Hi! I’m Kym Coco. Author. Nature-loving yogi. Dog mama of two Staffies. Sprinter van adventurer. Lover of golf, great food, and meaningful conversations (among a long list of other things).

I was raised in Redondo Beach, CA and fondly remember falling asleep to the sound of my dad’s fingers rapidly typing on the keyboard in his office next to my room. Those nights sparked the dream of being a writer myself.

Then my dad passed away in 1996. His 3-year battle with cancer, and subsequent departure, caused me to challenge every belief I held about life and death. It also launched a fervent quest to understand the spiritual realm.

My premise was that we are souls inhabiting a physical body. So I wanted to know how one could achieve optimal health. I wanted to know how to prevent disease and pathways to avoid unnecessary pain and suffering. I found some answers to my questions when completing my bachelor’s and master’s degree in sports kinesiology.

During those college years, a friend introduced me to yoga. It was a challenging practice in spite of my upbringing as a competitive athlete. I grew stronger and leaner and more balanced by hitting the yoga mat regularly. I was also able to calm my overactive mind.

It’s through that same friend that I met Stephen Thompson. He exposed me to mind-body techniques that helped save his life after a debilitating motorcycle accident. Those same methods amplified my own emotional stability. They stoked a desire to complete my 200-hr and 500-hr yoga teacher certifications as well.

My friendship with Steve turned romantic and we were married in 2011. I taught kinesiology and yoga classes at Chico State mid-week. Then I traveled on weekends with Steve as he led metaphysical workshops around the country. In 2012, we blended our experiences into the book It Just Makes Sense: 7 Principles for a Joyful and Stress-Free Life. This is the ultimate handbook to personal clarity, improved communication, and ways to increase harmony in your relationships.

As our time on the road increased, I created Swagtail. It started as a platform to share the yoga teaching tools and business strategies I was using personally. It was also an outlet to reveal how yoga was accelerating my success on the golf course. This led to the publishing of my second book in 2021–The Flexible Golfer: A guide to balance the body, focus the mind, and improve your golf game.

Just months after the book’s release, Steve became ill. In fact, he lost 30 pounds in one hospital visit just shy of Christmas. We knew our time left together was limited. So we shifted our priorities immediately. We simplified our daily schedule and focused on loving each other.

Most importantly, we dedicated mornings to the writing of future books. I’ve been working on these since Steve’s transition on November 24, 2023. The first of these is a tribute to his bold life. The release of On the Mountainside: one man’s tragedy becomes life’s greatest gift is set for fall of 2025.

Until the rest take shape, you can get glimpses of these books via the ongoing blog posts here at Swagtail.