Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Sarita Shimizu. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Sarita thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?

My journey with yoga began early. I was introduced to it around the age of ten, but it didn’t fully take root until much later—after I was diagnosed with PTSD following a traumatic domestic violence situation in my early twenties.

I grew up carrying the weight of generational trauma, childhood sexual abuse, and the kind of instability that teaches you to disconnect from your own body just to survive. For a long time, that was my reality—moving through life on autopilot, doing everything I could to avoid what I was feeling.

Yoga, breathwork, and eventually Pilates became my way back in. They gave me the tools to slow down, feel again, and start healing the parts of me that had been silent for too long.

When my daughter Valentina was three years old, I signed up for a yoga teacher training—not with the intention of teaching in studios, but to deepen my personal practice. I knew I wanted to do trauma-informed work eventually, and I needed a stronger foundation. But that training changed everything.

I had an incredible teacher, Dawn Feinberg, who has a real gift for pulling people out of their shells. She empowered me to teach, even before I believed I could. Holding space for others became part of my healing. It was through practicing and teaching that I began to rewrite the stories that lived in my body—and, in doing so, I began to reclaim them.

That’s why I co-founded Heartspace Collective with my partner Carey Fullilove: to build a community rooted in healing, nervous system regulation, and embodied empowerment. Whether I’m teaching a breath-led power flow, a gentle restorative class, or a Pilates session, it’s never just about movement. It’s about remembering that we are safe, we are strong, and we are not alone.

This summer, I’m bringing this work to the Overtown Youth Center, offering trauma-informed yoga and mindfulness to children who may not otherwise have access. For me, this is deeply personal. I know what it’s like to be a child carrying too much—and how powerful it is to be given tools that help you come home to yourself.

This isn’t just my career. It’s my calling. Because I’ve lived it—and now, I’m honored to serve others walking their own path toward healing.

Sarita, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My Mission
Through the Heartspace Collective, which I co-founded with Carey Fullilove, we build community rooted in healing, connection, and shared experience. As a trauma-informed yoga and Pilates instructor with a background in corporate wellness—and as a working mother—I understand the importance of creating space for real balance in our daily lives.

My mission is to equip people with embodied, accessible tools—movement, mindfulness, nervous system regulation, and breathwork—that support a more grounded, less reactive, and more reflective way of living. I believe healing is not one-size-fits-all, and that wellness can (and should) be joyful, inclusive, and culturally expansive.

That’s why we also host wellness events where people can come together, move, connect, and have fun—blending modalities like yoga, Pilates, breathwork, sound healing, and somatic practices in a safe, inviting environment. These moments of togetherness are just as vital to our healing as the quiet, personal ones.

Whether I’m serving underserved youth, guiding retreats, working with corporate teams, or building something new with our community, my mission remains the same: to support others in feeling strong, seen, and empowered—while reminding them they’re never alone in the process.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

I grew up in a household marked by childhood abuse—emotional, physical, and sexual. That early trauma shaped the lens through which I viewed love, safety, and my own worth. It conditioned me to tolerate discomfort, to normalize instability, and to abandon my own boundaries in exchange for survival.

So when I entered a violent, controlling relationship in my early twenties, I didn’t see the danger right away. It was like being the lobster in the pot—the temperature rising so gradually that you don’t even realize you’re boiling until it’s nearly too late. He isolated me from loved ones, tracked my phone, and controlled every aspect of my life. But it didn’t start that way. It started with charm, attention, and emotional manipulation so subtle it made me question myself long before I questioned him.

Eventually, the fear outweighed the familiarity.

I reached out to Casa de las Madres, a domestic violence shelter in San Francisco. They gave me a loaner cell phone because mine was being tracked. They helped me make a safe exit plan, and when the moment came, I followed it. I left everything behind—and I began again.

I was later diagnosed with PTSD. That diagnosis gave structure to the chaos I had lived through. It also brought me back to yoga and breathwork, not as a trend or a workout, but as survival. Those practices helped me slowly reconnect to my body—the same body I had spent years trying to escape.

That’s why I do the work I do now. As a trauma-informed yoga and Pilates instructor, and as the co-founder of Heartspace Collective with Carey Fullilove, I create spaces that help others feel safe, supported, and seen. We bring movement, mindfulness, and nervous system regulation to those who need it most—because I’ve been there.

And I know what it means to finally jump out of the pot and start over. That moment saved my life. And it continues to shape the way I hold space for others, with compassion, care, and the deep belief that healing is possible—no matter how long you’ve been boiling.

We’d love to hear about how you met your business partner.

The Heart Behind Heartspace

Heartspace Collective was born in a moment that was as ordinary as it was sacred—in the school carline.

Carey and I were sitting in our cars, waiting to pick up our kids. Two moms, two yoga teachers, two women who had lived through our own traumas, sitting with the weight of everything we were holding. The hustle, the healing, the exhaustion, the laughter—it was all there.

We were both navigating single motherhood, grief, rebuilding our lives, and trying to keep showing up as our fullest selves. And in that in-between space, we started dreaming out loud. Not just about our work, but about why we do what we do. We talked about how healing doesn’t happen in isolation. How what we really need is a village. A space to land. A space to be human.

And somewhere between pickup times and deep sighs, the idea came through.

What if we created something that blended everything we love—yoga, breathwork, sisterhood, storytelling, community, nervous system support—and made it accessible to the people who need it most? What if we stopped waiting for the perfect moment and just started?

We didn’t call it a business at first. We just called it Heartspace—because that’s what it felt like. A place to lead from. A place to return to. A place to build something real.

Since then, Heartspace Collective has become a home for women, mothers, survivors, and seekers. We’ve held wellness activations, taught corporate programs, partnered with schools and shelters, and created healing spaces rooted in love and lived experience.

And it all started in carline—with two moms, two big hearts, and one shared mission:
To make healing accessible, community-centered, and full of heart.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://Saritashimizu.com
• Instagram: @shimi_pop
• Facebook: Saritashimizu