WHAT TYPE(S) OF HOLISTIC MEDICINE OR WELLNESS HAVE YOU STUDIED AND WHAT DO YOU SPECIALIZE IN?

I am a 300hr certified Experience Register Yoga Teacher currently finishing up my 500hr. training. I specialize in Yoga Nidra, co-leading yoga retreats, and 200hr. yoga teacher trainings.

TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOU. WHAT’S YOUR BACKSTORY, AND HOW DID YOU GET INTO HOLISTIC WELLNESS?

I started my wellness journey about 12 years ago in San Francisco.

My friend at the time was a yoga teacher and we were extremely co-dependent on each other, so where she went I would follow.

Lucky for me, it was the beginning of her yoga teacher journey. I took all of her classes, supporting her as a friend while getting curious about this lovely philosophy called Yoga.

Fast forward 2 years later, I signed up for my first yoga teacher training led by two powerful women. To this day, I will always credit them both with this fact: The teacher I am today is because of their polar opposites teaching styles.

Another fun fact: I’m a trained food microbiologist and that was my career while living in San Francisco.

WHAT’S YOUR PREFERRED STYLE OF WORK?

I love facilitating 200hr. yoga teacher trainings, which I call the k thru 12th of yoga education. I enjoy watching trainers light up with an expression of accomplishment when they create a yoga sequence.

My other form of yoga facilitation joy is co-leading retreats! A whole week of yoga learnings and relaxation?! I’m a firm believer that resets like such are needed for ALL human beings.

WHAT IS SOMETHING YOU’RE MOST PROUD OF IN YOUR WORK?

I’m proud that I’ve remained a student to this practice. When I taught a lot, I never practiced nor had time to do trainings, which made me feel less knowledgeable. I would like to say that it’s incredibly hard for a working yoga teacher to keep up with demands of this profession and literally feed into themselves…in conclusion, what we do is hard work and studios should pay more!

WHERE DO YOU GET MOST OF YOUR HEALTH INFO FROM (OUTSIDE OF YOUR TRADITIONAL STUDY). ARE THERE ANY PODCASTS YOU LOVE, BOOKS YOU’D RECOMMEND, OR NEWSLETTERS YOU ENJOY GETTING?

Honestly my go to is whatever sparks curiosity within my body when I practice yoga – a new yoga class or learning from my yoga contemporaries. I’m currently traveling quarterly to Asheville to learn from other yoga teachers and reading Lighter by Young Pueblo to support my mental and emotion health as I prep for an upcoming yoga retreat.

WHERE DO YOU MEET MOST OF YOUR CLIENTS?

In-person after I facilitate a class or from the past when I use to teach 15 – 20 classes a week….I was in the yoga teaching hustle!

IF YOU COULD GIVE ONE PIECE OF ADVICE TO A NEW HOLISTIC PRACTITIONER, WHAT WOULD IT BE?

The best way to teach/facilitate from the heart: Do what feels and make sense for your mind, body, and spirit. The audience will always come.

WHERE CAN PEOPLE FIND YOU?

@karlaproduces for class and retreat updates along with my favorite shared yoga playlist. On Feb. 8th – Catch me speaking more about my creative process as a yoga facilitator and indie film producer, with Elizabeth Bogart on Heartbeat podcast.