Saij (pronounced “sage”).

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Saij is a meditation/plant spirit teacher, Druid (Bardic Grade of the Order of Bards, Ovates & Druids), forest dweller, and yoga instructor with over 20 years of experience.  She graduated with her 200-hour yoga teacher training from the Glowing Body in Knoxville, Tennessee in 2019, and received her Certificate of Buddhist Studies from Buddha Dharma University in January of 2016.  Saij became ordained as a novice Zen Buddhist priest in January 2015.  She has taught yoga, forest bathing, and meditation in different locations throughout East Tennessee and online including the Zen Room, Maryville College and the Girl Scouts. Saij believes in a very organic and holistic body, mind and spirit approach to her teaching utilizing her background in Reiki, herbalism, and martial arts. Creating personalized meditation/yoga plans or forest bathing/meditation experiences or classes for individuals and groups is her passion because no matter what your age or body type, the forest, yoga, and meditation are for every "body", and Saij wants to show you how.  

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Saij’s art and murals have been displayed and exhibited at businesses and homes throughout Blount and Knox County, Tennessee, including her most recent art exhibition at Clayton Center for the Arts in Maryville, Tennessee. Her most recent works focus on graphite/charcoal trees which are inspired by her love of nature and the magic of trees from her hikes in the Smoky Mountains. Trees, plants, animals and nature are her biggest inspirations. If you have requests or questions, please visit the contact page.  

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A little bit more about Saij's vegan/food journey...Saij knew as a little girl that she was supposed to be vegan. She didn’t know the word for it back then, and she didn’t know how to describe her feelings about animals, but it all came crashing into her heart when her father took her hunting when she was a young girl.  She was devastated and heart-broken and cried herself to sleep that night. The day would shape her life forever and in such a way that as soon as she was old enough and able to make her own food choices, she became a vegetarian.  Saij was a vegetarian most of her life, believing it was all that she could do. Then in February of 2013, she learned of the horrors of the dairy industry and immediately became vegan.  Saij has also shared openly about her struggles with disordered eating and body dysmorphia throughout the years offering encouragement, experience, and hope.

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As a Buddhist priest, Saij took many vows, one being: “I vow to support all living creatures and refrain from killing.”  She now has this vow tattooed on her arm as a constant reminder that she is - and always will be - a voice for the voiceless.