amber, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
In my earliest memory, I wanted to be an astronaut and then, a singer. And after that, a writer. I had no idea how to go about any this, of course, and as I grew more “rational,” I suppose I immersed myself in more logical pursuits. At the recommendation of my now ex-husband, I got a degree in Education from TCU because it seemed safe. I taught middle school and high school English attempting to impress upon students my love of writing. While at TCU, I began practicing yoga.
A therapist recommended I try yoga to alleviate the crippling panic attacks I was enduring almost daily. I was not hopeful, but I was desperate, so I agreed. When yoga found me, I was mired in an abusive marriage that I could not figure out how to leave; I was afflicted by various addictions although I couldn’t even see that these behaviors were problematic; I was haunted by experiences in my past that I thought I was “over.”
None of that is true for me today. After a few failed attempts, I left that marriage… I got sober… I began to see that my past had shaped me but didn’t need to define me… with some outside help. (I say that because yoga is not a cure-all). Yoga has, however, changed the trajectory of my life. Meditation is the bedrock upon which all that is wonderful in my life was built.
The Yoga Sutra defines two causes of pain as avidya and asmita. Avidya is a false understanding or ignorance and Asmita – our sense of “I.” My vision was so clouded by unresolved trauma and alcohol that I didn’t know who I was. I remember that every July during my summer break, I’d hear this quiet voice inside telling me to quit my teaching job. Coming from a family history with mental illness, I thought I was crazy. It took me a few years, but I finally quit. At that time I was also pursuing a graduate degree in Counseling. Much like the voice telling me to quit my job, that same voice encouraged me to do a 200-hour yoga teacher training.
I now realize that voice was my intuition – my innermost wisdom, what 12-step fellowships call a Higher Power and religious folks call, God. As a child, I remember knowing that voice – that Divine part of me so well. By adulthood, I’d ignored Her so much, I couldn’t hear. Yoga and meditation were the conduits to peel back the veils so I could get to know my Self again.
I finished my degree in Counseling – at the suggestion of a handful of mentors. I believe in the value of therapy. However, I also believe in the power of the mind-body connection and as it’s said, “The issues are in our tissues.” I never completed my licensure to become a counselor because I was having so much fun teaching yoga. A couple years ago, following a string of car accidents, I found Somatic Experiencing (traumahealing.org), which is the style of therapy in which I am now pursuing certification.
I teach but 2 group classes each week at SoulSpace Yoga Community (www.soulspaceyc.com) because I have a thriving personal practice of private yoga clients. I co-lead a 200-hour Yoga Alliance registered yoga teacher training (soul.full school of yoga). Additionally, in 2016, I heard the call to begin a nonprofit (Whole Heart Yoga or WHY FW whyfw.org) where we bring yoga and mindfulness education to underserved areas in our community. I shoot photography a couple times a week for families and small businesses. I’m married to my partner of ten years, and I have a young son we recently adopted.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
I feel as if I’m living – to the best of my ability – in alignment with my Dharma, or my Path. Has it been smooth? No. I am grateful to my teachers who’ve helped me climb out of the potholes. It reminds me of the Autobiography in Five Short Chapters. I used to teach that poem to middle and high school students:
Autobiography in Five Short Chapters
by Portia Nelson
“There’s a Hole in My Sidewalk”
Chapter One
I walk down the street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I fall in.
I am lost . . . I am helpless.
It isn’t my fault . . .
It takes forever to find a way out.
Chapter Two
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I pretend I don’t see it.
I fall in again.
I can’t believe I am in this same place.
But it isn’t my fault.
It still takes a long time to get out.
Chapter Three
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I see it there.
I still fall . . . it’s a habit . . . but,
My eyes are open.
I know where I am.
It is my fault.
I get out immediately.
Chapter Four
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I walk around it.
Chapter Five
I walk down another street.
When I find myself falling into the same holes which are often disguised differently, I know that the solution is in tapping back into the quiet part of me who knows what to do. Often the guidance is scary. I didn’t want to quit my job. I didn’t want to leave my marriage. I didn’t want to get sober. I didn’t want to start a nonprofit.
My experience has been that what is familiar – even when it’s threatening to kill us – appears safe. This is the sophisticated nature of the untreated ego, I suppose. And yet, this is the best life – beyond anything I could have ever dreamed. If I had to face each and every struggle again to get to where I am today, I’d do it. In a heartbeat.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Amber Shumake – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
I specialize in teaching yoga and meditation to people who’ve experienced trauma as well as people who have brain injuries or limited mobility. As an artist, I’m known for my ability to tell a story with my camera. I am most proud of my students and clients. They continue to show up. They continue to unroll their mats and seek to look within. They continue to stand vulnerably before my camera. They inspire me to keep learning and practicing and growing.
What sets me apart from others… I don’t know… I spent most of my life believing I was different. I hear people say that all of the time, and it’s a sign to me that they’re just like me. I think we’re more alike than we are different. It’s as Glennon Doyle Melton writes, “Be confident because you’re a child of God; be humble because everyone else is, too.”
Yesterday, I went to a clinical setting to sub for a yoga teacher through my nonprofit. I hadn’t been there since my boy was born, which was 7 months ago, and as I met the eyes of one student I recognized, she said, “Amber?!” My hair has grown long, and she wasn’t sure. She told me how the women I trained who’ve been teaching there are so wonderful, how they teach yoga differently than the teachers they have experienced elsewhere. “They really care.” The world in all of its broken beauty can look so bleak and overwhelming. I think I’m most proud that I don’t have to do it all.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
My plans for the future – when is that? tomorrow? I try not to get too far in the future because that’s a sign I’m trying to run the show. I plan to keep getting on my meditation cushion each morning and emptying my brain onto the page each night. I keep a handful of trusted mentors in close quarters because I need others to help me see and remain true to who I am beyond the fame and the accolades and criticisms and the ugly online comments.
I plan to keep looking and praying for the ways in which I can add value to the lives of others while being home as much as I can to wake my boy and tuck him in each night. I hope I get more kids. I hope I get a few more decades of laughter with my partner. I want to keep traveling and teaching international retreats. I want to give away every ounce of talent that God gave me.
Pricing:
- Yoga / Somatic Experiencing Private Session $150
- Portrait Session $400
Contact Info:
- Website: ambershumake.com
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @ambershumake
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/ambershumake
Getting in touch: VoyageDallas is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
