Meet Kyla Porcellini

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

Hi KYLA, 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?

Just like many, many other people, I sat with a great deal of self-doubt before finding my purpose.

Immediately after graduating high school, I pursued a business degree in fashion merchandising. I spent six years being New York City-based, running around the garment district with rolls of fabric and typing up fit notes as a Technical Design Coordinator.

However, my career in fashion only ever felt nonlinear. I was not moving up, but over. I found myself spending endless amounts of time in Excel spreadsheets and focusing almost exclusively on data entry. This was not what I signed up for.

When 2020 rolled around, I was about as unhappy as I could be in all aspects of my life- I was in an unhealthy relationship with my ex, we were living together in the basement room of an apartment, my job was bland at best, and I had few friends in NYC.

All of this led me to moving home for a year to Southern New Jersey. It wasn’t planned; just another story of uprooting your life due to the pandemic. However, once I officially ended my relationship and purchased my dream car (a Jeep Wrangler), I was committed to not returning to NYC.

A few weeks in, my friend invited me to an outdoor yoga class happening behind a local cafe. What a stark contrast to what was going on in NYC at the time! I said yes without a doubt, and I was immediately hooked.

I took my teacher Natalie’s class for the first time and felt so inspired. How could someone have so much confidence? I wanted to be like her and inspire people the way she was.

Fast-forward to six months later, and I have requested a relocation from my now-remote fashion job. It was approved in March of 2021. The next month, I packed my two-door Jeep with essentials (most importantly my cat, Sunflower). We arrived in LA and I found the yoga studio I would do my 200hr yoga teacher training with.

It was just an eight minute walk down the street from my rent-controlled apartment. I joined the training with my friend Zach, because I truly had a lot of doubts about jumping headfirst into a yoga teacher training. At this point, I had been practicing regularly for a little over a year.

On day one of our training, our lead instructor Sara had us teaching each other. I was terrified. I couldn’t speak. I did not want to return the following week. However, I paid a nonrefundable deposit and was not in the position to forfeit $400 over some fear.

I kept showing up and eventually, taught my peers my first full-length class. I remember my friend Sharon sat straight up after savasana with a massive grin on her face: “That was my favorite class all week!”

And I felt like I found my purpose in that moment.

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 full-time yoga instructor based in Los Angeles, CA. I teach a variety of classes including: vinyasa, sculpt, and yin. My favorite classes to teach are fun, upbeat, and serve as a space to learn. I love when students come to my class and tell me they tried something new. I find that pushing boundaries and exceeding our own limitations is super important. It is what kept me coming back to my mat when I first started practicing yoga, and what I hope to foster in the classes I teach.

I am committed to having a life that is (somewhat) diverse, meaning not completely spent in yoga studios. In addition to guiding yoga students six days a week, I work in production with Ecstatic Dance Los Angeles. EDLA is a freeform dance community with weekly events on the sands of Venice Beach, as well as monthly indoor events. You can find us every Sunday off of Rose Ave. in the afternoon! It is a great space to heal and shake off the week.

One other community I would love to highlight is my skate group called Vibe Ride. We meet every Tuesday at 6:30p in Santa Monica and all wheels are welcome… longboards, skateboards, roller skates, etc. My friend Daniel started this group with his friend Brandon in 2020, and the meetups have grown to over 50 skaters at times! I was just accepted into VR’s leadership team this month and I could not be more excited. If you are a skater or have always wanted to skate, this is a super welcoming community to join.

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?

I really needed to trust my intuition. Those around me were afraid of my ambitions and did not quite understand why I was leaving the place I grew up in, the comfort of a corporate job, etc. I often could not explain it; just that it felt right to me at the time.

Being organized was also super helpful in getting me where I am today. When I was in my 200hr training, I had three jobs: a full-time job, a part-time job, and a freelance writing gig. I kept track of any meetings, appointments, etc. in my phone and still do today.

Lastly, having the passion and drive to works towards my goals has gotten me where I am today. I feel I have a long way to go but am proud of the hard work that I have put into my career so far.

Before we go, maybe you can tell us a bit about your parents and what you feel was the most impactful thing they did for you?

Just as I mentioned earlier, I have been learning to trust my gut my whole life. Anytime that I made an *interesting* decision, my mother supported me. I don’t remember her questioning me when I chose to go to fashion school, purchase a Jeep, or leave my full-time job. She trusted that I knew what I was doing, and she did not worry about me often.

She passed nearly a year ago from a brief and aggressive battle with cancer. I miss her love and support every day. There is nobody who will support me the way that my mother did.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @kylayoga_la