When I was growing up, I didn’t have any LGBTQ+ role models, and I didn’t know it was okay to be myself. It seemed that no matter where I went, I never quite “fit in,” whether this sentiment was felt internally or reflected back to me externally. Feeling that my true self would never be accepted, I attempted to mold myself to fit the needs of whoever was around me. I expected perfection from myself, but the mental goal posts kept shifting because I subconsciously based them on the opinions of others. This lead to a lot of mental pain.

Through over a decade of Yoga practice and study, I have continued to unravel layers of mental and spiritual conditioning. And somewhere along the way, I decided to become the role model of my own dreams. Today, I’m a 500-hour Registered Yoga Instructor, a 600-hour Ayurvedic Health Counselor, a Transformational Retreat Facilitator, and an Intuitive Astrologer.

I’m also out and proud as a queer and nonbinary human. While I enjoy working with all people, I feel especially drawn to work with fellow members of the LGBTQ+ community. I believe that Yoga, Ayurveda, Community, and Astrology have an immense healing ability to open us to the primal divine energy (adi para shakti) within.

Ohio is home. In 2017, I received both my 200-hour Yoga Teaching Certification from Yoga Central, and my Bachelor's Degree from Kent State University. Since then, I have travelled internationally and domestically, spent time in various Intentional Yoga Communities, and deepened my personal practices. I was initiated into the Sivananda Yoga order with the name “Parvati Devi” by one of my teachers, Swami Sankaranandaji.

My remembrance and self-initiation into the Priestess Arts has been witnessed and guided by several wonderful mentors over the years. As a devotee of the Goddess within all beings, I serve by offering ritual, practical, and energetic support in times of great transition and life’s major portals.

In 2021, I completed my 300-hour Yoga Teaching Certification with the Mount Madonna Institute in California. Then in 2024, I graduated from the Shakti School’s Ayurveda and Tantra holistic lifestyle counselor program. I have been hosting transformational Yoga retreats both internationally in Guatemala and locally in Northeast Ohio since 2022. A life-long artist, I have self-published two original coloring books: Creatures of the Earth, and 12 Signs of the Zodiac. (Learn more here.)

My sankalpa, or intention, for Queer Soul Alchemy is to cultivate safe spaces for our collective liberation through the events and services that I offer, and to empower others with tools for their own self-development and self-care.

Jai Ma! —Paisley Parvati Devi