Today we’d like to introduce you to Renae Molden. Them and their team share their story with us below:
Renae discovered Kaiut Yoga accidentally in 2017 while on a trip to Telluride, Colorado with her family. It was the perfect time for her to discover this method as several different situations were organizing around a big transition. At 48 years old, Renae was exploring future career options, managing chronic pain, preparing for her husband’s possible career change, and looking toward the future for her soon to be college-bound daughter. It was during the 2018 Kaiut Yoga Telluride Grand Opening that Renae knew she would open a Kaiut Yoga School, 9-months before she experienced permanent relief from pain. Kaiut Yoga Austin opened in November 2019. Today, Renae is living a better than pain-free life. She feels better than ever and enjoys a full life with her family. At home you can find Renae dancing, practicing, and playing tag with her 9-year-old son.
Renae Molden is the Owner\Principal Teacher of Kaiut Yoga Austin (2018). As a trained educator, she has taught in various ways for decades. Her current role is, by far, the most meaningful. At 53 years old and after decades of exploring modalities, she believes there is no better way to move through chronic pain. She realized, the moment her neck pain disappeared, she had changed the direction of her own aging process. That’s when she knew this method had to be shared. She sees herself as a guide with her students being the hero of their own journeys.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Trust and a willingness to allow change to occur is what differentiates me as a teacher.
My body has experienced 4 major healing events over the past 4 years. Throughout these years I have chosen to put this method to the test, trust the process and to allow Kaiut Yoga to deliver results. Here is the story about the first major event.
My body experienced nerve pain along the left side of my neck for 3 decades prior to learning about Kaiut Yoga. Physical therapy and myofascial release were the two main ways I managed pain. By the time I found myself in a Kaiut Yoga teacher training, I had exhausted all healing modalities. I had nothing to lose by putting Kaiut Yoga to the test.
My first teacher training was in April 2018. Francisco noticed that my brain wasn’t accessing a certain neck movement. I was blind. I had been avoiding this area for so many years I had lost connection to it. I was cued to move in the direction of what I was avoiding and to stay present (Neurologically Connect) with what I was feeling.
Over the next 3 months, I put the method to the test by following the class plans I received in training. I stopped the exercises given to me by my physical therapist to see if Kaiut yoga would make an impact.
Within the first 3 months, my neck was getting stronger. I remember thinking, “This is the first time anyone has ever addressed my neck in this way and Wow! My neck feels strong!” The physical therapist said, “Whatever you are doing keep doing it.” He had predicted the nerve would settle down but he hadn’t predicted that I would regain certain muscle engagement so quickly.
The next major event came when I attended an event led by Francisco. It was 3 months after the first teacher training (July 2018) and included 12 hours of practice over 4 days with a concentration on the neck and shoulders. The workshop ended and I slept for 5 hours.
The 3 – 5 days following the workshop, I felt like I had been hit by a “Mack Truck”. My body was completely “Crashed” and needed rest. As I reflect on this time, everything was recalibrating in a powerful way. My neck and shoulders were fighting to stay the same with another force calling for change. I made a conscious choice to allow my body to change.
The next 3 weeks were quite disruptive. The mental energy it took to allow my body to recalibrate was consistent and strong. Over and over again, I chose to resist the tendency to erase the changes that were taking place. I was moving in slow motion as I interacted with a fast-moving, energetic world.
I continued with a regular practice and 6 months later, I was out of chronic pain for good. Today (4 years later), I no longer worry about phone use, computer use or the possibility of a condition called “text neck”. My decision to choose to follow the core concepts of this method, combined with consistency, trust and a willingness to allow change to occur, is what differentiates me as a teacher. I know, in a way, I can’t erase that this practice teaches my body to compensate and calibrate better and it’s from this place of knowing that I choose to share what I know with people who are on a similar path.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Kaiut Yoga doesn’t need the support of yoga history, anatomy, story, philosophy, music, or entertainment to be effective. It doesn’t need words written or expressed in Sanskrit. Within one’s practice, none of these things have much value. The value has to do with what shifts and changes as a result of consistent practice. Continuing to evolve holistically is where the true beauty of this work can be enjoyed. Those of us who are on this path enjoy a life not controlled by a rigid mindset, a body and mind fully connected, and empowered clarity when making healthcare decisions. Kaiut Yoga is a lifestyle solution that keeps us out of short-term fixes. It’s a method that allows us to change and evolve as we continue to navigate the realities of the modern world.
