Today we’d like to introduce you to Mykaela Shoaf.
Hi Mykaela, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I was born in the small town of Flagstaff, AZ. I was raised on 10 acres of land, five miles outside of town.
We had no TV or internet so I was able to learn many skills most children would not have, like sewing, woodworking, and cooking. I spent my days practicing piano, cello, and guitar and playing in the woods using nothing but my imagination and the trees around me. In fifth grade, I developed pain in my wrists so terrible that I had to wear braces on both arms. The doctors said it was tendonitis and I did years of physical therapy with no real results. I learned to just ignore the pain.
My parents instilled the importance of hard, honest work, and inspired me to follow my dreams. In high school, I found yoga and was forever changed. I finally had a healthy outlet to put my frustrations into. I was bored in high school so I graduated a year early, got a job at McDonald’s, and saved up enough money to do an internship program abroad in Italy.
Those were some of the best months of my life, 18 years old, interning as a seamstress in a couture design house where no one spoke English, and hopping on trains every weekend, exploring Europe with my big sister. I came back a woman ready to take on the world, only to fall right back into the small town drudge. I saved up as quickly as I could to do an immersive yoga teacher training in Costa Rica for a month. My first time traveling internationally alone, and whole newfound freedom. Certified yoga teacher, check.
Next, I figured out how to get out of Flagstaff. A college fund from my aunt, combined with all my life savings, was enough to get me into The Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising. Twenty years old, I packed everything I owned into my car and moved to Los Angeles. I thrived in the animosity of the big city. A fresh start. But to make it in the big city, you’ve got to make some sacrifices.
I worked 16-hour days at a country club to pay for tuition and rent. I stayed up to all hours of the night sewing and drawing. Fashion school is a lot like Project Runway, except it is that level of work, for multiple classes, every week, for years. I graduated and worked my way up the fashion industry ladder. I went from intern to project manager within a matter of months! For years, I killed myself for these fashion companies, eating, sleeping, and breathing their brand, to only be underappreciated, and underpaid. By the time, I reached Assistant Designer, the wrist braces were back.
In January 2019, my pain became so unbearable that I couldn’t even click a mouse without crying. I could barely even drive myself to work. It became clear that my mission of running the fashion world needed to be put on pause and it was time to take the necessary steps to make my health a priority. I quit my job, subleased my room, and headed back home to Flagstaff, basically falling into my parent’s arms.
By mid-February, I was diagnosed with a pretty serious autoimmune disease, Ankylosing Spondylitis. A slight state of panic set in as I realized the severity of my illness. I wasn’t the tough machine I thought I was. I had to step down from my pedestal and acknowledge that I was not invincible. I knew how much this same disease had affected my uncle, and I was going to do everything in my power to not let it overtake my life.
Over the next year, I tried just about every trick in the book using natural remedies and self-care to heal my body. This included an extremely strict diet that eliminated gluten, all grains, sugars, dairy, nightshade vegetables, and anything processed. Almost immediately my symptoms lessened, but there was still something holding me back.
The true transformation happened once I addressed the emotional side of things. Being the “tough” personality type I am, I had been holding on to a lot of unnecessary baggage, especially related to past relationships. From 2010 to 2017, I was in an abusive relationship. I loved him and never blamed him for all the pain he caused me. Like all my other pain in life, I just buried it deep down.
Addressing all this pent-up trauma was not an easy journey. It took being truly honest with myself, reassuring myself that I am better than the horrible things I had gone through. It took being honest with those around me and sharing my struggles, to know that I don’t have to go it alone. Through writing, meditation, dancing, and self-awareness, the walls around my heart began to break down.
Then, almost exactly one year after being diagnosed, came the best news I’ve heard in a long while. I saw a specialist, one of the best in the country, who combines natural and western medicine, and blood tests that revealed that through all of my natural medicine and self-healing, I was able to turn off one of my autoimmune markers.
In order to have the disease I was diagnosed with, you must have that specific marker positive, so with mine now being negative, doctors can not, in good conscience, say I have that disease! We are talking about the same body, mind you, that just a year ago was covered in rashes, crippled with pain, and told by the doctors that the only solution was to start taking steroids.
I did that! I set the intention to heal my body and did it. I went against the doctors’ orders and followed my heart. I instead used the materials Mother Earth has already provided us with. I stuck with these natural remedies and strict diets and saw direct results. I worked through the past traumas I never wanted to face. And for that, I am dang proud of myself!
I still of course have the genetic predisposition for this autoimmune marker, so I will have to keep this lifestyle up for the rest of my life. But honestly, I could never imagine going back to my old ways. After seeing how food is supposed to make you feel when I think of sugar and carbs, I think of pain. After feeling so at peace with myself, I never want to hold onto baggage again. It is a new journey every day, with many challenges, but it is worth it, I am worth it!
