Katherine Noyes is a licensed speech-language pathologist (SLP), certified brain injury specialist (CBIS), and registered yoga teacher (RYT). She earned her Master’s degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders from the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Institute of Health Professions in 2011. She has worked as an SLP in both inpatient and outpatient medical settings, as well as in the public schools for grades K-12. She became a yoga instructor in 2020 and is a Clinical Connector for LoveYourBrain Yoga.
How did you become interested in the field of speech-language pathology?
I double majored in Neuroscience and Spanish as an undergraduate at Colgate University, so pursuing a career in Speech-Language Pathology was the perfect confluence of my interests in communication and the brain. However, I didn’t become an SLP right after graduating college. I worked in sales for a year (selling educational travel abroad trips to teachers through EF Tours) and then for two years as a clinical research assistant at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), where I confirmed I wanted to work in the health professions. One benefit of working at MGH was that I was able to enroll in the MGH Institute of Health Professions Intro to Communication Sciences and Disorders course to preview what speech-language pathology was all about. After taking that class I was hooked, and I enrolled in their Master’s program the following year.
What is your favorite thing about being a speech-language pathologist?
I love supporting people with getting back to doing the activities they did prior to their brain injury. I’ve helped people do such a variety of things, including: prepare to go back to work; rehearse and present a TED Talk; finish a knitting project; tell their partner “I love you”; read a favorite book… the list goes on! The collaboration I get to have with my clients (and their family, other health professionals, etc) keeps me energized, challenged, and inspired.
Can you tell us more about your interest in yoga and mindfulness?
My personal yoga practice started in 2015 while I was pregnant. I hadn’t done much yoga prior to 2015; I always thought I “couldn’t” practice yoga because I’m not flexible, and a wrist injury from snowboarding bothered me in poses like downward facing dog. I also was convinced that my “monkey mind” wouldn’t quiet down enough to practice mindfulness. However, prenatal yoga became a special way for me to focus on myself, my mind, and my body. After my son was born I continued to practice yoga at home, mostly through Yoga with Adriene’s YouTube channel; her videos were easy to fit in with a young child at home, and I appreciated how she clearly explained yoga to a newbie like me, even through the computer screen. I noticed how yoga helped me focus on the present moment, while building strength and flexibility in both my mind and body. I joined a local yoga studio and became involved with LoveYourBrain which has yoga programs for people with brain injury. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, I decided to find a silver lining and enrolled in a 200-hour yoga teacher training to further my own yoga practice and also to be able to share yoga with my brain injury clients.
What’s your favorite mindfulness technique?
My favorite mindfulness technique is “Take 5”: Spread open the fingers of your left hand with your palm facing you. As you inhale, begin tracing the outside of your left thumb with your right index finger. You should reach the top of your left thumb at the top of your inhale, then exhale as you trace down the other side of your thumb. Inhale as your trace the left side of your left index finger, exhale as you trace the right side of your left index finger, and so on. When you’ve finished tracing your hand, you will have taken five slow, mindful breaths.
I love how quick and easy this mindfulness technique is so I can fit it in anytime, anywhere.
My favorite mindfulness meditation is LoveYourBrain’s Finding Love Within.
What are 10 fun facts about you?
- I grew up in upstate New York, lived in Boston for seven years, and have lived in Maine since 2013.
- I live with my husband, my son, and my dog and cat.
- I love to read and listen to podcasts.
- I enjoy cooking more than baking (but will happily eat a warm chocolate chip cookie or fresh sourdough loaf).
- I studied abroad in Spain for a semester of college.
- I am an Enneagram type 1.
- I enjoy painting with acrylics.
- My current favorite Netflix series is Crash Landing on You.
- The first concert I attended as a teenager was the Backstreet Boys.
- I grew up doing a lot of camping in the Adirondacks, and still enjoy hiking, canoeing, and kayaking.