Meet The Founder

Present

Christa is a yoga teacher and mental health pharmacist passionate about bridging the gap between physical and emotional wellbeing. With over a decade of experience supporting individuals with their mental and physical health, she brings a unique grounded and compassionate approach to wellness. Her mission is to create spaces that nurture mental wellbeing, foster belonging and joy, and make holistic healing practices more accessible to those that need it most.

My Journey of Self Discovery

2000 - 2015

Growing up, I was acutely aware of the prejudice and stigma around mental health. This is especially true in African and Caribbean communities where ‘mental health’ was not a familiar concept. I longed for spaces where I could feel safe enough to be vulnerable, to be heard and to feel seen. This ignited my passion to challenge the stigma and unhelpful narratives around our mental wellbeing. My mission is to provide a space for people to be vulnerable, to heal, and to step into their power.

Exploring Wellness

2015 - 2020

My introduction to yoga in 2015 was uncomfortable. Despite going to a class in the multicultural centre of London, I stood out as the only person of colour. I didn't go back. Months later, I found my way back to a yoga mat through a close friend (and new fascination with crow pose!). With time, yoga became more than just physical poses - it became a source of belonging and self-acceptance. Both of which I so desperately lacked. I realised the positive impact it had on my mental health and felt compelled to share this with everyone I could.

Cultivating Community

2020 - Present

My mission is to create more inclusive and welcoming wellness spaces where you feel seen, supported, and empowered to thrive. Through yoga, breath, and sound, we enter in deeper connection to ourselves, to one another, and to the joy, rest, and healing we all deserve. Yoga has gifted me confidence, belonging, and sanctuary, which I envision for everyone. Wellbeing should never feel exclusive. This is your space to show up fully as yourself, find support, and live with more ease, joy, and alignment with your fullest potential.

My Teaching

I believe yoga is for every body. My intention is to create a safe, inclusive space where you are welcomed exactly as you are and supported in moving towards a more aligned version of yourself. I guide classes with compassion and care, with a strong emphasis on rest, peace, and belonging. Drawing on my background as a mental health professional, I integrate tools to help people feel less anxious, overwhelmed, and regain trust in their bodies.  

Whether you’re seeking a physical challenge or choosing to rest in child’s pose, I am here to support you in making the practice your own. My approach explores yoga beyond physical poses, weaving together philosophy, meditation, psychology, and science-backed techniques to support holistic wellbeing on and off the mat. 

I completed my first teacher training in 2021 in Hatha Raja Vinyasa Krama with Ambra Vallo at Indaba School of Yoga in London. My teaching is rooted in the eight limbs of yoga and influenced by various styles I’ve practised over the years including hatha, vinyasa, dharma, and rocket yoga. 

Qualifications: 200hr Hatha Vinyasa, 50hr Advanced Vinyasa (Rocket), 15hr Assists, Adjustments & Thai Massage, 100hr Certified Meditation Teacher, 30hr Sound Healing and CPD.

Reclaiming Wellness

Seola Wellness exists to reimagine wellness as something rooted in belonging, not exclusion. Our mission is to share ancient yoga practices and holistic tools that empower communities to connect, be vulnerable and create fulfilment and freedom. We recognise that the exclusion of Black and Brown communities in mainstream wellness has created a lack of safe spaces for Black and Indigenous People of Colour (BIPOC). 

Black Joy x Wellness was born from this lack of representation and provides invaluable safe spaces of connection and healing. A space for BIPOC to nurture their mental wellbeing and embrace the full power of their healing. It is a reclamation of rest, breath, and connection – practices that have too often been made inaccessible. Many members of our community have gone on to train as yoga teachers themselves, embodying the change they wish to see and expanding what inclusive wellness should look like.

We aim to make transformational practices such as yoga more widely available to Black people within and beyond the diaspora in an accessible way that transcends financial, geographical and socioeconomic barriers.

We also believe in promoting mental health awareness and work to dismantle its associated stigma which further disadvantages BIPOC. We value community, belonging and the embodiment of yoga beyond physical poses to cultivate compassion and understanding, creating a world where each person, regardless of background, feels empowered, heard, and supported to thrive.

Our Values

Black joy loving compassion belonging healing in community interconnection
Black joy loving compassion belonging healing in community interconnection