Cara Jepsen (Yogi Kali Om), ERYT-500, teaches traditional ashtanga vinyasa yoga, Dharma Mittra Yoga vinyasa flow yoga, back care yoga and yoga for anxiety and depression. She is a disciple of Sri Dharma Mittra and was a direct student of Sri K. Pattabhi Jois from 2000 to 2008.
A former triathlete, she began practicing yoga after her mother died. She believes that regular practice can help people weather rough patches with dignity and grace - and keep them grounded when things are going well. A vegetarian since 1987, she began teaching yoga in 1998. Since then, she has devoted her life to the practice, study and teaching of yoga.
Cara completed 200-hour and 500-hour advanced teacher trainings with Dharma Mittra in New York City, and continues to study with him. From him, she received the spiritual name of Yogi Kali Om. Cara is the first and only teacher in Chicago to complete both of his teacher training programs; she edited his teacher training manual and has assisted him on retreat. She has also completed teacher trainings with Suddha Weixler and Manju Pattabhi Jois.
She has made five trips to Mysore, South India, where she spent over ten months studying with ashtanga vinyasa guru Pattabhi Jois and his family. She has also spent two months studying with Pattabhi Jois in America.
Her other primary teachers are Chandra Om and Lino Miele. She's also studied with a long list of other master instructors. Her articles about these experiences are archived at the Yoga Chicago website, which is also where her restaurant reviews, India diaries and her cartoon "On the Mat" can be found.
She divides her time between Chicago, India and New York City.
