Today we’d like to introduce you to Jamie Inn.
Jamie, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
My journey over the past decade has been rooted in the spirit of service and giving back to the community.
I have a typical corporate job–it’s been my bread and butter gig for the past 17 years! I am the Vice President and Manager of U.S. Bank’s Community Engagement programs. In a nutshell, my job is to provide programs and engaging campaigns that connect employees with opportunities to volunteer and support a cause area that is meaningful to them.
I volunteer regularly and serve the Board of Directors for I Love a Clean San Diego (ILACSD), one of the oldest environmentally focused nonprofits in California celebrating its 65th anniversary this year! Their vision is a litter-free, zero waste, environmentally engaged San Diego region. I chose to support ILACSD because I sincerely believe in their mission, and I believe we all must do our part (and then some) to actively preserve and protect the beautiful, natural gems that make San Diego America’s Finest City.
My fun side hustle is teaching yoga. I graduated from MOSAIC yoga’s teacher training program in 2015. Prior to that, I had been practicing yoga on and off for about ten years. Yoga was the first practice of physical movement where I allowed myself to just be. On my mat, I wasn’t judging myself or allowing the super competitive athlete to take over. I felt at peace, and that sense of freedom–in the body and mind–is what kept me coming back to my mat.
In July 2015, my younger brother back home in Oregon (side note: I am a proud native Oregonian and Duck) was sent to prison to serve a six-year sentence. The news shook my family… and shook me to the core. On the outside, it appeared I was keeping it all together, but on the inside, I felt utterly lost and helpless. I didn’t know how to support my parents through this, I certainly didn’t know how to support my brother, and for some reason, I was filled with this burning question “what was my purpose in life?”
I needed something constructive to focus on. MOSAIC yoga was offering teacher training that fall, and I don’t have a definitive reason why I signed up, as I didn’t go into training with a mission to become a teacher, but I was looking for change and a positive distraction, so I thought “why not?”
The experience of teacher training showed me that yoga is so much more than the poses. The practice of stillness, mindful movement, conscious breath, and meditation have illuminated a path to connect with my higher self. It might sound funny, but this practice shows me who I am and teaches me to love and accept myself as I am. I refer to my investment in teacher training as “the gift that keeps on giving.” It provided a deeper understanding of the practice, so I continue to learn something new each time I roll out my mat, and those learnings prepare me for all the things I encounter off my mat
I teach five classes per week at MOSAIC yoga and am so thankful to be a part of this community. This studio truly embodies their “awaken & uplift” mantra. I also lead a donation based “yoga for runners” class Sunday’s at 10 am at Milestone Running, an epic local running store in North Park that’s all about building and serving a community as well!
I sometimes joke that I still don’t know what I want to be when I grow up–and I’m 38! But maybe I’m already doing it, and there’s just no perfect label for it. The activities that fill my day are rooted in the spirit of service, from my corporate gig and volunteer work to my fun side hustle, and they collectively support my personal mantra: do good, feel good.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Other struggles include making time for my own self-care. My job at the bank often requires more than 40 hours a week and when you add teaching yoga (plus the prep that goes into teaching) and time dedicated to a nonprofit, it means I need to really value the free time I have and use it wisely!
I’m currently focusing on setting boundaries to reserve solo time weekly to recharge my battery by doing the things I love like Sunday morning coffee and snuggles with my cat Sasha, my own personal yoga practice, early morning workouts at the gym and movie night with the hubs. My yoga practice is teaching me that healthy boundaries protect my time, energy, creativity and emotional well-being. I love to help out and be accommodating for others, but I’m learning to say “no” if it means I might be spreading myself to thin. This also includes setting boundaries for myself to truly value my time, so limiting the amount of social media per day and ensuring a little bit of free time is devoted to journaling or reading instead of scrolling!
Please tell us more about your work, what you are currently focused on and most proud of.
I’m known for my positivity at the bank and effective collaboration. It might not look like it if you were to see my old school notebook, but I’m actually pretty organized and have an ability for seeing all the moving parts that need to come together in order to create and execute some of the enterprise-wide campaigns I lead. I call this “bringing all the right party people to the table” because when you call a meeting or project a party, it sounds way more fun!
I’m currently working on the bank’s “Summer of Play” activations that align our philanthropic strategy with employee volunteer opportunities. U.S. Bank’s philanthropic platform is called Community Possible, and it focuses on workforce readiness, affordable housing and neighborhood revitalization, artistic and cultural enrichment as well as learning through play–this is my favorite strategic pillar! Play brings joy and is beneficial to problem solving, creativity and relationships. Play is important for adults and children alike, and I love that the bank invests in ways for individuals and families to play and create. Summer of Play partners with nonprofits that share a mission for safe, accessible places to learn through active play, such as creating art at the children’s museum, learning to play a musical instrument at summer camp, or participating in a community playground build. Employee and community volunteers who invest their hands, hearts and minds are the ones to bring projects like Summer of Play to life, and that is a joy to be a part of.
For yoga, I teach vinyasa classes that promote strength & flexibility, mental clarity and I teach Yin. A few of my colleagues have referred to my style as sweet and strong, or sneaky strong. I really enjoy leading slow flows to allow practitioners time to sit with the pose, connect with their breath and body and work on training the mind to focus. I find when we slow things down, we can really feel it and experience the moment. I often draw inspiration from Mother Nature and weave elements of nature into my classes. April was dedicated to the Earth element, and honoring all this marvelous planet does to create and sustain life, to provide for us and nourish our senses. I used this quote by L.M. Wilde “when we honor Earth, we honor ourselves,” as an intention to offer in my classes. The month of May celebrates the element of water… visit MOSAIC yoga to check it out!
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
I can’t choose just one! It’s a compilation of memories growing up in Springfield, Oregon in the 80s and 90s: the smell of rain and fresh cut grass in the spring; summer days at the lake, fishing or floating the McKenzie River; Dairy Queen blizzards; and cruising around neighborhoods by bike, picking up friends with nowhere specific to go, just enjoying the journey.
Pricing:
- I Love a Clean San Diego accepts donations of any amount, including some in-kind donations from local companies.
- MOSAIC yoga has a 2 week for $25 unlimited yoga special for new students – check it out!
- Yoga at Milestone Running is $5-$10 donation based.
Contact Info:
- Website: exploremosaic.com, cleansd.org, milestonerunning.com
- Instagram: good_vibes_soul (that’s my instragram), mosaicyoga, milestonerunning, iloveacleansd
Image Credit:
@savaphotography for the “headshot” image of me with the yellow dress at the beach
Getting in touch: SDVoyager is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
