About

Hello,

Welcome and thank you for taking the time to get to know Free Expression Studio! Aspiring to build community for anyone out there who is looking to nourish connection with themselves and others; explore different forms of expression and mindfulness practices all while experiencing their many healing benefits first hand in a safe environment that provides support for living our most authentic self.

Find What you need more of in life, and breathe it in.

It really is that simply. Let me explain it a little differently - happiness is not something that can be willed or forced, it’s not a simple flip of a switch to light up the darkness. Happiness is a choice; a conscious choice of mindfulness regarding your surroundings, the beliefs you hold that may or may not serve you and the experiences that shape them. It’s a conscious choice to spend time with yourself, looking inward, exploring what these are, deciphering and understanding what it is, deep at your core, that will truly create happiness in your life while navigating the endless outside distractions of what society “thinks” will make you happy. 

But this can be an intimidating thought... why would we ever want to go digging around in a place where possibly (known or unknown) skeletons have been buried and forgotten, with the intent to never be touched again?? Because it’s the road to acceptance; acceptance of everything you are good AND bad for what it is, without the urge to change it, understanding it is what has shaped you. THEN, the change happens. The road itself is not easy, but over time, traveling the road is what will become easier; it’s an awareness that you are not the road, but instead you are the traveler experiencing the road with its twists, turns and speed bumps. Traveling with your eyes down constantly in-check fearing these obstacles, won’t make for a fun trip; but just imagine what beautiful sights you could see if you held your head high, trusting your feet to lead you the right way, all the while knowing the universe will make clear the steps to take. 

Each and every one of us has a purpose, a Dharma, in this lifetime. You were born into it as soon as you gasped for your first breathe. It’s your passion, your deeper calling, the fire you have burning inside of you that serves as a light to the rest of humanity. Some of us are lucky enough to never lose sight of it but for a majority of humans, we tend to forget what this is as we grow older and the road starts to become rough, life gets more complicated. More often than not, the loss of this happens on a subconscious level, leaving us constantly searching our whole lives for something that seems impossible to find at times because it’s not something, in fact, that can be found outside ourselves. Finding true happiness lies in reconnecting with your inner self, your inner child, the inner most parts of you that are unapologetically you; nurturing yourself, your heart, your mind, and your skeletons back to a place of pure love and acceptance, to a place of becoming whole once again. 

Through a combination of creative expression and mindfulness practices, Free Expression Studio strives to create a space where you can cultivate connection to yourself and to those around you. You are welcomed into a safe space to experience meditation, yoga breathing and movement practices, alternative healing methods, artistic expression and a collective conscious community that will support and guide you down a path of growth, transformation and self-worth. 

Where it all began

Megan Tyler - Creator, yoga & Breath practitioner, advocate of connection, community and freedom of expression, dog mom, and spirited Washingtonian based in the Yakima Valley..

Graduated from the University of Washington in 2013 with a Bachelor of Arts & Sciences degree double majoring in Interdisciplinary Art and Communications. I attended my first official yoga class the year before in 2012. I received my RYT-200 certification to teach Vinyasa through a 200hr Yoga Alliance teacher training program hosted by Hot Yoga Inc. in Seattle, WA March of 2019. In May of 2020 I became certified in Yoga Trapeze® through YOGABODY® and their Yoga Teachers College®. The following June, I graduated once again but this time as a Certified Breath Coach®.

About 12 years ago, artistic expression found its way into my heart as my first love in life. It quickly became apparent to me when I had found my happy place in my high school art class - drawing, painting, sculpting, basically getting my hands on any creative outlet was where I could get lost for hours. When it came to the holiday season, handmade gifts were always my go-to. To put it simply, I felt the most ME when I was creating and so I let this passion lead me through college in Seattle at the University of Washington where I explored my curiosity to learn different skills through an art major.

As I navigated my college/post college years, I came upon the second greatest love of mine - yoga. I quickly became drawn to its many health benefits but even more so it became apparent that the power this ancient practice had to transform my life was beyond anything I could imagine. Just as I’d get lost in my creative state, I found myself getting lost in my practice; physically and mentally, feeling more aligned with myself and more whole than ever.

