Meet Trailblazer Cherise Briggs

Today we’d like to introduce you to Cherise Briggs.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Cherise. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I have always been an artist and had an interest in careers that help heal others. I am a Phoenix native and started my own healing journey through art and yoga at Paradise Valley Community College back in 2006. It was at PVCC that I started taking yoga and learned how to express my feelings, individuality and life experiences through art and realized how healing it was. I went on to attend and graduate from Seattle University with my B.A. in Interdisciplinary Visual Arts. I moved back to Phoenix in 2013. I was supposed to start my Masters Program for Art Therapy around this time, but something didn’t feel intuitively right so I pushed pause on that. I worked office jobs searching for meaning and purpose in my life. I followed this path, and in 2015, I was going through some big life changes and I opened an email one day about Yoga Teacher Training and everything inside me said YES, this! So, I figured out a way to make it happen and becoming a yoga teacher is one of the best choices I’ve ever made! I feel I was called to it. Over the last ten years, art and yoga have been my foundation and support system. I continue to heal and grow as a human with these tools and now I am so lucky to teach others how to do the same in their lives!

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
A smooth road wouldn’t make for a good story now, would it? 🙂 I always say it’s the struggles and mistakes that create your journey and ultimately are the things that lead you to exactly where you’re supposed to be! I was just saying yesterday how grateful I am for every mistake I’ve made and all the wrong paths I’ve taken because I am so incredibly happy now and I never knew my life could be this good! It’s so cheesy I know! But that’s the funny thing- ask anyone who has known me over these last ten years and they will tell you how much I’ve changed! I used to be so jaded, pessimistic and honestly, heartbroken. It took me a very long time to find the right path and to truly figure out who I am and be ok with it. It’s a tough world out there with things bombarding you from every direction but the thing I’ve learned and my best advice is: Slow down, turn inward. Everyone has an inner voice and it has all the answers right there inside them. So, we just have to make the space to tune in and be able to hear it. And then follow that path! It’s the cliche of the things that scare you the most or set your soul on fire are the things you should do! Picking up and moving to Seattle and committing to becoming a yoga teacher are some of the best decisions I’ve ever made for myself but they both scared the crap out of me – and I loved every second of them! I continue to make big life decisions this way. I write down goals for the month or year and when everything inside me gets excited and scared I know I’m on the right path and then I just figure out how to make these things happen!

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Lavender Vibes Collective- Cherise Briggs Yoga & Art – what should we know?
I am a mixed media artist, which just means I make art in all different forms. I paint (in all mediums), printmaking, photography, some film stuff, mixed media art- I don’t like to settle down into one form of art. I am working on reviving an art series of mine called: “Her Side”. Originally, it was a First Friday event at The Artery Gallery for ten months in 2014/2015. I will be bringing this project back to life by hopefully having a solo art show in Spring of 2019. I will showcase past models and new ones as well. Her Side is about celebrating women & our diversities. Showing our strength and individualities through the conversation of what kind of pressures the outside world may put on us, how we overcome things, how we are true to ourselves and our own sexualities and expressions. In other creative avenues, I make wellness products like sugar scrubs and essential oil sprays.

One day, I will branch out even more and make more products I’m sure. I also put on events that are one hour yoga and two hours guided painting with snacks and sometimes wine or mimosa if it’s brunch time. I teach yoga in what I call a “Mindful Flow”. My classes are in between a slow flow and a vinyasa flow class, emphasis on mindfulness. I like to take the time to talk about where our minds, bodies and breath are at. We have more than enough going on in the lives that are fast pace and asking more and more of us. I call my students to slow down and connect to what’s going on inside, finding that place of peace and clarity. What makes me different is that I’m a Jill of all trades and like to bring them all together for a greater sense of awareness and expression.

Do you recommend any apps, books or podcasts that have been helpful to you?
Right now, I am reading a book called “How Yoga Works” by Geshe Michael Roach, Christie McNally. I love this book so far! I recommend this book for any yoga teacher! Although I’m sure it would be amazing for anyone! One of my mentors suggested I read this book, more than once haha so I finally did and I am so glad I listened to her! I highly suggest everyone have some sort of mentor, teacher, coach, therapist, support, anyone who is there for them and has the knowledge to share with them. I have a couple mentors who have so much to share with me and it continues to help me grow and keep striving for my full potential. When it comes to books and other resources, I honestly just pick up whatever is calling to me! I have stacks of books and magazines all over my house and I look to them and new ones when things call me to them and I always find lessons in them. I also download apps on my phone for yoga and meditation. The one I find most helpful is a Chants & Mantras app. It really helps when I’m having a hard time clearing my mind or even when I’m not motivated to meditate. When it comes to art I’m inspired by pretty much everything around me! So, when I see or hear something, I try to take a picture or write it down, so I can come back to that inspiration when I’m in the studio or ready to create.

Contact Info:

• Website: cherisebriggs.com
• Email: cherisebriggsyoga@gmail.com
• Instagram: Yogi_cherise
• Facebook: facebook.com/LavenderVibesCol
• Other: cherisebriggsart Instagram

Image Credit:
Ashley Gaddard, Rachel Felicioni

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