When I turned 50, I realized I had become very good at being useful and very bad at knowing what I wanted. I had raised two daughters, run the calendar for everyone, kept a steady job in school administration, and quietly stopped asking myself what felt alive.
Yoga had been part of my life for years, but mostly as maintenance. Stretch, breathe, get through the week. Then I went to a chakra yoga workshop at a small studio outside Santa Fe and cried during a simple seated practice. Nothing dramatic happened. I just felt how long it had been since I paid attention to my own inner life.
The Loop
After that workshop, I started reading about chakras, energy centers, breath, color, intention, and symbolic body awareness. I was fascinated, but also cautious. I did not want to turn every sensation into a grand explanation. I wanted a grounded way to use chakra yoga as reflection, not certainty.
The more I studied casually, the more I noticed women around me saying the same things I had been saying: I do not know who I am now. I lost myself somewhere. I want something that belongs to me.
"I did not need a reinvention fantasy. I needed a practice that helped me come back to myself."
I kept thinking about the workshop. Not because it fixed anything, but because it gave me a door. I wanted to understand how to open that door responsibly for others.
The Discovery
I started searching for chakra yoga certification, energy work education, and spiritual wellness programs that felt adult, structured, and respectful of scope. AccrediPro University came up while I was comparing programs.
What caught my attention was that chakra yoga was not presented as a random collection of poses. It was connected to grounding, intention, guided reflection, session structure, and client boundaries. That mattered to me. I wanted depth, but I wanted it held carefully.
When I enrolled, they still had a few scholarship spots. I do not know if that is still the case.
The Experience
The training helped me slow down. We learned to use the chakra framework as a reflective map: not a diagnosis, not a promise, not a script for someone else's life. A map. A way to invite attention to themes like voice, belonging, trust, creativity, and groundedness.
Movement became less about performance and more about listening. A posture could become a question. A breath practice could become a pause. A journal prompt could help a woman notice what she had been pushing aside for years.
The Part I Didn't Expect
I expected chakra yoga to feel spiritual. I did not expect it to feel so practical. The structure made it easier to teach without making the work too big or too vague.
What surprised me most
- Chakra sequencing that connected movement, breath, journaling, and intention in a clear session arc.
- Symbolic language for discussing themes without telling clients what their experiences mean.
- Midlife relevance because so many women are asking identity questions after years of caregiving and work.
- Scope boundaries for keeping the work educational, reflective, and consent-based.
The paths I didn't know existed
I thought chakra yoga was the whole category. I did not know there were related paths for Energy Therapy Practitioner, Hypnosis Practitioner, and Spiritual and Regressive Hypnosis Practitioner. Chakra yoga gave me the embodied foundation; energy work helped me understand the broader spiritual wellness language.
If this kind of work feels familiar, you can take the 60-second eligibility check here →
Where I Am Now
I now offer small Saturday workshops called "Seven Doors Back." We use gentle movement, guided reflection, breath, and writing. Most of the women are in their 40s, 50s, and 60s. They are not looking to become someone else. They are looking for the parts of themselves they put away.
That is what chakra yoga gave me first: a way back. Teaching came later.
— Natalie B.
Santa Fe, NM
Comments (12)
"Very good at being useful and very bad at knowing what I wanted" felt painfully accurate.
Lori - that sentence took me a long time to admit, but it changed everything.
I like that chakra is framed as a map, not a claim. That makes this much easier to trust.
I took the eligibility check. I am 56 and this is exactly the kind of second chapter I have been circling.
Seven Doors Back is such a clear workshop concept. Saving that as inspiration.
The line about symbols being client-led is the piece I was missing.
This made chakra yoga feel approachable instead of intimidating.
A practice that helped me come back to myself. Yes. That is what I have been trying to describe.
This is a strong angle for women after caregiving years.