Kaia Placa
Kaia is a yoga and meditation instructor from Sedona, Arizona, where the mind-body connection was highlighted from a young age, alongside a deep reverence for the natural world. In addition to teaching regular studio and virtual classes, she teaches private lessons and events. She has taught students of all ages and abilities, in a variety of styles. Her focus is on healthy, individualized alignment as well as honoring the lineage of yoga as a holistic mind/body practice. Kaia aims to provide instruction that empowers students to learn more about their anatomy and breathing methods that they can revisit when they need.
Share your journey with us - how did you get to where you are today?
“I had two writing mentors through my teen years, Christopher Ya'ir Lane and Kayt Pearlman who assisted him. Together they helped me find my voice as a writer and endlessly encouraged me, believed in me, and found opportunities for me. I did not know I was capable of writing the way that I do until someone believed in me as much as they did. Chris sadly passed away a few years ago, so my writing remains dedicated to him. He worked with many young writers across Arizona where I grew up, and lives on in all of our writing, his influence undeniable.”
Describe a moment in your journey where someone's support in you accelerated your goals?
“During my challenges in undergrad, I dealt with a handful of teachers who were not helpful at all. However, there were some that were absolutely amazing. It was the teachers that fully embraced my need for accommodations with assignments and projects that impacted my ability to tell my story through art. For that, I will always be grateful.”
How would you like to see networks for ambitious women change?
“I would love to see networks for ambitious women involve more softness, healing and deeper connection. I would love to see more nuance around race inequality, the demands of capitalism, and the burden of the patriarchy that weighs on all of us. We cannot lift each other up fully without addressing the systems that keep us down.”
“I am a firm believer in the potency of community care. We are more well together. Pooling our resources and ideas is how we thrive, not only with strength, but also with joy.”