Now, I’ve had to do some excavating to rediscover who Megan is as many usually do in their twenties while struggling to figure out what life is all about; for me I was stuck in a feeling of lost identity as an artist while ironically trying to make a degree out of it. Somehow amidst this, I continued to find ways to authentically express myself while internally struggling with mixed identities of who I thought I should be. It was harder at the time to find my voice because of this but art was still always a place of grounding for my mind, a place of healing. Next, enter my yoga practice to nudge the beginning of the internal reflection I needed to reclaim my voice, my identity, and my truest self. These two loves of mine have created a beautiful duet together and I’ve been dancing to it ever since.

Having grown up in a household where both parents worked from home, I realized early on that conventional 9-5 office jobs just wouldn’t do and my entrepreneurial mind just couldn’t be contained. This mindset led me to opportunities working in childcare, as a brand representative, in graphic design, Marketing, and customer service. Along the way each opportunity has provided me with a deeper understanding of what it is I’m meant to be doing with my time in this world and what I can offer others. “Do what sets your soul on fire”… three words - Expression, connection, mindfulness.

Over the years, my passion for being a creative paired with my awakening journey as a yogi has given life to my vision for Free Expression Studio - a vision to create a space that encompasses being human through expression, connection and spiritual wellness.

The key is believing and ultimately knowing, you have the ability to fully experience the connection, expression and spiritual wellness you desire and deserve. Allow yourself the freedom to experience these speaking to, transforming and healing you. Free Expression Studio is here to support you.

Studies have shown that art has the ability to help better mental health even if you’re not good at it:

“If you enjoy it, do it. You really don’t have to make a living out of it, and if you are unsure as to whether you might enjoy it, still do it.
…
Everyone is creative and can be expressive in the visual arts when working in a supportive setting.”

I’m a strong believer artistic expression is something that everyone has the ability to enjoy; it’s how our perceptions of what ‘artistic’ looks like (a practice of mindfulness) that puts it into a box we feel the need to fit in. This is more often than not why it becomes hard to enjoy the actual act of expressing through the visual arts and easier to label ourselves always a “viewer”. To be artistic is allowing yourself to express freely in whatever way feels right in the moment and stripping away the label of what you’ve been conditioned to think an artist should be - YOU are an artist and the viewer. All art speaks for itself whether there’s intent or not; it finds its voice through the divine beauty of expression and connection that gets pulled out of you by the act of participating in it whether you consider yourself the artist or the viewer. Sometimes the message is clear, sometimes it’s not. Sometimes it makes you wonder, think, question. Sometimes you have to search, within the Art, the world around you or within yourself. Sometimes the message received is the same for everyone, sometimes it’s dependent on the person. Art (and ultimately Expression) allows for connection amongst everyone no matter age, race, religion, political background, sexual orientation, advocating that all here on this eARTh are one. It teaches about having an open mind - a mind open to interpretation - not just of art itself but of the world we live in, of ourselves, of our journey in this world, of our connection to humanity and this planet. We as human beings are creative creatures to our core; you were born into this existence to create, you have created everything around you and you have the ability to create a life of your own choosing, a life you love - don’t be afraid to explore this, express it, feel it.

It is my goal to weave together the two practices of yoga and art through a combination of creative expression and mindful awareness. Creating a space where you can cultivate connection to yourself and to those around you; a safe environment to experience meditation, yoga breathing and movement practices, alternative healing methods, artistic expression and a collective conscious community that will support and guide you down a path of growth, transformation and self-worth. 

It is my hope that one day I can provide a storefront for displaying local art, studio space for creative artistic and yogic expression, classroom space for learning/growing, and a community gathering space to connect. A safe environment for people to experiment/explore forms of expression, spiritual growth and healing, and find genuine connections among the masses of humanity, ultimately building a mindful and conscious community for younger generations to get involved in and inspired by. True change within the world starts by asking for true change within ourselves.

Come delve into the beauty of expression with me, I hope you all will stay tuned for what’s to come!

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