We’re looking forward to introducing you to Kenneth Brehm & Felizidad Fraser. Check out our conversation below.
Hi Kenneth & Felizidad, thank you so much for taking time out of your busy day to share your story, experiences and insights with our readers. Let’s jump right in with an interesting one: Are you walking a path—or wandering?
Walking. It’s important to me to have a vision and direction. Clients who are wondering have an extremely high level of anxiety, because without direction you have chaos.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Kenneth and I am the cofounder of Grace in Balance. I also own Nefarious Yoga. My goal is to connect the soul, body, and mind through music, movement, meditation, and nutrition. Inspired by the traditions of ancient yoga in an attempt to transcend the dark nights of my soul, I have journeyed for many years along the Yellow Brick Road searching for Oz. The journey has provided beauty, contentment, hardships, and encounters with the darker sides of humanity, my own as well as those of others. I have been developing a yoga practice to sharpen the intellect, open the heart, and find the courage to keep going in the hope of coming home to self one day. My brand is one of authenticity, first and foremost, to myself. One must be willing to confront the darkness in their own heart before they challenge others to do the same. My yoga program is not the kind of program where you do a couple of poses go home and declare “I did yoga.” It is the kind of program that requires an immense amount of hard work, intellectually, emotionally, and physically. I am constantly working on myself in order to provide the best service I can to my clients. I am currently developing an eight week program to help people in need address the issue of addiction. My hope is to, one day soon, extend this to and work with veterans.
Amazing, so let’s take a moment to go back in time. What breaks the bonds between people—and what restores them?
Betrayal. This is the worst thing that can happen to a person especially by those closest to the heart. I don’t know if one can be restored after betrayal. I know there are many levels of betrayal and each one comes with its own set of difficulties to address. There is however, one commonality and that is a broken bond, a shattering of truth in what the person believed about the entity who betrayed them. This requires a mass reorientation of belief and a reestablishment of trust. There is a reason betrayal is the ninth layer of hell in Dante’s Inferno. Restoration, if possible, will require time and effort and a rebuilding of trust. If I had to distill this down to its core, restoration is only possible if someone truly trusts in themselves to overcome such malevolence in a way that is constructive and not destructive to their life.
If you could say one kind thing to your younger self, what would it be?
Be as kind as you can to everyone in every situation.
I think our readers would appreciate hearing more about your values and what you think matters in life and career, etc. So our next question is along those lines. Whose ideas do you rely on most that aren’t your own?
I find this question particularly interesting. My birth into this world may seem arbitrary but the world that greeted me is not. Who among us holds an original idea? Even my name is not my own, it was given to me. The human species has been around for nearly 3 million years, depending on sources reviewed. To claim an original idea in this age of information, if possible, would be quite an achievement. People take existing ideas and modify them but the core remains unchanged. This question, for me, is a deep dive into origin and truth. I don’t believe any ideas that I rely on are my own. We as humans are all capable of thinking the same thoughts. Who thought of it first…Well that’s for the U.S. Patent office to decide.
Okay, so before we go, let’s tackle one more area. When do you feel most at peace?
I feel most at peace when I am in the mountains with my dogs as far away from civilization as I can get. Lord Byron, “Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage” 1812-1818…”There is pleasure in the pathless woods.” “I love man not the less, but nature more.” I know I stated I am walking a path in an earlier question, but the path is leading me to this spot. In my childhood I attended a Catholic school. I always found the Carthusian Order to be of interest. I love the simple quiet solitude that I have only been able to find in the mountains. I love having my dogs by my side, there is no judgment either in my dogs or in nature.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.graceinbalance.com
Image Credits
Photos Credit Kenneth Brehm
