Today we’d like to introduce you to Caroline Collins
Hi Caroline, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I went to my first yoga class when I was in the 6th grade. My dad’s girlfriend was visiting the DC area (where I was raised) and brought me with her to a class. I had no clue what yoga was but by the time class was over I knew I loved the way it made me feel. At the same time, I was also very aware of the fact that I was the only person of color in the class (and clearly the youngest). It didn’t seem like something that was supposed to be “for me,” so I chalked it up as a cool experience and didn’t enter a yoga studio again until I was in my early 20s finishing college in New Orleans. Even over a decade later, not much had really changed as far as the makeup of the studio was concerned.
It wasn’t until having my son a short time after undergrad—and navigating what I now know to be postpartum depression—that I started inching my way toward a consistent practice. Going to a studio wasn’t feasible time, money, or energy-wise, so I built a practice through yoga DVDs and YouTube videos in my living room. Those living room flows felt like life-savers during what was the busiest time of my life so far as a new mom who was also starting graduate school and working full-time.
After a while—and a couple more life transitions—a friend suggested getting a membership at a fitness club that offers childcare so that I could get some me-time outside of my living room. I saw that one club offered variety of yoga styles, like Ashtanga and Yin which were typically only offered in yoga studios, so I joined. This was the game changer for me. Once I realized there was a yoga for everything—for your mind; your body; your relationship with the world, yourself, and God—I was hooked! After a few years of practicing, in 2015 I decided to pursue 200-hour yoga teacher training (YTT) to dive deeper into the history and philosophy behind yoga and learn how to share it with others.
After YTT, I began teaching in the same space I practiced and trained in (LifeTime Fitness) a couple days a week after work. I was the first Black yoga teacher there, and at that time had never had the experience of being guided by a Black teacher myself. I also taught at Your Inner Yogi in downtown Memphis, founded by one of my best friends whom I actually met during YTT, Libby Campo. Your Inner Yogi (YIY) was the first Black woman owned studio in Memphis and immediately felt like home after my yoga studio experiences as a student and now a teacher. In both spaces, I was on a mission to connect as many people of color with yoga as I could because I knew how valuable it is to have a practice that helps us ground and calm our nervous systems. I prioritized teaching authentically and creating spaces in which every body would feel seen and welcome to be themselves. Music played a heavy influence in the energy of my classes, with intentionally curated playlists including classic and current hip hop, R&B, a little jazz, a little blues, and occasional wildcards like No Doubt. Teaching felt like my way of paying forward the many blessings that yoga gave me, helping me find my own way back home to myself.
Like many, the pandemic forced me to pivot—but it was a welcome one. I was burnt out by the hustle of attempting to balance commuting to and from work, teaching regularly, family life, and my own self care needs. Toward the beginning of the pandemic, LifeTime, like all fitness spaces, closed temporarily. And YIY permanently shifted to offering classes online and in community spaces. I fully embraced this as time to slow down and reset. I loved the idea of connecting with people outside of the confines of a yoga studio and so I chose not to return to teaching regularly scheduled studio classes once spaces reopened after lockdown.
As I worked from home and taught online classes through YIY and a few corporate partnerships, I also pursued Kemetic Yoga Teacher Training, which was nothing short of transformational. Kemetic Yoga retraces yoga back to its origins in Ancient Egypt, prior to the practices migrating to and expanding in India. This training truly transformed my teaching and further solidified my desire to connect Black folks with yoga, because we literally created it and are rarely reflected in its history.
A short time after finishing my Kemetic YTT, in 2021 I birthed my platform, Soul Care by Caro, which was heavily influenced by my experience as a Black woman trying to “balance” it all. Soul Care by Caro’s mission is to help Black and Brown folks soothe the side effects of our everyday hustles through yoga and ancient soul care tools. I offer community-based, corporate, and private yoga classes and holistic wellness workshops. My signature Soul Flows are slower and sensual yoga classes meant to help folks reclaim their right to move at a sustainable pace. I also offer Kemetic Yoga, Yin Yoga, meditations, and quartz crystal sound baths. As always, I continue to prioritize our ease and comfort—and of course each class has a soundtrack that’s curated to soothe your soul.
