We recently connected with Erika Faith Calig and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Erika Faith, really happy you were able to join us today and we’re looking forward to sharing your story and insights with our readers. Let’s start with the heart of it all – purpose. How did you find your purpose?
I trusted my inner guidance and the flow of my life! I didn’t seek to become a Yoga professional or Educator. I made it here by following the spark inside my heart and allowing my soul’s compass to guide each step along the way.
My knack for gathering knowledge started at an early age. Our family made weekly trips to the local libraries, and we’d maximize the number of library books we checked out. Mom bought me a small chalkboard and hung it in the room I shared with my sister, Krista, who was 19 months younger. After attending kindergarten class, I would come home and teach her everything I learned. By the time she reached kindergarten, she was bored and had to participate in “Gifted and Talented” classes. She already had a 2nd-grade education because of me.
My parents pushed music, setting me up for my elementary years of violin playing. The Girl Scouts and Lutheran church gave me a community to build character and moral principles. Our working-class family, with an airline chef father and travel agent mom, influenced a social life of parties and travel. Weekends at home held dinners with lots of martinis and card playing (for the adults), and my sister and I loved making gymnastic dance routines to perform. Every year, we took vacations to Hawaii and Colorado on my dad’s airline passes and mom’s special hotel perks.
Looking back, I see how my environment set the tone for a direction. But as all young lives eventually promise, I was cast into an emotional upheaval when my parents divorced when I was 10 years old. Although the joys continued, the sorrows grew deeper. Everyone slipped into a reality of restructuring life and figuring out who they were without the family structure.
The arts nourished me during middle and high school, where I took theatre and ceramics classes religiously and was an academic ‘overachiever.’ I became the school mascot in my Junior year, performing at rallies and attending every football game. My identity as a hippie girl developed, and I found solace in meditation, smoking pot, and following the Grateful Dead. When I started my college education, I searched deeply for a career path and major. Testing showed holistic health as the most appropriate direction, and I went on to interview acupuncturists, chiropractors, and nutritionists, only to find none of it resonated. After taking several Psychology classes, I found the “study of the soul” a perfect fit. I transferred to Sonoma State University in Santa Rosa, CA, to finish my undergraduate degree.
At 21 years old, I started a devotional spiritual practice in a free-form version of Hatha Yoga, celebrating the eclectic and free-spirited, just like me. I majored in Transpersonal Psychology, emphasizing Yoga Therapy, and became a humanistic mental health practitioner. I trained in eco-psychology, dream analysis, biofeedback, somatic movement, and art therapy. I interned with the Catholic Charities Homeless Shelter, building butterfly gardens with young children, singing songs, and playing in the mud. At the end of my studies, I knew my next step was to become a Certified Yoga Instructor. I spent the next two years obtaining my advanced teaching certification at the White Lotus Foundation and becoming an ordained minister through the Spiritual Healers & Earth Stewards Organization.
An organic unfoldment occurred as I dove into teaching Yoga classes at gyms, healing centers, and movement studios. I quickly grew a following and reputation, leading me to create a Yoga Training curriculum. I founded my own Yoga School, Cloud Nine Yoga, and began teaching a small group of students in 1999. As that grew and the rapport within the circles expanded, I landed a full-time position as a Lecturer for California State University, Fullerton, in their Kinesiology and Health Sciences Division in 2001. I taught Basic, Intermediate, and Yoga Teacher preparation courses for the next seven years while running regular Yoga Alliance 200/500 Teacher Certification programs.
The path and purpose of who I am today: Teacher, Mentor, and ‘Yoga Fairy Godmother’ is because I followed the spark of joy, kept growing within my own practices, and met life in the moment. Each person and experience continues to gift me the next beautiful connection!
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I am a Trainer of Yoga Teachers from the foundational to the advanced with over 30 years of teaching experience.
I work with students of Yoga and the Mystical arts who have no goal to teach but want to live radiantly conscious and fulfilled spiritually in whatever they do in life.
I hold sacred space and create a community of support in group settings and on adventure retreats.
I inspire those in my sphere with a nurturing presence. My Yoga classes are ‘permission based’ and heart-centered, focused on therapeutic applications for mental health. I offer empowered inquiry, playfulness and creativity in movement arts.
My love for Hawaii infuses Aloha into everything, and I have been studying Hula and the cultural arts of these islands my whole life. I also regularly attend Kauai’s Hindu Monastery and guide spiritual experiences on the land.
From a gracious and full heart, I see students in person or online from my home in Kapaa, on the island of Kauai.
My current offerings include 200 RYT Yoga Teacher Training, 300 RYT Specialty Yoga Courses, Retreat Immersions, Syzygy Spiritual School virtual community circles, 1:1 Spiritual Mentoring, and local drop-in yoga classes at Barre Soul Kauai.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
A strong intuition, the strength of compassionate communication, and embodied knowledge of ancient practices
How can folks who want to work with you connect?
I hope to be part of a magical healing hub in Kauai where people can improve their lives through spiritual immersion, educational experiences, healing practices, and community meditation classes. I love Kauai and I love building community.
To reach out, email me at [email protected]
Contact Info:
- Website: http://cloudnineyoga.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yogafairygodmother/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cloud9yogaschools/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@ErikaFaith/featured
Image Credits
Lululemon, Rachel Crane Photography, and Adam Calig
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
