kelly oakes
sep, lmt, ryt, mti
Hi! I’m Kelly: cat mom of three, “Buffy” enthusiast, and recovery warrior. I was born in Virginia and moved to Austin in 2013. I spent my childhood through early adult life dedicated to the study of classical ballet and modern dance, and I earned a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts in Dance and Choreography from Virginia Commonwealth University. I went on to dance professionally with regional companies in Richmond, Virginia, New York City, and Austin, Texas, but ultimately I had to make the difficult decision to stop dancing due to chronic pain and declining mental health. I eventually found deep healing in my yoga practice and started to navigate my own recovery journey that encompassed problems with substance abuse, disordered eating, self harm, codependency, and abusive relationship patterns. I’m passionate about using the tools that helped me most in my recovery to help others find their own path to healing.
I attended The Lauterstein-Conway Massage School (TLC) in Austin to earn my massage therapy license, and soon after became certified in Zero Balancing. I am a graduate of three 200hr teacher training programs at Sukha Yoga Austin: vinyasa flow, meditation, and slow flow with yin. I have completed several other advanced trainings through Sukha and Laughing Lotus SF and a yoga mentorship under Jacq St. Pierre. Since then, I have become a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner (SEP) and am currently enrolled as a full-time graduate student at Texas State University, pursuing my masters in Social Work. I still sub public yoga classes and host events occasionally, and I work with private clients through my own business, Regulate Yoga and Bodywork. I am also certified as a space holder for The Yoga of 12-Step Recovery (Y12SR) which has informed the way I facilitate my monthly recovery support meetings. After earning my MSW, my goal is to earn my clinical license so I can bring a holistic approach to trauma and addiction recovery.