Name: Kika Sales
Kika Sales was raised in bucolic Scarsdale, New York and Rome, Italy. Her childhood was filled with exploration, even when under the watchful eye of strict parents. At eighteen she left Rome, allowing her wanderlust to take her to Fordham University in New York. She was unsure of what she would do with her life, though she knew both that she wanted to help people, and that she loved to sing. Attempting to balance her studies and herserenading stage presence was extraordinarily taxing on both Kika's body and her mind, she found it difficult to apply herself at school when she had been out performing the night before. After the strain became too much to bear, Kika left school and started her own band, opting to indulge in her passion instead of the more traditional scholarly path. Her band performed in New York City, and on the side Kika tended bar in order to make extra money. One day, on a whim, she took a yoga class. "I got hooked and fell in love with it. Not just the physical part of it, but more the philosophy behind it." The anxiety that had taken hold of her during nursing school, and had plagued her following her departure, lifted. Cured of her nerves, but addicted to yoga, Kika began a different path, taking her new-found practice off of the mat and into the professional realm.
Applying her love of helping people and her desire to heal others to her yoga asana, Kika studied with gurus including the legendary Alan Finger, Leslie Kaminoff, and Paul Grilley. Becoming a yoga instructor united Kika's playful nature with her comforting core. Today she teaches on Long Island, New York, and her instruction includes a vibrant mix of mediums, including flow-based Vinyasa yoga and the nurturing, supported stretching of Yin yoga. Her pursuit of whole body-and-mind healing has also led Kika to become a practitioner of Reiki,callanetics, and a spiritual healing practice that is often referred to as "soul memory discovery." Typically her days are filled with at least four sessions of yoga, both as private lessons and group classes, but her life outside of the studio is equally rich and fulfilling.
"I love riding my Ducati," Kika gushes. Other than her motorcycle, her favorite things to do include playing guitar and hanging out with her cat, Dr. Boo Boo. Every part of Kika's life informs her practice. "Everything inspires and impacts my yoga," she says. Even with all of this, she still has something she wishes for, namely that she's California dreaming. Her boyfriend, who is a dog whisperer, lives out west. Between her heart being in San Diego, and her family being in Rome, Kika does wish she had more opportunity to travel. "My future goal is to have a family, get back into music, go surfing, and, of course, continue to raise the vibration on the earth plane, and continue healing whoever I can help!" Lofty goals, but if anybody can achieve them it's this rockstar-turned-yogi, who is one Cool Girl!
If you live in the New York area and would like to take a yoga class with Kika, feel free to email her: francesca777@gmail.com. You can also attend one of her classes at Om Sweet Om https://omsweetomyoga.com/, which is one of the many studios blessed to count Kika among their teachers.
