Hi there, I'm Kara. I enjoy sharing modalities that bring vitality, wellness and peace as we face the challenges of our modern living. I teach bona-fide daily yogic practices, wellness/vedic lifestyle practices, offer conscious bodywork/massage therapy, marma therapy & wellness coaching based in vedic wisdom and clean eating. I present daily regimens as accessible & practical to fit into daily life without watering them down. Being a single mom & facing my own challenges in life I know it's possible to embrace healthy living and daily practices.
I've been studying, practicing & teaching these arts for three decades and movement arts (dance) since childhood. My personal path & education has been extremely blessed by ongoing tutelage under Indian Masters, including realized Himalayan Nath Yogis and Siddhas, Vedic Monks, Sanskrit Scholars, & Ayurvedic Doctors. I am a lifelong (more like lifetimes) student and humbled by the vastness of Vedic wisdom and the saintly, compassionate sages who disseminate the teachings. I am dedicated to traditional teachings, self-study, upholding the integrity of yoga and lifelong studies in consciousness and healing.
I believe in being very transparent about my studies and emphasize how important deep inquiry into someone's background is as well as using discernment when one is navigating through the modern supermarket of commodified, misrepresented and exoticized practices. My credentials mainly come from discipline daily practices, ongoing studies and in depth learning from authentic lineages and adepts of undiluted, Sanskrit based teachings. I have participated in yoga certifications and teacher trainings in modern formats, but I do not see those as qualifying one to be a competent teacher or to properly represent the tradition. Certifications and teacher trainings are a modern invention and do not replace years of dedicated study and daily application that is necessary to embody a vedic art. Those trainings, even if taught through an authentic source, only "help" prepare one who already has a strong foundation, practice & comprehension of the body of knowledge. Any discipline takes many years of study before one would be ready to teach - and one does not delve into an art for the sake of teaching, but for the sake of mastering ones potential and living the art. I had no initial thought about teaching - I was very drawn to yoga after being introduced to it and started practicing for my personal physical and spiritual development (as it should be) with an insatiable thirst and yearning for the Divine. Through my own personal experience, it's hard to relate to modern yoga and the idea that anyone can receive credentials without years of discipline practice, deep self-inquiry and other yogic methods & wisdom bestowed by a bona-fide lineage. The Vedic arts and sciences are comprehensive and require self-discipline and years of study and training in the philosophy and practices with tutelage under a guru and lineage - otherwise the true essence is lost. Teaching for me has been an ongoing evolution of refining my unique voice and involved unlearning certain modern influences. My 25 years of teaching have included yoga studios, health clubs, wellness centers, senior centers, retirement homes, schools, retreats, private gatherings, local businesses & government staff and running my own studios. Presently I prefer to teach in venues where I can offer the system in series' or modules as the practices build upon one another and are in relationship to the larger body of vedic wisdom and it's complimentary lifestyle practices.
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My teaching approach is grounded in the directive - "yoga is a superscience - it shouldn't be practiced casually".
Knowing the importance of maintaining a personal daily yogic/ayurvedic regimen, my goal is to guide, give the tools needed and empower students to build sustainable home practices of yoga and wellness. Students who are looking for something authentic and deeper than a workout or a new trend, and ready to commit to a regular practice, will resonate with my traditional approach. Having been trained extensively with Himalayan yoga adepts in ancient esoteric disciplines using the breath as the guide for transformation and self-empowerment, I am devoted to emphasizing the importance and power of the breath.
More details about my experience & training here