Meet Karina Guthrie | Yoga teacher trainer, yoga teacher mentor and women’s wellbeing coach

We had the good fortune of connecting with Karina Guthrie and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Karina, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
I’ve worked the yoga space for roughly a decade and typically had worked for businesses with a clear voice and direction. A few years ago, I realised I had my own voice and I wanted to share yoga in a way that felt more authentic for me. It was scary, but totally worth it.

My passion is to teach people about the full spectrum of the yoga tradition. Yoga is one of the oldest systems of self inquiry out there and contains heaps of techniques we don’t always get to explore in a studio setting. I love showing people what they are. I also love using those techniques to support high-achieving women as they move beyond approval-seeking and burnout.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
I love catching people at the moment they start to wonder if there’s more to yoga than meets the eye and showing them, ‘Yes, there is’.

I do that with yoga teacher trainings and online courses. I also mentor yoga teachers and coach high-performing women (using yogic techniques and principles) to help them overcome overwhelm and burnout, particularly when they’re navigating moments of transition.

I’m about to launch an online yoga school, which I’m really excited about. I’m excited to offer people another way to transform their relationship with yoga from ‘casual fling’ to ‘committed relationship’.

Building this business has been challenging and exhilarating but I remember having a business coach who said to me early on, ‘No one knows how to ‘get there’ when they’re beginning. We each become the person who can handle things as we reach towards the goal’.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I don’t live in the area! I’ve recently moved to the South Island of New Zealand. If you want some cool things to do here though, I can definitely help you out 

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Oh! This is hard! There are so many….

The book that was pivotal for me when I was starting my business is called ‘The Millions Within’ by David Neagle.

The person who has been pivotal for me throughout my business journey is Ruth Allmark, who owns Good Karma Consultancy. She is my jack-of-all-trades marketing maven and her (and her team) are wonderful.

Third, and this is an unusual one, yoga itself. You know how we record time using BC and AD?! For me, it’s ‘before yoga’ and ‘after yoga’. When I began practicing yoga it turned my life upside-down in the most magical way. Nothing has been the same since.

Website: www.karinaguthrieyoga.com

Instagram: @karina.guthrie.yoga and @karina.guthrie.coaching

Image Credits
Luisa from Luisa Apanui (photographer)