We were lucky to catch up with Carla Calderas recently and have shared our conversation below.

Carla, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

For me, one of the greatest risks I’ve taken hasn’t been about moving to a new city, starting a business, or making a career change — it’s been the risk of choosing to heal.

So many of us walk through life detached from ourselves, ignoring what our bodies are telling us, following what the world says we “should” do, and settling into a kind of numb survival. For those of us who have experienced trauma, we often build layers of protection that keep us from feeling pain — but those same layers also keep us from feeling joy, connection, and softness.

The risk was to peel back those layers, to stop running from my own story, and to sit with the discomfort of my pain. It meant allowing myself to look at what I had been carrying for years, to learn from it, and to begin releasing it. That process was anything but easy. Healing asks us to be vulnerable, to step away from the safety of patterns that keep us hidden, and to believe that we deserve something more balanced, peaceful, and alive.

Taking that risk changed everything. By choosing to face the discomfort rather than ignore it, I found a deeper awareness of myself. I began to align my thoughts and behaviors with the life I truly wanted to create. And most importantly, I came to understand that it’s not only okay to want balance and softness — it’s necessary. That risk of emotional healing gave me back my life, and it continues to shape the way I walk through the world, not just for myself, but for the people I now help guide on their own healing journeys.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I am on a mission of healing—not just for myself, but for the world we live in. I believe it begins within: by changing myself, peeling back the layers built from pain and protection, and choosing to heal, I create space for those around me to do the same. My work is about helping people transform into the best versions of themselves, so together we can create a world that feels softer, safer, more balanced, and more magical.

What I Do:

I’ve created different branches of my work out of love for this path and the many ways people enter it. Healing is not one-size-fits-all—we’re all at different stages of the journey. Some people benefit from therapy when the weight of anxiety, depression, or trauma needs professional support. Some don’t have the medical necessity for therapy, but still want accountability, clarity, balance, and peace, which is why I created my coaching work. Others prefer to heal privately, at their own pace, which is why I wrote my book. And there are those who long for community, for connection, and for the joy of celebrating progress with like-minded people—which inspired me to create retreats. Each branch is a doorway into healing, and together they form the way I share this work with the world.
• Calderas Counseling: a mental health therapy practice in Spring, Texas, serving teens, couples, and individuals navigating anxiety and depression.
• Calderas Self-Care Center: the retreat branch I co-founded with my husband, offering safe and sacred spaces for harmony, connection, and celebration.
• Healing with Carla: my coaching work, focused on accountability, clarity, balance, peace, and applying practices rooted in the natural flow of giving and receiving.
• My book, Healing Is Within You: a guide into the heart of healing. It unfolds in three parts—the past, changing our perspective, learning from it, and moving forward with self-love, self-compassion, and forgiveness; the present, building awareness and aligning our thoughts and behaviors for deeper, doable change; and the future, believing we are deserving of an amazing life filled with love, peace, and balance. To bring this journey to life, I created three avatars that reflect the reader’s path, with a few of my own stories woven in for connection.

How I Got Here:

I didn’t step into this work from a distance—I’ve lived it. I’ve felt the disconnection from my own body, the pressure to keep doing more, and the quiet belief that I wasn’t enough. Choosing to heal meant turning toward those feelings, learning from them, and beginning to release what I had carried for years. That choice, over and over again, has shaped who I am and how I serve. I continue to walk this path daily, and it keeps my work authentic, intuitive, and aligned.

What Sets Me Apart:

What sets me apart is that I’m also on a healing journey. I’m not here as the expert telling others what to do—I’m here to walk beside them. Together we explore what works for them, guiding them back into connection with their bodies and their intuition. From that place, the healing within them can flourish, bloom, and come alive.

What I’m Most Proud Of:

I’m most proud of the clients I work with—their vulnerability, their courage, and their drive to want more out of life. I’m proud of their willingness to do the hard work of healing, and of the way we walk this path together. In our work, there’s a mutual support that may not always be visible, but it’s deeply felt—an energetic exchange that helps us grow, and in doing so, contributes to healing the world around us.

What I Want You to Know:

Healing is within you. You are capable of it. It won’t always be easy, but it will always be worth it. And you don’t have to do it alone—we can walk this path together. If you’d like to learn more, you can visit me at www.CarlaCalderas.com.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

When I think about resilience, I think about my book.

The idea for Healing Is Within You first came to me more than ten years ago, back when I was in college. I was determined to heal, to feel better, and to stay open to all the possibilities that life has to offer. I became an avid reader of self-help books, attended conferences and seminars, and quickly realized that what I was learning wasn’t common knowledge. I knew in my heart I wanted to share it. I started writing—outlines, bullet points, even a page and a half of content. But for years I sat on it, questioning if it was enough, if I was enough, and if anyone would even want to read it.

In 2023, I attended Lewis Howes’ Summit of Greatness, and it became the magical reminder I needed—that this book was meant to come alive. I felt called to finish it, not only to share what I had learned but also to help others see that healing is possible, and to continue my own healing in the process. That moment was the spark that moved me from holding onto a dream to finally bringing it into form.

Resilience, for me, was choosing not to let this dream fade away. Even after more than a decade of doubt, I held on to the vision because I knew it mattered. It was listening to that call, honoring it, and finding the support I needed to bring it into the world. Writing this book was also a healing experience for me—because as I wrote, I discovered that I was still releasing, still softening, still tending to pieces of my heart that needed care.

Today, Healing Is Within You is more than a book—it’s a reminder that no matter how much time has passed, it’s never too late to believe in your calling, to ask for help, and to create something that will touch lives.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

Growing up, many of us are taught to compare ourselves, to feel jealous of other people’s successes, or to believe we’re in competition with them. These patterns become second nature, leaving us questioning our worth and measuring ourselves against others. But the truth is different. The very fact that we can recognize success, beauty, or abundance in someone else is proof that we are already connected to that same energy. If we can see it, it means it’s within our reach too.

What once looked like envy transforms into possibility. Others become mirrors, reflecting back the life we are capable of creating. Their joy, their success, their light isn’t a threat—it’s an invitation. An invitation to trust that we are in the energy of what we desire, that we are worthy of it, and that it’s on its way

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.carlacalderas.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/healingwcarla/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@healingwithcarla
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@healingwithcarla