Since shifting away from “mainstream” settings to this community-based approach, I’ve had opportunities to teach yoga all over Memphis, from parks, to colleges, community centers, festivals, and in several Black women-owned spaces in the city, like TONE, Lucyja Hygge and Greatness Witihin Herbs. I’ve also collaborated with national brands like Athleta, and events such as Black Tech Week!
Truly bringing my story full circle, I now co-lead Your Inner Yogi’s 200-Hour Yoga Teacher Training program with four other Black-women yoga teachers who are like family to me. We’ve graduated over 30 certified yoga teachers, including a very large portion of the Black yoga teachers here in Memphis, and all are doing huge things for our community and beyond.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
There have definitely been struggles, but they were all blessings in disguise. Well before the pandemic shut everything down, I was navigating extreme burnout in my day job as a public health communications consultant for the government AND as a yoga teacher. I couldn’t quit my day job and didn’t want to stop teaching yoga, but I was on the brink of a breakdown hustling from work to the studio to teach fast-paced classes in a hot and crowded environment, navigating microagressions at work and in the studio, on top of being a mom and wife. As I mentioned, I didn’t make the leap to teach beyond the studio until lockdown began and left me no choice. But from this challenge, I truly learned the meaning of the adage “you can’t pour from an empty vessel” and the need to prioritize my own well-bring so that I can help others be well.
Taking the time to build my own brand and platform has been a challenge in and of itself, complete with impostor syndrome and all of the other self-doubt that can creep in and stop us in our tracks if we don’t have the tools to navigate it. But being my own “boss” when it comes to yoga has been liberating and empowering—I don’t know if I could go back to regularly scheduled studio days! I love that I now have the ability and capacity to scale up or scale down my offerings and services in alignment with my schedule and needs. This is the freedom I needed in order to authentically sustainably serve the community without sacrificing my own well-being (or giving up my career in public health!).
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Helping people create space to nourish their well-being from the inside out is my passion, especially Black + Indigenous People of Color (BIPOC). So many of us feel as though we don’t have the time, capacity, or permission to tend to our needs. And it’s not our fault – we’ve been hardwired to hustle.
Over my decade-long career as a public health communications strategist, I’ve helped people and populations change the way they view mental health and self-care, overcoming some of that hardwiring. And over my decade-plus long yoga journey, I’ve learned how to use yoga as a Soul Care system to overcome some of my own hardwiring (as well as the effects of unhealed trauma and professional burnout), allowing me to find ease, rest, and reclaim my right to move at a slower and sustainable pace.
I teach from a place of lived experience and authenticity—and I truly believe that is what sets me apart. The experience I curate for each class or client is a combination of this perspective paired with my diverse education across Indian and Egyptian Yoga lineages, sound healing, and even public health communication. I hold space for our healing and wholeness in a way that helps us as Black and Brown folks feel seen, heard, and understood, whether through slower movement that invites us to feel and love our bodies, relatable storytelling that reflects shared experiences, good music, or a deep breath. My classes are all-levels, or as I like to say, “season to taste.” I offer options and modifications for those new to yoga or those that have an established practice. And to take the experience deeper, I often incorporate sound bowls at the end of every class, which has been highly requested and leaves students feeling even more relaxed, grounded, and at ease.
Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
I love so many things about Memphis, but one of the things I now find myself praising most is the diversity of the arts, culture, and wellness scene here! It’s been beautiful and inspiring to witness that evolution and see the impact it’s had on others.
What I like least is probably not going to go over very well with the masses: barbecue! I don’t eat pork or red meat and very little poultry, so Memphis BBQ is definitely not high on my list of loves (unless it’s vegan!).
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Www.soulcarebycaro.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/soulcarebycaro
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/user/vrk7smxiyocir4wdz2w1basik?si=tMULTkyzSJGy7sHRAklJ6Q
