Why I'm Asking for Help This Month

In June, I lost my job after asking for accommodations following a late-in-life diagnosis — accommodations that weren't granted. I'm sharing this in broad strokes rather than full detail; it was a dignity-denting experience, and some parts of it aren't mine to put into a blog post.

Since then, I've been rebuilding carefully and honestly, with my health in mind. That reflection led me to a 12-week, disability-focused yoga and meditation teacher certification starting in October — training I had planned before losing my job, and training that turns years of informally leading meditation and mindfulness practice into something I can actually sustain a living from, on terms that work with my body instead of against it.

I'm raising $600 for the remaining tuition and certification costs, and $5,400 for basic living expenses — rent, groceries, utilities — across the 12 weeks, so I can complete the training safely rather than pushing through at my own expense. The need is immediate: training starts within the next few weeks, and the first tier of support (a little over $2,000) covers this month specifically.

If you're able to help, any amount matters. Even reaching the tuition portion alone would let me keep to the plan I'd already made before any of this happened. If you're not able to give, sharing this with someone who might is its own kind of help — on average, each share reaches enough new people to matter. I'm still job-searching in the meantime, and this isn't instead of that.

Once certified, the practice this whole site is built around gets a second home. I'll be able to offer classes designed around accommodation from the start — not a one-size-fits-all room that disabled and neurodivergent people have to adapt themselves to fit into, but one built with that difference assumed from the beginning.

You can read the full story and support the fundraiser here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-me-rebuild-as-a-yoga-teacher

Thank you for reading, and for whatever kind of support you're able to offer.