After my healing journey, I returned to Los Angeles, but things were not the same. I saw through all the superficiality I had been so sucked into. I no longer was willing to kill myself for some clothing brand to get all the credit and profit. I decided to take a chance and go for a new career, something that I had dreamed of since a child, that would hopefully bring me more fulfillment.
By summer 2020, I was a river guide on the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon. I was still living in Los Angeles, doing acting, modeling, and fashion design on the side, but was still able to be in touch with nature.
Then I met Adam. Literally flying in on a helicopter, to the bottom of the Grand Canyon, he caught my eye immediately. We became good friends but both wanted more. So then came the time to decide; do I stay in Los Angeles and continue my personal growth journey with this beautiful, fun, independent life I had spent the last six years creating for myself, or do I follow my heart, take a huge chance, and move to be closer to the man I hope to one day call my husband?
Well, I can happily say that I am writing this here today, in St. George Utah, sitting next to my husband, in a van we built out to be our home. I was terrified to leave LA, to “give up” my fashion industry dreams, but I decided my dream of having a family was much more important. It was not an easy change; months of separation anxiety, tears over lost Instagram followers, and panic attacks that I was missing out on the LA trends.
Then slowly I began to realize that I had not given up on my dreams at all, they had simply transformed as I did. I still hope to have a fashion brand, event coordinating company, teach yoga, have a food blog, and even one day write a book. But I am going to do it in my own way, in my own time, with Adam right there beside me.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
The biggest obstacle I faced throughout all my struggles, was myself. My entire life I have been a perfectionist. I wanted to look, feel, and act perfect. I wanted to be perceived as perfect.
This led me to have unhealthy restrictive eating habits and unrealistic expectations for myself and others, which led me to be overworked, malnourished, and usually disappointed. My need to be viewed as perfect led me to hide my abusive relationship. It isolated me from asking for help because I was so ashamed. I was so set on achieving my dreams within an “acceptable” time period that I worked myself into the ground.
I believe this is a common problem for people my age in this modern world. We are taught our entire lives to seek the “American Dream” but then told exactly how to do so. All we see are perfect, beautiful people in the media. Everyone and their Mom is famous on Instagram or TikTok. It is a lot of pressure to put on just one person.
I worked on this perfectionism for years, but it wasn’t until I met Adam that things really clicked. It sounds cliche, but when you find someone who truly loves you for you, it is a lot easier to love yourself. He has helped me to feel comfortable in my own skin, give up my impractical expectations and just go with the flow.
You should still chase your dreams, just don’t forget to have fun along the way.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am proud to call myself a woman of many talents. I genuinely enjoy anything creative and am inspired mainly by nature. I love to have diversity in my work so that I do not get bored or burned out. I am a fashion designer and can design, pattern, and sew just about anything.
I most enjoy designing wedding dresses. I also am a graphic designer and love making invitations, flyers, logos, and other marketing tools. I help design and maintain websites as well. I am very well versed in Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, and InDesign. I tie my design skills into event planning to help create a beautiful, themed event.
I have a huge passion for social media marketing and everything that goes into it. I am a model and actress and feel most myself when in front of a camera. I also however love to direct photoshoots and help bring your ideas to life. Once we have created the content I help to edit the photos or create videos for Instagram or Tiktok. I even help to plan what to caption it and when to post for optimal exposure.
I am a certified yoga teacher and instruct in person or virtual private classes. I enjoy private classes because it allows me to cater the practice to the client’s individual needs and skill level. I also enjoy adding aerobic exercises, meditation, and breathing exercises to the practices.
I have a food blog that specializes in the Auto-Immune Protocol diet which is grain-free, sugar-free, and nightshade-free. I am just getting this blog going, but hope to one day publish a recipe book.
Do you have any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
With a childhood full of joy and excitement, my fondest memory is a simple one.
My sister and I lay in our sleeping bags on the floor of the house my family is renovating. My mom is already snoozing peacefully in her bag across the room.
My dad lightly strums sweet melodies on his guitar. The window is open. A cooling breeze wafts in the smell of rain in the desert as thunder rumbles in the distance. We are all there, safe and warm, together.
Pricing:
- Private yoga – $50/hour
- Instagram Reel $15/reel
- Graphic Design Work $30/hour
Contact Info:
- Email: mekiesa.lifestyle@gmail.com
- Website: https://mekiesainspire.wixsite.com/mekiesalifestyle
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mykaela.shoaf/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mykaela.shoaf/
Image Credits:
Fritz Garcia @fritzgabrielgarcia_
