Meet Ember James | Belly Dance and Yoga Teacher, Writer, Doggy Mama, Witch

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ember James and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ember, have you ever found yourself in a spot where you had to decide whether to give up or keep going? How did you make the choice?
With yoga and belly dance, students come and go. Their own lives take precedence over anything else. It can be disheartening when you have an empty studio, or only one student shows up. It’s easy to take things personally and think, “I’m not a great teacher.” However, that’s not the reality.

So, the question then becomes, do I want to continue teaching for one or two students? I think you have to look at it from multiple angles. If you aren’t covering costs, it might be time to throw in the towel. If you dread going to class every time, it’s probably time to look for something else. But, if you love what you are doing, even with just one student, and you are covering costs, then it’s reasonable to keep going and looking for more students.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I teach yoga and belly dance in Colorado Springs. I also co-run a local coven of witches (Root and Bone Coven). My unique brand and offerings meld the witchcraft with yoga and belly dance. There aren’t too many people doing that right now, nationally, though it is a growing force.

To get where I am now, I’ve completed 500 hours of yoga training to earn my certification, and I’ve continued my training for the last 11 years since I started teaching. I spent about that many years taking belly dance classes locally from various instructors and taking additional online courses from instructors with different styles.

My witchcraft is mostly self-taught, with books and experimentation. However, many other witches contributed by discussing things and sharing books they liked.

It hasn’t always been easy. I’ve often had only a couple of students in my yoga classes for years at a time. That has continued into the belly dance classes since I started teaching in 2022.

But I do this because I love it. I’m able to cover the rent at the studio, so I do this to support my students. The things I teach help them feel better about themselves, and that is my true goal. There is a lot of strife in the world, and it’s easy to feel beaten down. I provide one-hour classes to take a break from all of that, and hopefully that feeling remains after they leave class.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I’m not a big outdoorsy type person, so I would likely take them to coffee shops and other restaurants and spend time chatting with them. Some of my favorite places are Treehouse Cafe, Dynamo Coffee, and Panino’s. I might take them to Garden of the Gods since you can drive through there. I might take them to Old Colorado City and Manitou for a little shopping.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I’ve had so many different teachers in my life that it’s hard to pick just one. They’ve all contributed to where I am. I think the person who has really supported me through everything is my husband. Each time I want to try something new, he encourages me to do it. He’s assisted me with taking care of the studio when I co-owned that, he’s built a billion shelves to house various things around the house, and he’s been the shoulder to cry on when I just need a moment to vent about things.

Website: https://emberrites.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emberrites/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheEmberRites/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@3moonbellydance

Image Credits
Jana Kathryn Photography