Phoebe Leona - Founder, nOMad always at OM

Phoebe Leona

Phoebe Leona is the founder of nOMad always at OM, a collective global community of yogis, wellness practitioners, healers, travelers, and wanderers of all kinds.

Phoebe comes from a strong movement background. She received her BFA in Modern Dance from University of the Arts in Philadelphia, where she studied technique, anatomy, kinesiology, and pedagogy. As a professional dancer in New York City, her studies continued and she earned her Pilates certification from the Kane School of Core Integration, 500 hour Certification (ERYT500, YACEP) under the guidance of her mentor Jeanmarie Paolillo from YogaWorks and Restorative/Therapeutics training with Jillian Pransky from YogaWorks. She received her trauma informed yoga trainings from both Veteran’s Yoga Project, and Exhale to Inhale.

Teaching at various studios/programs in New York City since 2002, Phoebe made the move to the Hudson Valley in 2010.  She founded and directed the yoga program, Yoga at the Roundhouse as part of the boutique hotel, The Roundhouse at Beacon Falls in Beacon, NY. In 2014, she founded  nOMad always at OM that brings new experiences on and off the mat to yogis at nOMad's Online Studio, on yoga retreats, and at community events. Her mission through nOMad is to give her students the tools to live a fuller life with more joy, gratitude, confidence, and connection. 

I’m so excited for you to connect with Phoebe, check out her work, and follow along as she continues to help people create new experience on and off the mat, live their lives with more joy, gratitude, confidence, and connection.

I'd love it if you'd introduce yourself, what you do, and what you're working on.

Hello! I am Phoebe Leona. Teacher, mentor, creator, mover, dancer, storyteller, and joy seeker. Right now, I am working on bringing my movement experience, mvt109, out into the world for people to explore the stories in their bodies and rediscover freedom of being in their own skin. I have also been sharing people’s stories on my weekly podcast, nOMad’s The Space in Between. 

There are other projects that I have been working on too, like a non-profit TRIBE, which brings the tools of yoga to active military communities and nOMad always at OM, my yoga based business that offers an online studio, teacher trainings, retreats, and other experiences on & off the yoga mat to explore, create, and connect in living a fuller life with more joy, gratitude, confidence, and connection.

How did you get started?

Good question!!! I have always been a dancer and have always loved hearing people’s stories since I was a little girl. 

In terms of how I got started on my most recent projects, nOMad came out of a very challenging time of my life. After a year of the loss; the passing of my dad and a divorce, I wanted to start a new life for myself and provide a safe space for others going through their own transitions by experiencing themselves through the practice of yoga & travel. nOMad was born in 2015. It started by offering retreats and an online studio, then grew from there. 

TRIBE began because I felt called to work with the military in some way after my dad died. He was a Vietnam Veteran and suffered many years from PTSD. I was offered to bring my 200 hour yoga teacher training program to the cadets at West Point, USMA and veterans in 2018. Three graduates from that class collaborated with me to begin the non-profit with the intention to bring yoga to active duty as a way of practicing resilience, balance, and endurance.

Mvt109 & nOMad’s The Space in Between podcast came from the same inspiration that I will share more about in a moment. The name mvt109 (movement 109), came from my dance company that I started in 2010. I retired from dance/choreography soon after because I was moving from New York City to the Hudson Valley.  Years later, when I came back to revisit dance in a new way, it seemed fitting to return to the seed I planted years before.

What inspired the work that you're doing?

In 2018, I was invited to present a TEDx talk in my local community. I was pretty nervous to share my story more publicly so I decided to bring dance into my talk. It felt natural to be on stage and move, which helped me get my words out. 

Afterwards, so many people reached out and said how hearing my story helped them deal with their own. I wanted to offer a platform where others could share their stories to empower themselves & help others in reflecting on their own lives as they listened. So I decided to start the podcast. 

For the many years as a dancer, I often would get the post-performance blues and wonder what was next, which is what happened after the TEDx talk. This time I knew dancing on a stage wasn’t a realistic step to take, being over 40 years old. Also, as a performer I often felt something was missing in the experience. I wondered if the audience was feeling what I was feeling. I decided this time, I wanted people to experience the movement that I was practicing in my body to help them come back into their own bodies and live in their bodies more authentically and with joy. I worked with my teacher and a healer to develop my own way of teaching movement/dance. It lights me up to share movement in this way now, I never feel like anything is missing from this interactive experience.

