take a journey with me
Born & Becoming
Seoul → Aberdeen, WA. Love, loss, and the quiet weight of two worlds.
I was born in Seoul, South Korea and adopted by my loving family on the coast of Washington State — a foundation of unconditional love, and beneath it, the quiet complexity of being a transracial adoptee.
Feeling deeply grateful for the life I was given while quietly grieving the one I lost. Neither fully Korean, nor fully American. Learning early that belonging required performance.
The Fracture
Reconstructive surgery, 3 titanium plates, & months wired shut.
In 2008, my Senior year of college, a violent racist attack shattered my jaw in two places. Emergency reconstructive surgery. Three titanium plates. Three months with my jaw wired shut.
Without the tools or awareness to address it — I carried the trauma and chronic PTSD for over a decade. Yoga became the one hour of my day where I felt safe & at peace. My breath became my anchor — and the thread that I kept following back to myself. I didn’t know then that I was learning what I would one day teach.
Waking up
EMDR therapy. Indigenous wisdom. My first coach.
Recurring nightmares and a blackout at a stop light was my signal to finally ask for help. EMDR therapy saved my life. Indigenous plant medicines brought me healing, a connection to nature, & a level of forgiveness I didn’t know existed.
And hiring my first coach completely changed my life. His question, “Kyle, what’s really stopping you from going after the life you want?” — sent me down the rabbit hole of understanding the nature of fear. That period taught me what deep, embodied transformation actually felt like.
Taking the leap
Tuning in. Leaving Google. Safety ≠ fulfillment.
I spent seven years at Google — honing my leadership, sharpening my instincts, soaking up everything that experience had to offer. And while the fear of leaving & stepping into the unknown was very real, so was the voice that kept getting louder — the one that said: “there’s something more.”
In 2021, I finally leapt. Safety ≠ fulfillment. I chose to try & find both.
Maybe you’ve got a voice like that too. Something you’re ready to change or shift — either within yourself or out in the world.
Maybe it’s been whispering for years. Maybe it’s starting to shout.
But that voice isn’t impractical. It’s your beautiful, creative soul reminding you you’re alive in there.
Your next level is waiting. And it has always been an inside job.
Turning passion into purpose
Coaching. Yoga as medicine. Ecuador. A life built from the inside out.
Today I run a private coaching practice for ambitious, purpose-driven, heart-centered humans who are done performing their way through life. I’m a minority owner of shefayoga Venice, a Founding Board Member of Wellness For The People 501(c)(3), and I get to co-create transformational retreats in sacred settings around the world.
And I live, every single day, with a level of purpose, meaning & fulfillment I once only dreamed of.
I tell you this not to impress you.
But to impress upon you — it’s possible.
You don’t have to keep waiting for the right moment.
You don’t have to keep carrying it alone.
You don’t have to keep choosing safety over fulfillment.
Your next chapter is waiting.
And I’d be honored to help you write it. Are you ready?

