About Chara

about-slide-05a Now is the time… to trust that you already are enough! Now is the time… to trust that you already are enough!

ABOUT CHARA

Thank you for the opportunity to share a little about myself with you. I’m a mother, wife, yoga teacher/student, life program facilitator, writer, actress, inspirer and creative spirit. My calling is to share empowering messages and practices through instructing Yoga and life programs, creating guided meditations, writing books and acting in uplifting films that share universal truths. If you, your organization or your project can benefit from my offerings, it would be an honor to connect with you!

Namaste

Photo by Carolina Wanish-Rivera

YOGA & LIFE PROGRAMS

In 1992, I graduated with honors from Douglass College and Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University. With a double major in Communication and Visual Arts, I ventured into the world of media production with the intention of creating uplifting and inspiring programs. From 1992 through 1999 I worked for several production companies and networks including PBS, NYTV, Nickelodeon and Turner Broadcasting.

Due to stress related issues, I began practicing Yoga in 1995. I soon discovered that Yoga is an amazing and complementary path that changed my life for the better and also allows me to share heart-centered messages in a whole new way. Over the years, I’ve developed my own, unique style called Sol Path Yoga. Each month, I focus on one foundational principle that will support you on and off the mat, so you may live from a place of greater illumination and empowerment. My Yoga classes are choreographed with care around the monthly principle to effectively support your journey of well being and personal growth. You will find the experience to be an uplifting blend of movement, postures, alignment, breath-work, and guided meditation…lovingly woven together with words of inspiration. In addition to teaching Yoga on the mat, I love assisting people in transitioning their practice into everyday life. My co-facilitator, Richard Gange, and I offer three Life Programs that share the keys to living a more mindful, magical and inspired life.

My Yoga and Mindfulness training began in 1997 with Claire Diab, founder of the American Yoga Academy and current director of Deepak Chopra’s Yoga School. I studied with Ms. Diab for several years and assisted her popular Zen and Yoga class at Seton Hall University.

In 1999, I completed a 200hr certification at Kripalu Yoga Center with Rashmi Sue Jenkins and Melanie Armstrong. I have returned to Kripalu many times since then for continuing education programs such as: Teaching Meditation, Teaching Pranayama, Teaching the Deeper Practices, Inner Quest Intensive, Antomy and Physiology, Meridian Massage and The Yamas and Niyamas. In 2003, I expanded on my foundation with a second 200hr Anusara training with Vishali Varga and Jonas Westring, followed by a period of study with Anusara founder, John Friend. In 2005, I completed the Educo Mind Mastery course with Dr. Tony Quinn on Paradise Island. It was there that I learned the power of the subconscious mind, as well as advanced skills for consciously creating a life in harmony with the true self. As I learned to live a more empowered, authentic and joyous life, I felt called to co-create The Optimal Life and The Dream Life Programs in order to help others learn how to use their creative power. Most recently, I completed the Yoga Mechanics School of Alignment’s 300hr advanced certification with Omni Kitts Ferrara, Donna Scro, and Vishali Varga. I’m honored to have had the opportunity to share the gifts of Yoga, Mindfulness and Magical Living for the past 20 years and plan on spending the rest of my life doing so in new and innovative ways.

It is with deep gratitude that I thank all my teachers and students for the wisdom and gifts they have shared with me on this amazing journey!

Inspiring Writing, Images & Performances

I have always loved the arts and being involved in creative projects. From the time I could draw and write, I was creating pictures, poems, stories and plays. For as long as I can remember, I was coercing my sister, cousins and friends to create funny plays and skits to entertain our family members. The performer in me would spend countless hours parading around in costumes and acting out different characters. Throughout high school, college and my early adult life, acting was a big part of my focus. Even when I was working in production behind the scenes, I usually ended up being on camera too! I’ve always been interested in the power of messages in the media. The more you hear and see a message, the more it becomes part of your thought patterns and belief system. Media is not only great for entertainment; it’s also an amazing teaching tool. It’s my intention to be involved with films and projects that share uplifting stories, inspiring messages and universal truths.

Photography is another love of mine. Beautiful imagery lights up my heart. In college, my teacher assigned us the task of doing a self-portrait. I found the experience to be profound. It allowed me the opportunity to express feelings that words could not completely convey. And so began a journey of healing and transformation that I am only now beginning to understand. For twenty something years I have been taking self-portraits as a means of documenting my life story and expressing my truth. I guess you could say I’m a “selfie” expert! Many of my photos I took on my own. Others were taken with the help of friends…some are professional photographers and some have no photographic experience at all, but were generous enough to lend me their compassionate eye. A lot of my photos spent years (even decades) in the basement or in the dark corners of my closet. But they are now ready to step into the light and share their tender stories. In retrospect, I am in awe of how the soul always knows the bigger truth and compassionately guides us on our journey of self-discovery and awakening.

Photo by Lisa Loewenthal & Chara

Photo by Stephanie Crousillat

Now that I am a mother of two amazing boys, I am even more dedicated to creating and sharing messages and practices that are empowering. This calling is what led me to write my first book, YOU ARE… 12 empowering messages that celebrate you! Soon to follow are YOU HAVE… and YOU CAN… I originally began writing You Are… for my sons Von and Zan. Soon into the process, I felt a knowing in my heart that said, “These messages are for every child – every human being.” And so I felt guided, step by step, to create this book with my talented friend and illustrator, Jodi Bonthron.

 

This book series and all my offerings come from my heart and the belief that we are all special, capable and divine.

My wish for you and the children in your life is to know your own brilliance, fulfill your potential and live the life you truly desire. If you can benefit from any of my offerings, it would be an honor to share them with you.