At Aveda we love hearing from a variety of beauty enthusiasts, salon owners, wellness influencers and environmentalists, to name a few. It’s in talking to others that we can we truly understand ourselves and grow.
This was certainly the case when we sat down with yogi and social media maven Caitlin Turner, better known to her fans as the Gypset Goddess.
A registered yoga teacher and online influencer, Caitlin offers wellness tips to her more than 200K Instagram followers utilizing social media to encourage, inspire, and enlighten fans. And though she’s technologically connected, Caitlin fiercely maintains the importance of honing one-on-one human connections.
We get that. Our very own Helga Hefner, Aveda’s Manager of Professional Spa Education and Global Educator practices this every day and brings this philosophy to her advanced education curriculums on skin and body care for Aveda’s Esthiology programs. Embracing knowledge from the practice of Ayurveda, the 5,000-year-old Indian healing tradition, Helga has been creating her state of the art teachings for Aveda since 1989.
Helga HefnerAveda’s Helga Hefner with Mr. ChakraWhile both Caitlin and Helga live their lives through inner enrichment, they are on two quite different paths; so what happens when these two wellness experts meet and talk?
Let’s find out:
HELGA: As an educator, my goal has always been to bring back the sacred sanctuary of healing — which is the original inspiration behind spa — as a place we can go to renew, rejuvenate and bring harmony back to the mind, body and spirit. I approach each class as being fully present, which can sometimes take me off my agenda but that’s okay because this is part of the teacher and student relationship. When you are open and present to allowing energy to naturally flow, miraculous things can happen. It’s so important to bring this sense of sacredness and presence to the classroom. Caitlin, I’m sure you do the same when you are teaching yoga?
CAITLIN: Absolutely, it’s really important to feel the vibe of the room and amend your plan to the moment; to give students the best experience that will help them the most at that time. Also, I really feel this is overall such a great metaphor for life. Things can often get in the way of what we think is our intended path and it’s so important to just roll with the punches in life and with teaching.
HELGA: Yes, exactly. Education is such sacred work and to those that have been given the gift of being able to teach and share that knowledge with others in their practice and how it relates to life, well it’s just so fulfilling. When you’re in that present moment there’s nothing more special than to be in that flow and just let that channel through you.
CAITLIN: It’s amazing to be in that space; what you can give to others to help them grow and come into that space on their own is quite special. A perfect example is when a student will say they can’t do a yoga pose, but as a teacher I know enough to look at their body and see what may need to be tweaked so they can achieve that pose and all of a sudden what first seemed impossible becomes possible. I like to use that as a metaphor for life; where else can these students take this mindset of tackling something that they thought they couldn’t do and tweak the situation for success.
HELGA: Right, and keep in mind too that all things we do are a practice; some days we will succeed and some days we won’t and that’s okay. It’s just important to remember on the not so good days to be gentle with ourselves; observe our reactions to things as we go through our daily tasks. By truly being observant, we will connect to a deeper part of ourselves.
Peace & Solitude
Along with practicing yoga, teaching and living a meaningful life in their own special ways, both Caitlin and Helga take time in their days to meditate. While Helga is an early riser, she cherishes quiet mornings for daily mediations that can last up to 40 minutes. Caitlin, on the other hand will take her mediation moments out to the desert late at night, where she is far away from the pinging of her cell phone.
To enjoy meditative moments like Caitlin and Helga, set the mood with these three Aveda essentials:
Shampure Soy Wax Beautifying Composition Chakra 3 Intention
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