Laura Paulsell, MA, C-IAYT, E-RYT 500, is a certified yoga therapist, speaker, researcher, and lifelong musician whose work is grounded in compassionate, whole-person care. She specializes in caregiver well-being, resilience, mental health, and supporting people through periods of stress, change, illness, and loss.

Laura earned her Master of Arts in Yoga Studies from Loyola Marymount University, with a concentration in yoga therapy. Her graduate research explored how the pañcamayakośa, yoga’s model of the physical, energetic, mental, wisdom, and spiritual dimensions of the person, can support the well-being and resilience of informal caregivers. This research became the foundation for an eight-week program designed to offer caregivers practical and meaningful support.

Her education has included immersive yoga therapy training in India with Dr. Ananda Bhavanani, as well as the study of yoga philosophy and spiritual practice with Swamini Shraddhānanda Saraswatī at Kula Kamala Ashram in Pennsylvania. She has also worked in mental health and substance use treatment settings, bringing accessible yoga, mindfulness, and self-regulation practices to people with a wide range of needs and life experiences.

As a speaker and educator, Laura has presented at California State University, Long Beach, on end-of-life spiritual practices. She is particularly interested in the ways yoga can help people remain connected to themselves while navigating caregiving, grief, uncertainty, and other deeply human experiences.

A violinist since childhood, Laura’s path has also been shaped by music, sacred sound, and chanting. These practices remain central to her personal journey and naturally inform her work with others.

Laura approaches yoga therapy with warmth, curiosity, and respect for each person’s lived experience. Rather than offering a one-size-fits-all practice, she takes time to listen and understand the whole person. She draws from movement, prāṇāyāma, meditation, relaxation, sacred sound, and yoga philosophy to create practices that feel supportive, realistic, and personal.