out of step leader / stoked-for-you coach / punk elder / community builder / connector / eldest daughter
out of step leader / stoked-for-you coach /
punk elder / community builder /
connector / eldest daughter
Community helps us find our personal power and build unshakable confidence.
I’m Amber Beach (formerly Amber Karnes). I am a multi-disciplinary artist, community builder, educator, and tiny business owner.
🚀 Marketing strategy for people who hate marketing: I teach yoga teachers, artists, and other solo business owners how to share your work and invite people into your world without relying on social media.
💞 Adventure retreats for daring women: I create unforgettable retreats where we explore radical self-acceptance and body liberation through bold connection with nature. What would it feel like to live your life out loud, without shame or apology, in the body you have today?
Current Obsessions
- Learning Spanish (necesito practicar mucho mas!)
- Lifting weights
- Surfing
- Solo travel
- Collage and block printing
- Hiking in the desert and exploring the southwestern USA
- Dropshipping & merch
Fun stuff
1w2 Enneagram
ISTJ Meyers-Briggs
Aries ☀️ | Capricorn 🌙 | Aries rising
Bio: About Amber
Certifications
Mindful Strength Certified
strength training, progressive class programming, pain science + accessibility
Kathryn Bruni-Young, 2026
300-hour Yoga Teacher Training
emphasis in biomechanics and pain science
Jules Mitchell, 2019
Accessible Yoga Teacher & Teacher’s Trainer
yoga for people with disabilities, yoga philosophy, accessibility
Jivana Heyman, 2017
200-hour Yoga Teacher Training
Anna Pittman, 2010
B.F.A, Graphic Design
Old Dominion University, 2005
“Hey Amber, what do you do for a living?”
Whenever people ask me this question, I don’t have an easy answer.
I’m one of one.
(just like you)
launch expert • marketing strategist • merch designer • project midwife • business coach • communications manager • web developer • micro business owner • yoga teacher trainer • graphic designer • copywriter • speaker • podcaster • creative • community builder • artist • event planner • group facilitator
I have spent my whole life building community and organizing events, starting when I was 9 years old, as the president of my 4-H club chapter.
My parents raised me to be a community-minded independent thinker and problem solver. My mother nurtured my creative side and homeschooled me for most of my life. But that didn’t mean I sat in the house by myself reading books; my mom ran a school co-op for other homeschooled kids in our town.
We learned everything in community, with up to 20 of us in a one-room schoolhouse style environment where kindergarten through 12th grade learned together through passion-driven projects. Rather than a traditional-style, row-and-column education, our classroom was a living, breathing art and history museum.
We’d transform the classroom into another world. I remember the time we learned all about Egypt: the walls were covered in handmade burial masks, Egyptian art, and a life size sarcophagus we created together out of cardboard, glitter and foil. A few of us produced and performed a skit about embalming mummies (complete with fake blood and guts which got a big “EWWWWW!” from the rest of the kids).
One of my favorite days of the year was book report day, when we dressed up as a favorite literary character. 🤓
❤️🔥
Growing up this way instilled in me something that is core to my values and the way that I do my life:
I thrive when I am living and learning in community.
My best memories and moments in life are community experiences: ephemeral events that create a sense of belonging.
some highlights:
Body Positive Yoga adventure retreats: making peace with our bodies through yoga, nature, and community | learn more
Body Positive Yoga 200-hour Teacher Training, centered on accessibility, community-building, and social justice | learn more
Virginia Beach hardcore punk: all-ages shows featuring local bands | learn more
amberhouse: a Baltimore-based, youth-driven custom bike sticker shop | learn more
Body Positive Yoga workshops: traveling, in-person weekend intensives on body image through the lens of yoga practice | learn more
Baltimore bikelife: rideouts and positive youth development | learn more
Pivot Retreat: peer mentorship for solo business owners who are reinventing their work | learn more
Body Positive Yoga merchandise: positive and inspirational apparel with inclusive sizing | learn more
Community, events, and networking for independent artists and crafters | learn more
All these experiences and communities have shaped who I am.
🌊
All that you touch
You Change.
All that you Change
Changes you.
Octavia E. Butler
Everywhere and always, I am looking for a sense of belonging. A way to create meaning out of this dangerous, wild, unfair, beautiful life.
Every single person has felt what it’s like to not belong. We know the sting of not feeling valued, of not being seen. But I believe we can create mini-worlds around us, where each of us is honored for our unique gifts, talents, personality, and the way that we show up for others.
And so my life’s work has been about creating community. Because community is a mirror. It is a magic mirror that lets us see ourselves in a different way and imagine possibilities for ourselves when we see it in others. Community spaces, when they’re done right, create the feeling of belonging, recognition, and pride in and for ourselves.
Community helps us realize who we are, accept ourselves, and take up more space in our own lives.
Community and collaboration remains at the center of my work, whether I’m creating and running events, designing community experiences of learning, or training yoga teachers how to make their communities more welcoming for folks with marginalized identities.
Inventing my job from scratch is a wild ride.
Most people know me from my work in the yoga industry. I’m the creator of Body Positive Yoga and the co-founder of successful projects like Accessible Yoga School and Yoga For All Online Training.
During and after the pandemic, the yoga industry, my life, and my work went through some huge and monumental changes. For a few years, I experimented with how I wanted to work in the world, where I wanted to live, and a lot more. My work has pivoted away from yoga and toward two main things: helping creatives share their work with the people who care about it, and running adventure trips for women who want to make peace with their bodies.
Experiment, Learn, Iterate
I’m in love with my current work which looks something like this:
🌺 Hosting adventure retreats where we make peace with our bodies + make unforgettable memories with friends
❤️🔥 Building unshakable confidence in creatives + solo business owners by helping them to see how powerful + brilliant they really are
🧠 Brainstorming & building ways to share our work without social media
💞 Creating community experiences that solidify meaning and belonging. You had to be there, man.
Community is a mirror that reflects your power back to you and shows you the person you are becoming.
Graphics & website by Amber Beach. Built with WordPress and Divi.