Kayla

I found contemplative practice my junior year of college, where my studies focused on improving the human condition through public policy and global health. I wandered into a restorative yoga class and quickly discovered the healing potential of embodied movement, mindfulness, and spiritual philosophy. I was hooked. Yoga practice showed me what a tangible shift in the human condition could feel like, from the inside out: moving through the world with more patience, equanimity, and kind attention. I was eager to learn more and share these practices with others, and soon became a teacher. The embodiment work of physical yoga practice helped ground me and open my mind.

From this more settled and open-hearted place, I found meditation and Buddhist practice. I was fortunate to find some incredible teachers, and I was drawn in by the wisdom and love that they embodied and shared. Meditation, dharma study, and the support of spiritual communities brought me home to myself. It felt like a reunion with the ideas and feelings I had always been trying to make peace with but never could put words to – the preciousness of life, overwhelming compassion for the suffering of others, the fleeting nature of every experience, and the imminence and promise of death. Exploring these inquiries with guidance and support from meditation practice, teachers, and community has led to a deeply rewarding path.

This path led me to attain my Master’s Degree in Clinical Psychology, with a concentration in Spirituality & Mind-Body Practice. Outside of academia, I’ve had a chance to study closely with Buddhist teacher Mark Coleman, a senior teacher at Spirit Rock in the Insight Theravada tradition, influenced by Advaita Vedanta and Tibetan traditions as well as his deep love of nature as a wilderness guide and environmental activist. I’ve also studied Tibetan Buddhism for years with my teacher Hector Marcel, and most recently the Vajrayana tradition with Dr. Nida Chenagtsang in the spiritual healing tradition of Tibetan Medicine. Nature has been one of my greatest teachers. The more time I spent learning from the natural world, the more mindfulness practice, Buddhist Dharma, and the healing tools of psychology really opened up to me. Over the past few years, I’ve devoted significant time to immersing myself in nature-based contemplative practice and training environments – camping in the open wilderness on silent meditation retreats, practicing at nature-based Buddhist monasteries and retreat centers, and training at permaculture farms and medicinal gardens.

To share these practices with others, I’ve spent the past few months immersed in a yearlong apprenticeship with Mark Coleman, through his teacher training program Awake in the Wild, which is focused on building a depth of personal nature practice and skills to lead others in contemplative healing immersions in nature. My previous training led me to become a Level Two Mindfulness Coach through Unified Mindfulness, a unique system of meditation with an emphasis on secular, research-backed teachings that are clear and accessible to anyone. I also hold a certification in teaching Trauma-Conscious Mindfulness through The Lineage Project.

I bring these experiences and training together through Art of Human Being, an organization my sister and I launched to share meditation practice and tools for mental wellbeing and self-inquiry, with the goal of cultivating awakened hearts and minds.

Today, the pursuits of my heart are: the inquiry of life's big questions, exploring my role in the reciprocal healing of humanity and the Earth, and sharing healing contemplative practice with others.