our soul family
Cara Kalnow
Cara Kalnow is the Creator of Soul House. While traveling in Bali in 2017, she birthed the vision to offer a "retreat center" in Chicago, to create a safe space to center and heal and apply that integration into everyday life.
Cara is a teacher of the Healing Arts, offering Reiki healing and Reiki certification courses, yoga and meditation classes.
Cara's classes are mindful and soulful in nature. They invite you on a journey within to connect to the simple truths of life and your most authentic self. She believes each living person has a specific purpose to their life, designed by their soul. Her goal is to assist in establishing a deeper connection to that purpose and soul identity.
Cara is first and foremost a student of metaphysics with a Masters in Philosophy from University of St. Andrews (hello Prince William, a fellow classmate!). She's a 200hr yoga alliance certified Yoga & Meditation instructor through YogaSix. Cara received her Reiki Master & Teacher certification in both Usui & Karuna® Reiki from Atma Biolfield Therapuetics and Holy Fire® Reiki for World Peace from William Rand, the Founder of The International Reiki Alliance. All Reiki courses guided by Cara are part of The Reiki Professional Program certified by The International Reiki Alliance. Cara often sprinkles Reiki into to her yoga classes and most enjoys connecting with the true essence of the lovely yogis, students and Reiki receivers coming through Soul House :). Sat Nam!
Soul House Creator, Yoga Teacher, and Reiki Guide
Aja considers space-holding to be both an honor and an art, and strives to create a sacred container for others to feel held and supported in their healing journey.
Aja began her yoga practice 12 years ago in an effort to cope with childhood trauma, substance abuse, and undiagnosed ADHD. Aja has since completed 500hrs of yoga training with the Zen Den Yoga Yoga School and Sacred Paths Yoga, as well as additional training in trauma-informed yoga therapy and is a Level II practitioner of the Usui Reiki lineage. Her goal is to encourage students to practice from a place of curiosity and compassion while investigating the power of breath-work, movement, mindfulness, and stillness. She is dedicated to helping others cultivate self-awareness and learn to alchemize life in ways that support personal growth, intentional living, and the continued evolution of our collective consciousness. She strongly believes yoga can help us take radical responsibility for ourselves so we can become more effective agents of positive change in our immediate and global communities.
Aja’s classes vary from long restorative meditations and gentle flows to challenging vinyasas, and are introspective, light hearted, and balanced. She enjoys continual learning and is currently receiving her license as a Ganja Yoga facilitator and training with Zen Shiatsu Chicago Massage School for her shiatsu massage license. In 2020 she was thrilled to be accepted into the restorative justice movement by joining Prison Yoga Chicago. She is currently the lead teacher for Division 6 of Cook County Jail and serves on the Board as the Fundraising Chair.
Aja Rhodes
Yoga Teacher
Ali Phillips
Ali is a vinyasa and yin yoga teacher & energy practitioner passionate about mending the relationships between mind, body, and soul.
Ali's physical practice aims to find the balance between movement (yang) and stillness (yin). Offering modifications for all levels, she welcomes students to explore and challenge themselves while listening to their bodies without judgment. Whether it is through physical or energetic practices, she believes everybody has the power to heal themselves with the right support, resources, and guidance. She aims to make health, wellness, and holistic modalities more accessible and approachable for all
Yoga Teacher
Aly Morris
Aly Morris is a yoga and meditation instructor. As a movement coach, Aly is passionate about helping students cultivate their mind-body connection. She loves creating sequences that challenge your muscles, strengthen your mind and spark growth in your practice.
Yoga Teacher
Ela Mordarska
Ela is a licensed massage therapist with over a decade of experience, beginning her journey in 2013. Specializing in Thai Massage, Ela takes a highly personalized approach to each session, blending techniques such as deep tissue, hot stone therapy, reflexology, and sports massage. With her intuitive touch and alignment expertise, Ela creates a customized experience that not only eases physical tension but also reconnects you with your highest self, nurturing balance across all layers of your being.
Massage Therapist
Emily Kiefer
Emily is a yoga and pilates teacher in Chicago facilitating a modern approach to ancient practices. She began practicing yoga in 2011 after being diagnosed with a chronic disease.
Emily turned to yoga as a way to not only build strength and flexibility, but to provide a sense of calm and inner peace that she was missing. Emily spent a decade focusing on vinyasa yoga and completing her 200-hour hatha/vinyasa yoga teacher training. During training, it was recommended to try all styles of yoga. It was then that she tried kundalini yoga for the first time. Emily admits that she wasn't sure what to think about her first kundalini yoga class. While today it is her truest yoga love, it took time to get there. Kundalini yoga encouraged her to confront her innermost feelings and emotions that she had been holding in since being diagnosed with a chronic disease, so it was emotionally challenging. But class by class, she has become her most empowered, confident, and strong self from the inside-out. After discovering the transformative effect of kundalini yoga herself, it was a no-brainer to get trained to teach it to others.
