ALICIA calderwood
Alicia Calderwood, our studio founder and owner, has always had a passion for movement, performing, and mental health. She started a New Years resolution in 2013 to begin a mentally and physically healthier lifestyle. She started practicing yoga and aerial arts and fell in love very quickly. Alicia was always an entrepreneur at heart. She shifted her focus in her education to attend teacher trainings to expand her knowledge her both aerial and yoga.
Alicia has completed her RYT 200 through InnerLight Yoga School and is currently on track to complete her RYT 500 that includes mental health teacher certification. She has received her aerial certifications through Jill Franklin of Aerial Physique. Alicia has also trained under Patty Geiger for aerial, yoga, and business mentorship. Alicia is a certified yoga and aerial instructor that has been teaching and performing all over the NC.
Her teaching includes: aerial sling, silks, lyra, yoga, flexibility, and hand balancing. She has trained all over the states to obtain her certifications. With Alicia’s years of experience she is very knowledgeable about alignment, injury prevention, functional movement, and creative choreography.
In 2019 Alicia traveled to Costa Rica. While there she was reevaluated her purpose of teaching. She felt she didn’t fit in at any of the studios with her style of teaching and her home studio had abruptly closed down. She decided while on that trip that it was time to open her own studio and she loved the way of live in Costa Rica. She then opened Pura Vida Studio in January 2019.
Alicia’s mission is to provide a safe workout space for all ages. Her love for movement, mental health, and community is the heart of this studio and you can definitely feel that at Pura Vida. Her goal is to help her students feel and move better within their own bodies while being a guide on her students journey as they discover what they are truly capable of.
Alicia has produced and choreographed many shows in her 14 years of movement. She is also one of the co-founders and directors of Carolina Circus Festival. Alicia has won many awards in the last 3 years of being open as a business owner. She has been recognized as Cary Magazine’s 2020 and 2021 Best Summer Camp, Best New Business, and Best yoga Studio. In 2021 Alicia won Cary Magazine’s Movers and Shakers award for being a influential entrepreneur under 45.
Alicia teaches all levels and would love to teach you next! Join Alicia for a private lesson or one of her classes.