Meet Carrie Will
Carrie Will is a Kripalu trained and certified yoga teacher. Carrie is well versed and well-studied in the Kripalu tradition and has assisted programs and teacher trainings at the Kripalu Center where she gained a wider understanding of yoga philosophy.
Carrie’s specialty has become teaching yoga to people in recovery. Whether recovering from addiction or injury or both, Carrie finds great pleasure in tailoring the yoga she teaches to best reach and serve the client she’s working with. Carrie believes that yoga satisfies a core human need to be seen and she teaches people how to see and accept themselves for who they are. Her classes use trauma informed insights and are open to all level of yoga practitioner.
What kind of trainings/certificates do you have and when did you get them?
I received my 200hr yoga teaching certificate from Kripalu School of Yoga 2008. Since then, I have completed three out of the four modules required for a 500hr teaching certificate from Kripalu and hope to complete that some time soon.
How long have you been teaching at HeartSpace?
I started teaching at Heartspace in 2010 and taught until 2020 when schedules needed be changed and zoom yoga was the standard. I started teaching at Heartspace again in May of 2024.
What’s your favorite style of yoga to practice for your personal practice? Do you have a favorite pose/meditation/pranayam?
What drew me to Kripalu yoga was the meditative focus and the ability to adapt to any body, any space and anytime. My personal practice starts with lots of pranayama: Three part yogic breath, ocean sounding breath and alternate nostril breathing. Then I chant and meditate. Once I feel connected (to myself, the space, the moment, to spirit, etc.), the moving practice can begin.
My focus lately has been on strengthening but the shifts are always on the horizon. Mountain or tadasana will always be my favorite yoga form. It’s powerful and underrated. Mountain has taught me, many times, how to stand on my own two feet.
Why did you decide to teach yoga?
I started practicing yoga as a way to help alleviate physical pain. Once my physical pain began to heal I realized that there were deeper layers of pain that this practice could help me uncover and heal. Learning to like myself and eventually love myself was a huge gift from my daily yoga practice and I wanted to teach yoga so other people could find their way home to themselves like I did.
What is your favorite thing to do (aside from yoga)?
I love being in nature. I hike every Sunday with family and sometimes friends. It’s our version of “church”. I love finding adventures for my dog Millie and me.
Is there anything else you want to share about yourself?
in 2021 I began graduate school to become an occupational therapist (OT). I will graduate in December 2025. Yoga has helped me see myself which is a great asset in learning how to see others. The concepts and deeper understanding of anatomy has started to sneak its way into my yoga classes and I look forward to what I will learn next.
