Cara Sparkman

Co-Founder and Owner of The Essence of Yoga Center

For as far back as she can remember, Cara has been seeking the embodied experience of freedom. From setting up a meditation room (closet) as an eight year old, to spending the hot afternoons of teenage summers in the cool quiet of the cathedral near her home, the thread of contemplative stillness and movement have carried through. Finding yoga in her college years, completing 200 and 300 hour teacher training programs with Amanda McMaine, joining Amanda as a teaching assistant and business partner, and nurturing the programs at The Essence of Yoga Center have all felt like the next right steps on the path of embodied, spiritual living. Thousands of hours spent alongside Amanda coupled with independent study with Dr. Richard Miller, Doug Keller, Robin Rothenberg, Richard Freeman, Andrew Gibbons and Lisa Clark have influenced Cara’s light-hearted, compassionate and precise teaching style. She is certified in iRest Yoga Nidra, and the heart of unqualified nondualism is interwoven through every aspect of her teaching and practice.