Teacher Feature: Dr. Kayla Clarke, ND

Today, we’re shining a light on someone who brings so much heart, depth, and grounded wisdom into our space: Dr. Kayla Clarke, ND, the creator of our Medicine Women’s Circle and founder of Senchune Elixirs. Kayla weaves science and spirit in a way that feels both ancient and refreshingly modern—guiding women through nervous system healing, chakra work, and seasonal rituals inside the soft glow of the austin salt room. If you’ve been curious about the circle or wondering what actually happens during those two sacred hours, this feature will take you deeper into Kayla’s story, what inspires her, and why this circle has become one of the most special gatherings we host.

Getting to Know Kayla

Q: For those meeting you for the first time — who are you?

A: I’m a naturopathic doctor, yogi, mama, and founder of Senchune Wellness Collective. My work bridges functional medicine, neuroscience, and spiritual earth-based traditions. Everything I do is rooted in a deep reverence for the body, nature, and the unseen. I hold over a decade of clinical training, 500+ hours in yoga, have trekked many mountains in reverence for mother earth, and carry a full Mesa from Mountain shamanism. What lights me up most is helping modern humans remember their own rhythm - to feel safe in their bodies and connected to something greater.

Q: What drew you into the world of health, wellness, and functional medicine?

A: I’ve always been fascinated by the mystery of the human body and the mind. I studied behavioral neuroscience in university, but something felt missing in conventional science - the soul. Growing up in the Pacific Northwest Rainforests, trekking mountains around the world, and currentky living in the quiet Texas countryside, I realize how much of healing is an unspoken connection to nature. It’s cellular. Ancestral. Sacred. My goal is to help us remember our connection to where we come from, and that true health requires reconnection to the world around us.

Q: You have such a wide range of experience and accolades. Which parts of your background feel most connected to the work you’re doing today?

A: Honestly - it’s not one piece, but the weaving of all of it. The precision of labwork, the presence cultivated through yoga, the guidance of ancestral medicine, the silence of the forest, the language of the nervous system. These threads come together in my work to create healing experiences that are both grounded and mystical.

Q: What first connected you to the Austin Salt Room?

A: The first time I walked into the Salt Room, I felt it in my bones - the quiet, the sacred, the salt. It’s a space that holds, softens, and amplifies. Isabel’s vision and energy are deeply aligned with mine, and it felt like a natural place to bring this work to life. Her focus on amplifying others talents, voices, and passions within a beautiful and calming space is the medicine the new world needs. 

Q: How does the salt room environment support or amplify the work you guide women through?

A: Salt is ancient - it's clearing, grounding, and vibrationally resonant. The room holds people in a cocoon. It softens the nervous system and opens the subtle body. Every breath becomes part of the medicine. In this space, it feels easier to drop in - to vision, to release, to remember.

 About the Circle

Q: What inspired you to create this 6-month Medicine Women’s Circle?

A: I created this container because I was craving it too - a place for depth, for consistency, for being held. The longer arc allows us to build real trust, and to journey through the body and seasons in a sacred, supported way. I wanted something beyond one-off workshops - something that’s more of a homecoming. Its ancient technology and medicine, wrapped up in a container that makes sense for our modern times. Serious work while remaining real and grounded. 

Q: This series blends science + spirit so seamlessly. How do you personally bridge the two in your teaching?

A: I speak both languages fluently - lab markers and mantras, blood sugar and breathwork. I don’t see science and spirit as separate; they’re just different maps of the same terrain. In circle, I translate the body’s systems through the lens of ritual and energetic anatomy so women can understand and trust their own rhythms.

Q: For someone curious but unsure, what makes this circle different from any other women’s group or wellness workshop?

A: It’s not just an event - it’s a living, evolving experience. Each circle builds on the last. It’s designed to be both deeply personal and collectively held. We work through real physiology and subtle energy with equal reverence, and that’s rare. You’ll feel seen, supported, and invited into your full ,ehcejw,h,ejn cxmnvbdm,zsbv,kddepth - without needing to perform or explain.

What to Expect:

Q: What can women expect during the two-hour circle?

A: We begin in stillness - tuning into the breath and body. There’s always a guided practice like yoga nidra or a drum journey, followed by a teaching that bridges science and subtle anatomy. Then we enter ritual - this might include herbal Senchune elixirs, journaling, chanting, or seasonal practices. We will often chant bijas and mantras together to active the brain state we are looking for deep meditation. The circle always ends with grounding and integration.

Q: Can you share an example of one of the grounding meditations or ritual practices you guide?

A: One of my favorite practices to guide is chanting the bija mantras - the seed sounds associated with the chakras. Each sound corresponds to an energetic center in the body, and when chanted with intention, they act like tuning forks for the nervous system.

We often chant them in a slow, rhythmic sequence, allowing the vibration to move through the body - from root to crown. The simplicity of the sounds (LAM, VAM, RAM, etc.) makes the practice deeply accessible, even for those new to chanting. By the end, most women feel more anchored in their body, energetically clear, and subtly opened in ways they can’t quite explain - just felt. It’s one of those practices that bypasses the mind and speaks directly to the cells.

Q: Each month explores an energetic center through the nervous system, endocrine health, and seasonal rhythms—why this approach?

A: The body is cyclical and intelligent. When we move through the energetic centers (chakras) alongside real physiology - like the thyroid, adrenals, gut, etc. - we’re able to create alignment on every level. It’s not just about spiritual insight, it’s about embodying that insight in your daily life.

Q: You integrate journaling, satsang, chanting, breathwork, gentle movement… how do these pieces work together to support the body and subtle anatomy?

A: Each piece works like a key, unlocking a different layer. Movement awakens, breath calms, chanting clears, journaling integrates. It’s all designed to rewire the nervous system and support the energy body simultaneously. The result is that women leave feeling more whole - not fragmented.

 Senchune Elixirs

Q: You’re also the founder of Senchune Elixirs. What inspired these blends, and how do they fit into the circle experience?

A: Senchune was born from the desire to make plant medicine both sacred and sensual. Each blend is formulated to support a specific system - like the heart, adrenals, or hormones - while also carrying intentional energetics. In circle, they’re used ceremonially, to anchor the teachings into the body. Our elixirs are latte form, and probably more delicious & better for you than anything you've had at a coffee shop. 

Q: For someone trying your elixirs for the first time at the event, what do you hope they feel or notice?

A: Presence. Pleasure. A subtle shift in their energy. These elixirs are formulated to be felt - not just functionally, but emotionally. Whether it’s a softening in the heart or a drop into the womb space, I want people to experience them as an invitation back into their bodies and a small moment of luxury. You are worth it. 

Why Join?

Q: What do you hope women walk away with after each circle?

A: A deeper relationship with their body. A moment of stillness. A felt sense of belonging - to themselves, to the earth, to the unseen. And the knowing that healing doesn’t have to be rushed or linear. It can be ritual. A feeling of being inspired to learn about the innate and simple medicines that are accessible to everything 

Q: If someone is on the fence about joining—whether for the full series or a drop-in—what would you say to them?

A: Come once. Let your body decide. If you’re craving depth, softness, or reconnection - this space is for you. You don’t have to have it all figured out. Just bring your presence, and we’ll meet you there.

Q: Where can people learn more about your work and sign up for upcoming circles?

A: You can RSVP and explore my work at www.kaylaclarke.com/ritualcafe or follow me @drkaylaclarke. I’d love to welcome you into the circle.