Emily's approach to teaching kundalini yoga honors the traditions while incorporating modern techniques inspired by vinyasa yoga and pilates. Her approach to teaching yoga is grounded in the belief that everyone can use the lessons learned on the mat as a microcosm for navigating life's challenges. Off the mat, Emily is a traveling homebody. You'll either find her at a local brewery with her husband and pittie baby, or exploring a new place around the world. She always has her next trip planned, so ask her where she's headed next when you see her in the studio!
Yoga Teacher
Carrie McGrath
Carrie first found yoga shortly after moving to Chicago in 2012; she took a class at a gym out of curiosity and it's been a love story ever since. She firmly believes yoga is about discovery and incremental self-improvement rather than perfection.
In late 2020, Carrie had hip surgery to repair a torn labrum. At first devastated, she thought her yoga practice would never be the same. Instead it helped her expand her practice, refocusing on safe recovery, form, and letting go of ego rather than just getting a good sweat. This refocus also led her to pursue 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training.
She enjoys weaving elements of functional movement and somatic healing into every class to help students progress to the next stage in their journey, whether it be physical, spiritual, or some combination of both. Her goal is to curate classes that are fun, accessible to a wide variety of people, and give students something to connect with or strive for after class.
Yoga Teacher
Julia Sutton
Juj (like good juju) is a local witch, Reiki practitioner, published illustrator, & collaborative artist who dabbles in tarot. Her path to these practices was not linear and came about by trusting in the ether completely.
After 9 years in project manager land for various rise & grind industries, everything came to a halt when she was diagnosed with a rare disease in late 2022, on 11/11 serendipitously. Diving right into healing headfirst, over the course of a year and a half, the harsh reality was that 15 surgeries were necessary to survive, regain full health, & begin to thrive again.
Since then, her priorities quickly evolved into more of a healing and wellness focus, divinely accepting that here and now, she is to bring the experience of conquered challenges of healing to those that cross her path.
Front Desk
Kayla Lehman
Embodying both an etheric and grounded personality, Kayla uses her connection to the wisdom of the Universe to ground in the mind, body, and soul.
Kayla found meditation in 2016 which became the catalyst for her own growth journey. Eager to help others tune into the power of healing for growth, she began her Reiki education in 2022 through Soul House and later opened Centered Soul offering Reiki and intuitive guidance. She completed her Holy Fire® Reiki Master Teacher Certification in early 2024. Kayla is also featured as a Meditation Guide in the StressLess With Jess App. Today, Kayla offers private Reiki sessions at Soul House and helps to guide people in feeling empowered to shift into their most authentic self.
Reiki Healer and Astrology Reader
Mariah Guzman
Tarot Reader, Yoga Teacher, and Community Manager
Mariah is a trained Yoga Teacher, Reiki Master Teacher, Tarot Reader, and Psychic Medium with a mission to cultivate community and a deep sense of belonging.
As a Leo Sun and Rising with a Scorpio Moon, her fiery intuition is woven into her very being—reading tarot feels like a calling written in the stars.
As a yoga teacher, Mariah approaches movement as a gateway to presence. Her classes offer space for self-exploration, encouraging a deeper connection to intuition through mindful movement.
One-on-one readings with Mariah are designed to help you heal, grieve and see the Magic within you. These readings connect you more deeply to your intuition, find clarity on your life’s path, and receive heartfelt messages from your spirit team.
Through a blend of intuitive downloads and mediumship, Mariah creates a space for exploring insights, healing, and spiritual connection. Whether you’re at a crossroads, seeking clarity, or simply, spiritually curious, a reading with Mariah provides an opportunity to receive guidance and reconnect with your highest, soul-led path.
Nicole Belica
Nicole's journey to yoga did not take a linear path. Her love for fitness and movement started at a very young age and evolved over the years.
Some of Nicole's phases and cycles included tennis, running, weight training, biking … basically anything to keep her heart pumping and body strong. While working and living abroad in Southeast Asia for three years, Nicole discovered the beautiful practice of yoga. She was hooked! That is where the certifications, workshops and learning began. Upon returning to the United States, Nicole transitioned into a corporate role for some time, but was committed to her study of yoga. In 2014, she decided to leave the corporate setting to teach yoga full time. Since then she has pursued areas of speciality in prenatal yoga, doula/birth work, nidra, trauma-informed practices, inclusivity, mindfulness and breath work. She has the honor of facilitating Yoga Teacher Training programs, along with mentoring new teachers.
Nicole offers a decade of teaching experience. All these areas have influenced and impacted her teachings and offerings. For Nicole, the yoking of the body, mind and spirit is the most profound element to the practice of yoga. Because of the link that yoga promotes, it has become a source of stability during the constant changes that are a part of life. Nicole is so passionate about sharing this practice with others as her hope is individuals feel the same integration and presence as they navigate their lives and the human experience.
Yoga Teacher
Ziggy Kalnow
Meet Ziggy “Namastay” Kalnow!
Our house dog, soul pup and down dog model.Ziggy provides cuddles, kisses, and big smiles. She loves pets and hugs from the Soul Fam community!
Professional Snuggler
