We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Kala MacDonald a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Kala, appreciate you joining us today. How’s you first get into your field – what was your first job in this field?

On earning my first yoga teacher training certificate after an immersive month in Bali, I had plans to move to LA and begin teaching in a studio immediately. The market is so oversaturated there and my certification felt to me to be above and beyond average, so I never considered that I’d have a difficult time earning a spot teaching in any number of studios. Boy was I wrong! I applied to/emailed/walked in to so many studios and was told “no” by every single one. The rhetoric was they prefer to hire from within, and if I wanted to join their studio and become part of their community, maybe in time I could be hired. Anyone who has paid for a monthly yoga studio knows that is not only an abstract time commitment, but a huge financial commitment as well, with no promise of work in the future. I was a nanny at the time and my first private client ended up being the dad and two young girls I worked for, and from there I grew a small but mighty private client base. Similarly, though I had never been to a yoga retreat as a guest, I wanted to find a way to combine all my favorite passions: travel, teaching, and food. In 2018 I launched my so-called Wellness Week(ends) and the rest is history! Now I travel all over the world hosting my getaways for small groups who enjoy and value the same things I do, and have a small, flexible private client base who I teach virtually all over the globe. I love being in control of my schedule and what I teach and to whom, I love making my retreats exactly what I want, i.e. not just detoxing and vegan food, but adventure and biodynamic wine inclusions. We have fun, it’s all about balance. I can’t believe this is my job!

Kala, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I started practicing yoga in 2008 in college as an attempt to avoid the classic freshman weight gain. After being so active in high school (cheerleading, soccer, gymnastics) I needed an activity that felt physical and incorporated flexibility so yoga was a great, albeit random choice I made after finding a Groupon for a local studio. I fell right into a rhythm and began attending multiple studio classes per week for years. In 2013 my younger brother Jordan suddenly and tragically passed away and my world was flipped upside down in an instant, I resisted jumping right into therapy or medication, but my yoga practice stayed a part of my routine, except it suddenly felt like a different experience even though I was going to the same classes with the same teachers. I became curious as to why yoga seemed to have overnight shifted to be this therapeutic medium, which led me to attend my first yoga teacher training a couple years later. It turns out, on peeking behind the curtain and learning about the science and anatomy/physiology of yoga, there is a very matter of fact, grounded reason why the classes I was taking were helping me during a very depression-leaning time in my life. Thank goodness I had this knowledge, as on returning from Bali after that first training my other younger brother Brenton passed away, also suddenly and tragically. I found the science-based elements of yoga so fascinating and powerful and it quickly became my mission to learn everything I could, package it for the people, and teach anyone who was open to learning how and why yoga works. It can change your life, seriously. I’ve gone on to take many other certifications, dissection courses, and scholarly paths, including a Master of Arts in Yoga Studies from Loyola Marymount University in LA. I weave what I know and what I’ve experienced unto every offering, and my goal is to bring the magic and science of how yoga relates to mental health down to earth so it can help as many people as possible.

Other than training/knowledge, what do you think is most helpful for succeeding in your field?

I think the “wellness” and yoga industry in the age of social media unfortunately leans heavily on persona, beauty, and charm. I’ve come across countless influencer-types who either have no formal yoga training or very little of it, but they have the right look and the right energy, and their magnetism attracts a large audience who then become subject to misinformation and poor quality, if not incorrect, teachings. As much training and knowledge as I have in my chosen field, and as much as I consider myself a professional of the industry, I do, at the end of the day, have to convince you to want to learn from me, travel with me, spend your hard earned money and precious time on/with me. This means I have to play the social media game, sometimes a bit more than what comes naturally. I try to make it fun and let it be imperfect, authentic, and mostly enjoyable!

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

Authenticity and kindness.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.yogawithkala.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/yogawkala
• Other: tik tok: yogawkala

Image Credits
Teren Mabry, Ashlee Kristin