Today we’d like to introduce you to Kaylyn Wright.
Hi Kaylyn, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I was born in the city of sin, A.K.A Las Vegas, Nevada. Now I am in the city of Angels, where both my parents were born.
I arrived in LA in 2017 to earn my B.A. in Psychology at Pitzer College in Claremont, California. This transitional time in my life coincided with the passing of my dear grandmother and my parents divorcing. So as a response, I turned to music and yoga.
I bought my first mat at a yard sale on college move-in day and began a daily ritual of sun salutations. As a sophomore I founded a college record label “Live Your Best Life” records centered on wellness and music.
I graduated during the pandemic in 2021 (yes, my graduation was on zoom 🙃). After a turbulent time of navigating my 20s in LA, I quit my job as a receptionist and chose to find more aligned work. This chapter of my life included a mental health crisis that led to hospitalization and a period of homelessness. It was during this challenging time that I turned to my mat as space to be held in what felt like rock bottom. This season humbled me to the importance of genuine self care and compassion for the human condition.
I found fulfilling work at a program called Smiling Boys where I now facilitate and organize mental health workshops for young Black boys. I am grateful for this experience and the community I am building in the organization.
After years of procrastinating and self-doubt, In 2024, I committed to my first Yoga Teacher Training with Black Boys Om School of Yoga. Over this six-month period yoga became not just a practice but a companion.
I now am yoga certified and started teaching my first classes! It is such a blessing to see how far I have come.
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?
I wanted to give up on myself after losing my closest friends in college during the pandemic. I experienced deep rejection and shame. I chose unhealthy coping mechanisms, by numbing myself with hook up culture and ignoring my mental health needs.
Since 2020 I went through a downward spiral of destroying my closest relationships, being isolated and heartbroken. Right when I thought it couldn’t get worse my family got evicted from our home because my mother was unemployed. And this brought me to my lowest point.
I am so grateful for the people and the practices that have sustained me through all of this.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am an Artist, Facilitator, and Yoga Teacher
For over eight years I have devoted myself to working with children and young adults in various capacities, including as a camp counselor, teaching assistant, and program facilitator. I am a dedicated mentor, educator, and multidisciplinary artist with a passion for youth development, mental wellness, and nature-based learning.
As a newly certified yoga teacher, I look forward to bringing the skills I have learned from my experience with youth into the yoga studio & wellness industry.
Currently, I serves as a Teaching Artist and Program Coordinator for the S.M.I.L.E-ing Boys Project, where I co-facilitates workshops focused on mental well-being and positive identity development for high school students in South Los Angeles. I also lead Earthlodge Center for Transformation in Long Beach as Youth Program Manager.
At the heart of everything I do is my creativity. I continue to make music that inspires me and integrates my perspective through sound. Freestyle (rapping) is one of my favorite art forms that I practice regularly to process life.
How do you think about luck?
I have been blessed with opportunities that I know came from something greater than my self. I met the founder of Smiling Boys while I was volunteering at a community event space. He came in from London to do his exhibit and I asked to volunteer at one of his workshops that same week. I volunteered at one workshop and the rest is history. Here I am two years later, at an organization that I have helped grow from 1 to 4 schools in LA, and over 100 youth impacted!
I see it as divine intervention. I don’t know where I would be if I didn’t find Smiling Boys as the time that I did.
I also see myself as very fortunate I got to learn yoga in a hybrid class structure and with all Black men teachers. I was the first student to graduate from the program because it was the perfect time in my life (after a break up) where I needed something to give my attention to as I healed through heart break. I made a simple post on Instagram of me doing my morning yoga and the founder of the yoga school offered me a scholarship!
In the last 2 years my life has significantly shifted thanks to moments like this 🌻
Pricing:
- Free 15-minute consultation (1 on 1 yoga session)
- You can join one of my upcoming yoga group classes
- To sign up for 1 on 1 yoga session, contact me.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://bio.site/kaylyn.yoga
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kaylyn.eye
- Other: https://linktr.ee/kaylyn.iii
Image Credits
(Smiling Boys photos) – Kim Preston
(Yoga certification photo) – Kavi Peshawaria, Walkgood LA
(“vulnerability” shirt photo) – Aliko West
