Meet Kayla Jones | Yoga Instructor & Wellness enthusiast

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kayla Jones and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kayla, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
Creating Soulfull Haven has been an extension of my healing and my way of loving on my community through trauma informed work. I found yoga in one of the darkest seasons of my life with some digestive health ailments. It has not only aided in helping me heal but it brought me into mindfulness work, helping me connect with myself on a deeper level internally.

We live in a society that pushes conventional healing methods heavily, and they tend to be methods that only mask symptoms without treating the root issue. This is why I have a deep passion for holistic methods, really honing into your body and trusting that your body has the ability to heal. While I do believe there is a time for conventional needs, I am a huge believer in herbs, aromatherapy, mindfulness, and movement being huge contributors in healing physically and emotionally. Soulfull Haven exists to provide all of these things, but a huge component is connecting to community and breaking the disparities of wellness access in under resourced communities. Creating spaces where the BIPOC community especially can feel easeful and seen during every season of their healing.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I am a trauma informed yoga instructor with 12 years of practice and 3 years of teaching experience. I launched my baby Soulfull Haven this summer, and we are a wellness organization that specializes in holistic practices of yoga, aromatherapy, herbalism, and mindfulness. Our hope is that we are able to make wellness accessible to all communities with a special heart for the BIPOC community as a whole. We believe that everyone should have access to healing spaces that allow them to feel seen and held throughout their journey and daily lives.

Getting to the space of launching wasn’t easy by any means. The wellness space is full of disparities when it comes to diversity and there aren’t many teachers of color who have large platforms to reach our communities, I am hoping to change that so that our people are aware of the power behind these resources. Pursuing care for yourself doesn’t have to be expensive, nor does it have to be difficult to find. It took me 6 years to be able to get my teaching certification due to hardships I have faced, and 3 years for me to get to the space of launching this organization. Regardless, I never wanted to allow life to stop me from pursuing what I know I am called to do. I never wanted to give up the ability to create healing spaces for others when I have experienced first hand the healing work of yoga for myself.

Soulfull Haven was built with so much passion and love for my community and those within my own family that I have watched journey through health ailments over the years. I want better for us all, and I want others to know that no matter where you are in your journey you can progress forward.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Omg, I love this question! Here’s a little breakdown of what I would do:

Places I would take them to eat: Perrys Steakhouse, Chelseas Corner, Krio, Cris & John, Taqueria La Ventana, and Yenat Ethiopian. Also, love Boulangerie or Jeni’s for s sweet treat.

Activities we would do together: Sur La Table cooking class, Dallas arboretum, Cidercade arcade, African American Museum, Karaoke in Addison, Chicken n Pickle.

Neighborhoods to explore: I love love love Bishop Arts, I am a boho girl to my core to and it feeds that spirit within. From the plant shops, cafes, record store, and sweet small businesses warms my heart.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I would love to dedicate this shoutout to Yoga with Adriene, I would not have taken this career path if it wasn’t for her yoga programs and how accessible she makes yoga for everyone. She is the reason I am an instructor today. I would also like to dedicate this to my loved ones, they never let me give up on my dreams and they also push me to keep going in the midst of adversity. They know who they are, and I love them dearly!

Website: https://www.soulfullhaven.com/

Instagram: @soulfullhaven

Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@soulfullhaven