
About Chetana

Work honestly, meditate every day, meet people without fear, and play
- Baba Hari Dass

























Chetana Karla Shakti
Yoga Teacher, Massage Therapist, Ayurvedic Practitioner
I am an Experienced Yoga Teacher who has trained and taught thousands of students over the last 20 years. I am passionate about womens empowerment and social justice. I have been an entrepreneur since I was child and after years of business I was finally led to create Grateful Surf Yoga & Ayurveda in 2010. I have always been active in the outdoors thanks to my family and summers at the cottage in Nova Scotia. I've always been driven to an honest and loving, loyal, and fun community based around the values of Nature, Justice, Integrity, and Helping those less fortunate. I find that those traits are natural in those who play outside and are interested in all types of yoga and wellness and so I chose to create a Community where everyone feels welcome, accepted, nurtured, respected, and has the freedom to let their gifts shine and support Communities that do the same.
An avid surfer, outdoor adventure guide (surf, raft, ski, kayak, climb, mountain bike, adaptive sports, and kids camps..) and mother, my journey in Wellness Therapies began over 25 years ago when I felt myself drawn to massage, physio, and yoga for well being. I began opening myself more and more to an alternative lifestyle to my super stress filled life with careers as a whitewater rafting guide, professional kayaker, backcountry ski guide, and infantry section commander, Operations Manager for the Adaptive Ski and Snowboard Program for Whistler Blackcomb, Employment Counsellor for People with Disabilities, retreat operator, and Director of a Birthing Centre.
While under the wing of many teachers, including Baba Hari Dass, Dr. Lad, Chief Darrel Bob, Malidoma Some, and many more I discovered that there was something to spirituality, something real to union with the Divine and connecting with the other worlds and bringing medicine into this Dimension. I discovered that yoga and Ayurveda help people be strong and clear helping them hear their inner guidance and to balance out the body’s strengths and weaknesses. I completed the YTT training at Salt Spring Yoga Centre in around 2008, and the Ayurvedic Lifestyle Counselor program at Mount Madonna College of Ayurveda in 2010. Since then I have studied with and worked with many teachers to spread the healing arts, support people on their wellness and spiritual journeys. In 2014 I developed and brought to life a 1000 hour Ayurvedic Massage Therapy Certification Program that is alive and well.
The goal of Grateful Surf Yoga and Ayurveda has always been to empower women and help them develop their healing arts and entrepreneur skills so this is what we do. We support women, in particular, all over the world, to develop their skills and set them up with their own businesses suited to their personal skills.
I became extremely passionate and a believer in yoga and Ayurveda when after 2 months of daily yoga practice I immediately started feeling more peaceful and at ease. I am so thankful to have been supported by amazing teachers and Community along the way and I feel fulfilled when I share these tools with Community. Using Yoga, Ayurveda, and Spirit Technologies I was able to clear chronic injuries and mental health issues that were left in my body past adventures and careers in the military, extreme sports and outdoor tourism. I even healed myself of being bed ridden by a crippling back pain, by committing to a steady and mindful yoga practice and following the teachings. I believe yoga community and spirituality heal old traumas and rekindle peace, well being. I know how good it can make one feel on a daily basis; It gives people a firm platform on which to stand.
In my classes I encourage students to move inward and into the true self heightening intuition and inner guidance, leading to fulfillment and peace. I use the power of the medicine to walk with us and support us during the classes. I believe in the body's innate ability to heal with a positive mental outlook and our practices help you achieve long lasting peace. I am honoured to assist you and your group in any way I can.
Sessions with me are tailored to meet the clients unique Mind-body complex and needs and desires. I offer physical and hatha, flow, tantra, yin, Ayurveda, intuitive readings, shamanism, chakra balancing, pranayama, meditation, and vinyasa, partner yoga, and massage and physical therapy in Uvita-Dominical, Costa Rica, Southern Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Caribbean Riviera, Whistler Canada, as well as virtually, to a host of private clients across the world.
A Wellness Session with Chetana
will support you:
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Heal your heart from stored trauma
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Disconnect and release toxic relationships and connections
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Achieve your health & wellness intentions
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Find comfort and security within
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Be inspired and explored your creative self
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Enhance your sense of personal power
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Strengthen your ability to express yourself
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Connect with your intuitive self
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Embrace your divine purpose
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Feel relaxed, inspired, and physically healthy
Please check out our fb page to learn more about me and see a full gallery of photos, thank you so much,
with love and blessings,
Chetana
https://www.facebook.com/gratefulsurfyoga/
or IG: gratefulsurfyoga