What is your biggest passion? Do you feel like you're living your passion and purpose?

My biggest passion is to offer a space for people to come home to themselves again. I am passionate about people receiving  grace to enjoy the movement of their bodies in order to free themselves in their inner worlds and having the courage to own the stories they live, by sharing them with the outer world. I am most passionate about this because I believe both are necessary to heal the world we all share together. 

Am I living my passion & purpose?  Ab-so-freakin-lutely!! I just keep asking the universe to provide me the resources to help me continue to do my part in shifting our world and our consciousness.

What is your joy blueprint? What lights you up, brings you joy, and makes you feel the most alive?

What I am coming to realize more and more as the Truth, is that joy is humming underneath everything. It wants to be seen, heard, felt, and experienced in all of the moments. Joy is a breath away and we always have a choice to choose it. With that said, I am not saying this in a space of denying our other feelings and states of being. I am saying that joy is even in our tears after we lose a loved one, we cry because we loved them so deeply. Joy is in the anger of someone betraying us because we saw & knew in our hearts their potential. Joy is all around. If we didn’t have joy in those moments of heartbreak, there would not be heartbreak, there would just be indifference. 

Last year, my mantra was Move with Joy. I chose to practice this mantra to get me out of my negative thought patterns that were still taking up unnecessary space. When I asked myself why I was making a certain choice, I looked to see if I was leaning into Joy or away from it. It started as a walk, then a skip, and now I dance with Joy and I am not looking back! I trust even the harder moments, Joy is holding my hand when no one else is. It lights me up knowing this. It lights me up knowing my breath is my life partner and will always be here for me during this life. It lights me up to share this truth with others and to witness their own discoveries of themselves. I feel most alive when I move, dance and I am in relationship with others.

How do you live intentionally? Are there tools/resources/practices that you rely on to help you stay mindful and grounded?

I do my best to live intentionally with every choice I make. I have many little rituals that help me stay grounded and mindful. Most of them are part of my self care practice in the morning. I find starting my day by listening to my body, moving it, feeding it, taking care of it puts me in a good headspace to continue making better choices throughout my day. My movement practice is very important throughout my day. It might be 5 minutes laying down on the ground doing my floorwork, breathing/moving through my figure 8’s while sitting in the car or at my computer, or taking a dance break after a phone call or before eating dinner. I find that by integrating movement and mindful practices is how it makes the practice of life really come to life!

What would your younger self think about what you're doing now?

I think she would be in awe because my present self is still pretty amazed too! I think she would be grateful to know that all of her hard work was not done in vain, that it brought her to a place she literally had no idea existed on so many levels. And I think younger self, similar to present self, is always ready to be surprised by the journey. She loves looking back to see how all the little “random” moments connect to a much bigger, more beautiful picture/story than she could have ever imagined.

Do you have a go-to mantra or affirmation?

For a long time it was Set intentions, let go of expectations.  Last year, as mentioned before it was Move with Joy and most recently it is revisiting one from a long time ago, simply, Experience your experiences.  I think at the heart of them all is the same which is to live in the present moment.

What is your biggest dream?

My biggest dream is that the world we share finds some kind of harmony. It might not be perfect but if we could find the grace to work together, help each other, connect on a deeper level, and see each other as our mirror so that we can each/all learn, expand, heal, and grow.

My biggest personal dream, is rather quite simple, to keep doing what I am doing with the resources that help me do it, in a place that feels like home with a partner that is committed to sharing a life and dancing along this journey with me.

To learn more about Phoebe and her work check out her website www.nOMadalwaysatOM.com and www.phoebemilleryoga.com, and on Facebook @nomadatom and @phoebe.kelly1, Instagram @phoebeleona.love and @nomadalwaysatom and you can find her podcast nOMad’s The Space in Between here

Joy Corner is an interview-style blog series brought to you by Seek The Joy Podcast. Our mission continues to be a desire to share your stories, truths, joys and inspiration in your words. We invite you to join our corner, and share your joys, passions, and moments of inspiration as we continue to seek the joy, together. Join this series here