Today we’d like to introduce you to Karla Rodas.
Karla’s heartfelt mission is to spread the message of self-care and self-love through Yoga, Meditation and Reiki. Karla began to practice at her local yoga studio at a time when she was healing from a physical injury, navigating motherhood to two sons, being a support system for her family as a navy spouse while her husband frequently deployed overseas. She was at a crossroads, seeking more fulfillment out of life, to live a life of purpose and meaning. Being across the country, away from family in NY, she felt alone and stressed out. The traditional resources offered through the military were not the best fit for an introvert like herself. She felt like she was on alert and in survival mode all of the time.
That changed when Karla began to dedicate time to self-care on and off her mat over a decade ago. She already knew that she was strong but yoga helped her tap into her vulnerabilities, grace, and ease and she completed her initial 200-Hour Yoga Teacher Training with her first teachers at Chula Vista Yoga Center. A new purpose was born, to share her experience of self-care and self-love with others.
Over the years, Karla has completed additional specialized training such as: Happy Back-Yoga for Spinal Health, Trauma-Conscious Yoga for Military populations through Warriors at Ease and Connected Warriors, Restorative, Yin, Yoga Nidra and is a Reiki Master.
In the last few years, Karla’s passion for teaching has extended into teacher training. She has assisted and led 200-Hour Yoga teacher training and enjoys mentoring promising, new yoga teachers. In addition, she has led part of a Workplace Yoga Certification Program for yoga professionals through an ongoing partnership.
She serves the military community, providing yoga through the Naval Medical Center’s Mind-Body Medicine program and UCSD’s Active Duty Military Chronic Low Back Pain study.
Karla continues to serve Connected Warriors 501 (c)(3), with the mission to empower Service members, Veterans, and their Families worldwide through Trauma-Conscious Yoga. Karla has accepted a new role as Ambassador and Teacher Trainer, establishing new CW classes in San Diego and providing Connected Warriors Trauma-Conscious Yoga Teacher Trainings.
Yoga con Karla has expanded and offers Workplace Yoga at the Chula Vista Police Department and City Hall. She has partnered with Stretchtopia, a workplace yoga company, offering Workplace Yoga Teacher Trainings.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The spiritual path always comes with some bumps along the way. With growth comes challenges. I feel like challenges help us to get out of our comfort zone and to move us to the next step. It’s easy to become complacent, to get comfortable, to exist in autopilot mode, but, that’s not really living. Life always has its ebbs and flows and I’ve come to know that it’s best when we remain flexible to flow through it.
The main struggles that I’ve dealt with have been self-doubt, criticism, and uncertainty. What has helped me to overcome this has been to tap into my intuition and inner power. Through my internal work, the yoga practice and other healing modalities I have healed past traumas. I relate to those that are hypercritical about themselves because I was once there. I needed to love and believe in myself unconditionally. Once I did, I began to live life with purpose and intention. I made necessary changes and shifts throughout the years, shedding old patterns and behaviors, letting go of things that no longer served me. I’m now able to help others in their path of self-care and self-love. But, I needed to do my own work first in order for me to help others.
Please tell us about your work.
It’s amazing to be able to share what I’ve learned in my own healing journey with others. I specialize in teaching trauma-conscious, accessible yoga. Much of the last ten years of teaching has been spent welcoming beginners to the practice and it’s a great privilege and an honor to introduce someone to the sacred yoga practice for the first time. I teach people how to ground themselves, how to breathe, how to be present and how to embody the practice in their everyday lives. My approach is to keep it simple but yet integrate the philosophy of yoga into the practice. I’ve been teaching in my local South Bay yoga community through yoga studios and establishing workplace yoga classes at the Chula Vista police department and city hall. It’s amazing that yoga has now even reached our military service members and I’ve been able to deliver these healing tools to so many through that work. My volunteer efforts with Connected Warriors has inspired me to continue to grow as a teacher and make yoga in the military even more widely available. I’ll be teaching a trauma-conscious yoga class on Sunday, March 3 at 3 pm at the San Diego Yoga Festival in Imperial Beach. I’m also excited to lead a women’s self-care yoga retreat in Ecuador this May.
What advice would you give to someone at the start of her career?
We are here to help heal this world. When we come together as women, we’re stronger. I’ve always believed that there’s no need to put someone down in order to rise up. Collaborating has been key to my success. I define success as the ability to write your own story. It’s the freedom to create the life that you want to live. Believe in yourself and surround yourself with those that support your dreams. Set your intention and make it happen.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.lavidayogaconkarla.com
- Phone: 6197392187
- Email: yogaconk@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yogaconkarla/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/karla.rodas.39
Image Credit:
Karla Rodas
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