Inspiring Women in Wellness: Caley Alyssa
Inspiring Women in Wellness is an interview series highlighting strong women that have stepped into their light and looked within to find their inner strength.
With the Winter Solstice this past weekend and the New Year right around the corner, I’m excited to feature internationally renowned yoga instructor, mentor, and wellness leader Caley Alyssa.
Based in Los Angeles, Caley leads yoga classes, retreats, and workshops all over the world, in addition to teaching online through Alo Moves, mindbodygreen, BeachBody, and her YouTube channel. While her challenging classes focus on building strength and improving balance, her teaching style has become more spiritual over the years as meditation has shifted to the center of her practice.
Caley’s Story of Personal Growth and Self-Discovery
Caley’s venture into the wellness world as a full-time career didn’t begin until after she was let go from her job in private banking in the wake of a merger at a major financial services firm. That career shift, in combination with her divorce and move to LA, were pivotal moments in her career and greatly impacted her journey both personally and professionally.
“I think those two together were so pivotal for me because it was the first time that I was independent, that I was on my own, since I was 14 years old,” says Caley. “I finally was able to explore life on my own terms and figure out who I was and who I wanted to be.”
Through that period of self-discovery, she realized she could achieve the lifestyle of her dreams by doing what she loved – which inspired her to help others learn to do the same and find their own joy-filled path.
“Even if you don't have the exact clear picture of where you want to head, at least knowing a general direction and taking steps in that general direction every day can be powerful,” says Caley, “so that eventually your scope gets more narrow and you can figure out exactly what it is you’re meant to be doing.”
Embracing Her Voice and Sparking Meaningful Conversation
Often enough, that purpose may continue to evolve as you do – as Caley herself has experienced.
“I'm finding that the practice of physical asana, while it will always be the foundation of me and the heart and soul of how I got to where I am, it’s becoming less and less prominent, in who I am as a teacher and as a woman and as a leader in the wellness space,” says Caley.
She continues to create powerful programs for Alo Moves that feature a unique approach to a traditional practice through sequences that challenge the status quo.
“It’s something I'm passionate about still, but really where my heart and soul is being directed right now is working more with relationships, love, communication, and sex,” says Caley. “That’s the biggest realm that I've had development in within the past 10 years – I’ve learned a lot.”
Caley’s own experiences within her relationships have played a key role in amplifying her growth and development – and helping her cultivate her voice and connect with her intuition – especially when it comes to setting personal boundaries in romantic, professional, and platonic relationships.
“Every single encounter is a mirror,” says Caley. “And it’s an opportunity for us to learn and to grow and to connect to that person in a deeper way.”
That’s why she’s launching a podcast called “The 8th House,” which will highlight “taboo” topics in the wellness industry, such as sex, money, and magnetism.
The magnetism component of her podcast will cover topics like yoga nidra, meditation, asana, and psychedelics – all practices that have played a role in Caley’s personal transformation, though some may spark controversial dialogue.
“I found through my experience on social media, that I'm not really able to have an opinion,” says Caley. “My followers want me to be neutral. It's kind of an epidemic in the wellness community, actually.”
She’s looking forward to using her voice on a new platform that will allow her to dive deeply into these fundamental aspects of her own journey – and spark meaningful conversation, stimulating questions, and necessary action along the way.
Shifting Beyond Limiting Beliefs and Embracing Your Worth
Money and self-worth is an area Caley is especially looking forward to breaking down on her podcast.
“For me, it’s about what are you doing with your money once you make it? Where is your dollar going?” says Caley. “Also, value and self-worth. How do you get money in the first place?”
She feels this topic is not discussed enough – or with enough transparency and authenticity – in the wellness industry.
“We should be abundant. We should be able to lead the lives that we want to live, just like any other career,” says Caley. “The work that we’re doing does not have less value – in fact, it has much more value, because it’s helping people to live happier and healthier lives…which is contributing to the health of our society as a whole.”
And, like all of us, Caley has struggled with limiting beliefs that have kept her from stepping into her power – some of which she continues to overcome and work through.
“I was the first one in my family, and the only one of my family, to go to college and graduate out of my siblings and my parents,” says Caley. “I have so many limiting beliefs – even to this day I struggle about my worth and my value, and my knowledge – how much I know, how little I know, where I’ve come from.”
For Caley, doing the work in those areas over the years has required her to return to the confidence and self-assurance she embodied as a little girl – which she believes is the key to unraveling the stories of unworthiness or lack we carry with us into adulthood.
“When I was young girl, I was so confident and so positive. I believed I could have anything I wanted,” says Caley. “That slowly faded as I got older.”
Nurturing Practices for Mind, Body, and Spirit
But she’s learned to channel that same energy and perspective by practicing the adage, “believe it until you receive it.”
“For me it's in my meditation practice, or just in my awareness practice, where I really and truly have to just picture myself getting that thing or accomplishing that task,” says Caley. “It can be silly and trivial or it can have a lot of meaning to it, but I'm really sitting with it and walking myself through what that would feel like – every single detail until I can just viscerally feel it in my body.”
Caley considers this practice a kind of mini-workshop that allows her to create – and embody – a certain scenario, instead of using a mantra or changing the language she uses.
“I just run through every detail until I can feel it and picture it, and then it happens,” says Caley.
Her regular wellness rituals also include exploring astrology, making a morning matcha, writing in her gratitude journal, and meditating.
“My practice around what's happening astrologically is checking in, and when there's a new moon, setting my intentions,” says Caley. “When there’s a full moon, I reflect back on what I’ve done the past couple weeks to accomplish those intentions or to help them grow, and consider how I need to pivot or shift to make them more feasible going forward.”
Caley uses her morning rituals to intentionally nurture her mind and body – and protect her energy. Her “million dollar matcha”— filled with nourishing supplements, minerals, and mushrooms – is just one example of how she starts her day with a mindset of abundance and ease to energetically support her entire being.
“Working as a mentor is very depleting – it’s a lot of energy,” says Caley. “And just being in the wellness space, and social media in general. All these things take a lot of energy.”
But she wouldn’t trade the lifestyle she’s created for herself – though she considers her leap into the wellness space less of a jump, and more of a push.
Finding Freedom on the Other Side of Fear
“Generally you either get pushed, or you jump. You have two options,” says Caley. “Luckily I got pushed.”
It’s not easy to step out of your comfort zone, but Caley says working with a mentor or reaching out to experts in the field you’re interested in can help you move past your fear.
“Find someone that can guide you, so you don't feel like you're just shooting in the dark,” says Caley. “Reaching out to people who are experts in that field, asking for support, asking for guidance, asking for wisdom. And that's a humbling process as an entrepreneur.”
But moving through the discomfort is necessary for growth and connecting with your purpose – because freedom truly lives on the other side of fear.
“It's the opportunity cost of living a life that you really love, or living a life that you're just okay with living,” says Caley. “You’re going to feel alive and you're going to do something that you love and have a purpose.”
“Wouldn’t you rather take the leap?”
Want to work with Caley and learn from her experience and expertise? Applications for her “Make WELLthy Moves” digital mentorship program are currently open!
For more of Caley’s wisdom and updates on her events and offerings – including the launch of her podcast – visit her website and follow her journey on Instagram.
Want to be featured as part of my wellness interview series? Know of an inspiring woman in wellness that would be a great fit? Send me a note with your idea!