Erika Faith is the founder and director of Cloud Nine Yoga Schools, which has been nationally recognized by The Yoga Alliance at the highest level since 2002.
Erika lives by trusting that miracles are waiting around every corner. She has been teaching Yoga since 1995 and built Cloud Nine Yoga School in 1999, seeking to create a healing environment through a permission-based model for learning the practice of Yoga. She does this through affirmation, reflection, humor, music, poetry, and prayers. Erika inspires people to find their source of wholeness by asking more profound questions that bring personal insight, community awareness, and connection with the Great Spirit.
Graduating at the top of her class in 1997, Erika holds a degree in Transpersonal Psychology with an emphasis on Yoga Therapy for Mental Health from Sonoma State University, California. A lifetime globe-trotter, Erika has extensively studied with spiritual teachers of mystical traditions around the world, traveling to learn all she can know about people, culture, ecology, and art. Her adventures have led her to China, Japan, Bali, India, Europe, French Polynesia, Australia, Peru, Costa Rica, and Hawaii.
1998 was a pivotal spiritual year for Erika because she received her Advanced Yoga Teacher Certification from the White Lotus Foundation in Santa Barbara, California. Erika also became a Karuna Reiki Master-Teacher and was Ordained Reverend by S.H.E.S. – the organization for Spiritual Healers and Earth Stewards. One year later, she started Cloud Nine Yoga School and led international retreats and training.
Erika held a full-time lecturer position in Kinesiology & Comparative Religion at California State University Fullerton from 2001-2008. During this time, she generously provided personal attention and leadership to all her students, colleagues, and many athletes. Erika took the Bodhisattva Vow and concurrently received the Amitabha and Medicine Buddha initiations with the Dalai Lama of Tibet in 2004. Erika also assisted workshops at the Esalen Institute with Dr. Lorin Roche, author of The Radiance Sutras, a poetic translation of the Vijnana Bhairava Tantra from 2011-2015. Most recently, she has consulted for and developed curriculum with various non-profits such as Alliance of Hope, Breathe for Change, and O.G. Yoga, 501(c)(3) organizations that specialize in trauma-sensitive practices, promote social justice, provide training for educators, and offer charitable Yoga classes to underserved populations. Since 2013, Erika has worked directly with spouses of active-duty military personnel through Cloud Nine Yoga School’s association with the MyCAA scholarship program.
As a Yogini and quiet activist, Erika is a tremendous balancer, healer, mentor, space holder, and friend. She sees all conscious action as a dedication to the planet’s well-being and all life. Her focus has always been on the transformative ability of art, music, movement, and the gathering of people to bring light to Life.
Erika writes, trains yoga teachers, dabbles in watercolor, dances Hula, and holds sacred space for spiritual practices from her home on the Garden Island of Kaua’i. She lives, loves, and laughs with her husband of 16 years, Adam, a North Shore Lifeguard, and their almost totally grown kids, Magic and Sam.
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For consultations, private sessions, and current schedule, reach out to yogaoncloud9@GMAIL.COM or call 310-989-0878
Take Classes with Erika on Kauai – Take her Thursday Yin Yoga & Sound Healing at 7:00 pm or Yoga Essentials at 10:00 am on Saturdays Barre Soul in Kapaa. Erika also offers workshops! See her current offerings in Kauai, including Yoga Training, Immersions, and Events. She’ll remind you to have fun, keep your focus, breathe deeply, and let the pressure off.
Many new teachers are full of questions after receiving their certification. Erika offers loving support and expert guidance to Yoga Instructors from all traditions. You can study with Erika online in real-time via Zoom with Yogis from all over the world. This forum is a space to ask questions and receive direct mentoring from a 30-year veteran Yoga Teacher, Trainer, and business owner. She loves working with new students and teachers!
Explore some in-person training opportunities with Erika! She regularly leads retreats and certification courses. From Kauai to California, Colorado to Iowa, there are many fun ways to Become a Registered Yoga Teacher (R.Y.T.) from a Yoga Alliance-registered program through Erika’s school, Cloud Nine Yoga. Basic and Advanced Yoga Teacher courses (200-hr & 300-hr) are also available through the Online Learning Platform.
Goo-roo (GURU) = One Who Removes.
Many students working with Erika call her their “Yoga Fairy Godmother” because she is playful, adventurous, honest, and generous. A Spiritual Teacher assists seekers on their highest path, helps you ask the right questions and find your answers, points you toward new directions, and enables you to shift old patterns into new possibilities! Erika provides clear solutions to common problems, on and off the mat.
Erika wrote all the Yoga Teacher Training curriculum for Cloud Nine Yoga School’s 200/300/500 programs, as well as special courses in Pre/Post Natal, Children’s, Trauma-informed, Service, Motion Restriction, Adaptive, Partner, Subtle Body, and is currently working on a book highlighting the transformational practices beyond traditional Hatha Yoga.
With 30 years of experience practicing, an educational background in Yoga Therapy for Mental Health, and leadership positions in college, university, hospital, non-profit, and studio organizations — Erika truly has a remarkable collection of experience! Working with so many bodies and in many professional arenas, she generously shares her wealth of knowledge.