Hi! I’m Katrina Ariel: part lioness, rebel for life, author, musician, and yoga teacher. I smile a lot.

Hello, everyone! I’m thrilled to be here!

Before I say anything else, I’ll clarify my “part lioness” description. When I think of myself as part lion, I instantly feel stronger. It inspires me. I identify with the courage and grace of the lioness—not that I’m always graceful and strong, but a girl can try.

I'm a cat person, but I adore dogs and love animals in general. I’ve adopted quite a few rescues over the years, and even volunteered at a wild animal sanctuary for tigers, lions, and wolves. Such an amazing experience!

Creativity is huge for me, as is my love for the earth. I hug trees. Singing in the forest is my happy place. Nature keeps me sane—not normal, but reasonably sane.

My parents took me to see Empire Strikes Back (Star Wars Episode V) at age 4, which might explain some of my deeper issues, but it sparked a life-long love of Princess Leia, who became my idol. I'm a rebel for life.

photo: Greg Eymundson, insight-photography.com

Though I was born in the USA, I jumped ship and moved to Canada in the year 2000. At the time, having health insurance wasn’t even on my radar—I just wanted to live in Whistler and snowboard. Now I call my US reps advocating for children who don’t have coverage, speaking up for net neutrality, and shaking my head at the horrifying stupidity of a fatally broken system. I’m super-grateful I live in Canada, but we’re all on this planet together.

I don’t know if contacting government officials achieves anything, but I feel guilty if I don’t use my voice. I don’t call every day, because it inevitably spikes my anxiety levels (and they don’t need extra stimulation, thank you very much), but I do what I can when I’m able.

To those of you out there calling, marching, voting, running for office, and otherwise working to bring integrity to systems of government everywhere, THANK YOU!

I love to travel, though I don’t do a lot of it these days. Here's me doing a handstand on the equator in Quito, Ecuador (above), and a backbend in a tree in New Orleans (below).

I’m a yoga teacher with complicated feelings towards yoga as a whole. Certain aspects of yoga have been immeasurably helpful for me, but I’m disillusioned with the industry—the human failings seen in every other profession occur in the yoga world, too. So I guess I'm still working on coming to grips with humanity in general. (Yoga helps.)

After years of intensive teaching, including training new yoga teachers, I retired to have kids. Now, yoga gives me tools to bring calm to chaos. It helps me live as skillfully as possible, forgive myself when I mess up, and move on. I love sharing things that inspire me, in case they also work for others. Look for self-care posts on my feed (they'll be peppered between random writing and pictures of cats).

On a more personal note, I have to work to stay grounded instead of letting anxiety and depression take over. Yoga helps tons. So does nature. Also water, eating, exercising, laughing, and unplugging. Some days are better than others, and I manage to keep an optimistic outlook overall, but sometimes it's tough. If you’re struggling, remember, you’re not alone. Deep breaths and self-care are where it’s at, hang in there!

As a mother of twins, motherhood is amazing and intense, but I try not to talk about it much on social media (except when I do, in which case, expect raw honesty). Occasionally, I might go on a rant or gush about how much I love my kids, but you won’t see pics of them on my feed (over-protective mama bear). Don’t worry, I’ll post kitty pics instead. That's Toby the cat sitting in the sink.

Books, books, wonderful books!

Reading saved me as a child, and writing is my therapy. My first full-length work was a screenplay that was pretty awful, but I learned a lot, listened to feedback, and wrote something else. Two of my books are published. They are YOGA FOR DRAGON RIDERS (non-fiction) and WILD HORSE HEART (romance), in case you’re interested.

Cover artwork by Liiga Smilshkalne. Isn't that dragon gorgeous? (I have a thing for dragons.)

Yes, I wrote a yoga manual for fantasy lovers. It's been used in yoga teacher trainings and by students worldwide (which will never stop being amazing to me).

Since retiring from teaching four years ago, I’ve written seven novels in different genres, including contemporary, fantasy, and science-fiction, and I’m especially interested in the potential Steemit has as a publishing platform. I love books, and tend to get along with people who love books. If you’re a writer, please say hello!

Finding genuine online community is huge for me.

As an introvert, I appreciate being able to have a social life without having to change out of my yoga clothes or feel awkward making small talk (I hate small talk). I value the conversations that happen between people all over the world, and am looking forward to finding like-minded friends on Steemit.

I believe small things make a big difference. Buying local, contributing to charities, smiling at strangers, random acts of kindness, being open-minded enough to see the genius in things like Bitcoin and Steemit—this is how change happens. I’m doing my best to make the world a better place, and am always happy to meet others doing the same.

Did I mention I’m stoked to be here?

My links:

Steemit: @katrina-ariel
Website: KatrinaAriel.com
Amazon: Katrina's books on Amazon
Twitter: @KatrinaAriel