Karen Gilmour:
I'm a Certified Children's Yoga Instructor, the manager of Alluem Yoga, a muralist, and a Children's Book Illustrator. I'm a former kid...which is a good thing...since all of the work I do revolves around kids. I draw for kids. I paint for kids. I read books to kids. I illustrate books for kids. I teach yoga to kids. I teach meditation to kids. I teach kids to love themselves. I create camps along with other spaces for kids to learn and grow and love through mindfulness, creativity and yoga. 
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​As long as I can remember, I've been drawing, painting, coloring, creating. There is always a sketch pad in my bag, just how when I was younger, there was always a box of crayons in my mother's bag for me to use any chance I got. In fact, my childhood nickname was Crayon...and you'd hear my parents call me "Cray" right up until the days they passed.
As a kid, I took art lessons in the backyard of an old woman's home who prided herself on sharing the arts with the youth in her neighborhood. It made me happy. It made her happy. I never thought about becoming an artist "when I grew up".  What I wanted to be was a pediatrician so I could help kids feel better.  During my senior year of high school, I decided Art Therapy would be my path. I would be able to help kids heal through the arts. At Marywood University, I started in the psychology department, then switched to art education and finally decided I could make kids feel good through the books that they read. I graduated in 2003 with a BFA in Illustration and became a proud member of the Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators (scbwi).
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I met Jennifer Cohen Harper, founder of Little Flower Yoga, during a time when change was a necessity in my life. I traded in my 8'x8' cubical with a large corporation in Manhattan, for a 6'x2' Yoga Mat. I took a leap of faith and was guided by one of the most brilliant teachers in the realms of yoga and mindfulness for children. She is pure light, a wealth of knowledge and she has shaped the way I teach children. She saw potential in me where I didn't - on the mat, in the classroom and beyond. Meanwhile, she saw me doodling during the teacher training in 2008 and gave me the greatest opportunity combining my two greatest loves - ART and YOGA!! The published collaborations - picture books, card decks, activity books - with Jennifer has brought more joy to my life then I could have ever imagined! She has been my teacher, my inspiration, my co-creator and my friend. She has invited me into her family and what a beautiful family it is to bare witness to! Her little girls, Iz and Hazel, have been the inspiration for many pages!  I am blessed for the relationship we have, so I was overly grateful when she asked me to illustrate her latest publications with PESI Publishing! It has been incredibly easy and so very fulfilling to work with her on these projects! 
Another one of my greatest teachers, who has grown to be one of the most powerful forces in my life is Melody Moore, founder of the Embody Love Movement. When I first learned of the work Melody was doing in the world of Eating Disorder recovery and support, something in me knew I had to meet her. Hopping on that plane to Texas for the first Embody Love Facilitator Training in 2011 was one of the best decisions I've ever made. To be in Melody's presence is to be held in a way that is both safe and empowering. She has this way of creating a loving container to give both the body and heart an opportunity to discover the truth, grace and possibility that lies within. I like to think the way she has showed up for me and the others who have sat in her facilitator training, trickles through to the women and girls I work with now - in my classes, in my workshops, in my camps and in my life. Her message is one of the truest things I have come to know in my life and has shaped how I show up for my students, my friends, my family and myself. I have been lucky enough to not only experience her facilitator training, but to also have travelled with her on retreat to Mexico and have witnessed her present at numerous conferences and events. She is not only a gifted teacher and a master space holder, but she is a gift to all those who have the privilege to meet her, hear her and learn from her. I am a better person today because of Melody's support and encouragement to show up fully on the mat, in the work I do, and through my own self growth.
Then there was this friend who had a friend who was opening a yoga studio in the old mill building along the Rahway River.  Gina Pachkowski and her 3 young children came to one of my first Storytime Yoga classes that I happen to be teaching at a Barnes & Noble. It was my "interview"...and, well,  I got the job! ;-) Children's Yoga instructor at Alluem Yoga would become my new title...and eventually so would full time Studio Manager. The studio became my second home and Gina, along with all of the teachers and students became my second family. Ten years later, she is my business partner, my teacher, my travel buddy, my coconspirator and my best friend. She is a community leader and a force to be reckoned with. She has made a huge impact in the lives of so many, educating others about the mental, therapeutic, physical and spiritual benefits of yoga. I admire all of the ways she shows up on and off the mat. She makes me a better person, always pushing and guiding me up with a gentle hand on my back, or sometimes a two-handed forceful push. ;-) We call ourselves the "heart and soul" of the studio...together, we're unstoppable! Oh, ask her about the time I saved her life in Haiti.