One of the most powerful tools available to us is shifting and developing a relationship with our own nervous systems. It’s the work the individual does to shift into this powerful state that is key. By anchoring the mind to sound, vision, sensation, spatial awareness, and balance the individual enjoys a deeper understanding of their own reality. This reality allows for a strong connection between body and mind, the experience of empty space-neutral, and the possibility of spontaneous meditation.
The value of experiencing spontaneous meditation is not in the experience itself but in the path to getting to this place through empty space. This neutral state, rarely discussed, is powerful. How can someone begin to feel positive if they have rarely experienced neutral? How can we connect to others if we don’t to have the stamina to maintain a neutral state when listening to another person? How can we maintain self-control when we need it if it hasn’t been challenged and experienced through the felt sense?
Over time, the practitioner enjoys the freedom of movement and freedom of mind. When the physical body enjoys freedom, pain subsides. When the nervous system enjoys balance, the whole system responds. When the mental, intellectual, and emotional mind enjoys freedom, we become more resilient, creative, and capable of responding to a variety of situations.
I am passionate about and continue to share this method of understanding the current landscape of modern life. The mindset challenges and the fear are real and I continue to keep my mind open to how I can connect and communicate with each individual I meet. This is powerful work for which not everyone is ready.
Many are interested and few stay to see the results this method can bring to their bodies and minds. It’s easy to get caught up in a world where thinking is rewarded and thin bodies are admired. It’s not so easy to choose a different lifestyle.
I’m most valuable within the process of guiding those who need it the most, for holding them accountable, for seeing the truth with compassion, challenging current mindsets, offering great classes, and tracking results. I’ve been gifted a different way of seeing and I feel called to tell the truth. Not sharing Kaiut Yoga would deprive the world of something it needs. I have consciously chosen to travel this road knowing it can be a lonely one. The world needs this work. I’m sure of it.
Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
For me, practicing Kaiut Yoga has shifted my overall internal happiness. I can see more clearly the reality not only within my body but within my brain under a variety of circumstances. Having a perspective that is closer to neutral and moving in the direction allows me to stay closer to this idea of happiness. It’s not something I’ve had to work at. It’s been a natural consequence of practicing. When practicing, I”m able to feel the process of my mind moving away from internal chatter. I can feel a shift in the overall tone of my nervous system when I anchor my mind to what I feel in the form of sensation, balance, visual perspective, sound, temperature, etc. The result of practicing this way carries over to my daily life so that I can be with a variety of people and situations from a neutral perspective. This perspective gives me choices in how I respond to situations. Here is a description I use for Lizard Yoga.
Kaiut yoga is great for people who are looking for a unique internal experience. This is a voice-led class with an emphasis on taking a break from our mind’s natural tendency to anticipate, think, analyze and question. We use physical sensation, sound, silence, balance, vision, breath and circulation to disrupt the monkey mind and shift states with an eye on allowing spontaneous meditation. It’s within this state we can feel the reality of our system from a neutral perspective. A clear, consistent mind\body connection allows our brain to access neuroplasticity (the ability for the brain to reorganize synaptic connections). Then, we invite the body to disrupt compensation patterns and recalibrate in a way that supports the functional movement.
Pricing:
- 1st 2 Weeks $42
- 1 Class\Week $76
- Monthly Unlimited $120
- Annual Unlimited $1400
- 10 Class Pass $166
Contact Info:
- Website: www.kaiutyogaaustin.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kaiutyogaaustin/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/416800278802415
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbVgkWmpnXND1dt_rkvBOTw
- Other: https://www.linkedin.com/company/65473430/admin/
Image Credits
Kaiut Yoga Boulder
Marypantierphotography
Scott Wachter Photography
Tyler Boedeker
