Paula Tapia C-IAYT, E-RYT 500, YACEP

International Yoga, Mindfulness & Wellness Expert

Paula is an international yoga therapist, mindfulness educator, and wellness expert specializing in integrative health, self-care education, lifestyle, and energy medicine. She is a certified Yoga Therapist, a member of the International Association of Yoga Therapists (IAYT), an experienced yoga and meditation teacher, and a continuing education provider through Yoga Alliance (YA/YACEP).

She currently serves as a lecturer in the Physical Education and Mind-Body Health Department at the University of Southern California (USC) and is the Founder of Beyond Rest, a clinical-based, stress-reducing Restorative Wellness Program. Paula also teaches as guest faculty in USC’s 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training Program and previously served as the Associate Director of the Yoga and Healing Sciences Teacher Training Program at Loyola Marymount University, California.

With a strong presence in healthcare, Paula has collaborated with leading medical centers across California as a provider of yoga therapy, mindfulness, and research. Her work has supported fields such as autoimmunity and inflammation care, sports medicine and orthopedics, chiropractic care, physical therapy, pain and stress management, women’s health, preventative medicine, and rehabilitation. She has designed integrative, whole-body wellness programs for patients with autoimmune, inflammatory, and chronic conditions, while contributing to research and observational studies evaluating these innovative approaches. Her work has been featured in medical journals, educational publications, and lifestyle magazines throughout the United States, Europe, Latin America, and India.

A lifelong dancer and former gymnast, Paula’s own healing journey through movement led her to specialize in Yoga Therapy Rx (prescription-based yoga therapy) at Loyola Marymount University, where she completed the four-year advanced clinical curriculum. She is certified in Prime of Life Yoga and has extensive training in soft tissue assessment and myofascial release procedures. For more than two decades, she has taught creative and intelligent forms of movement—including dance, fitness, water therapy, functional movement and preventative and performance rehabilitation—among other modalities.

Rooted in Southern Native American Shamanism and trained in yoga, mindfulness, and meditation across the United States and India, Paula bridges ancient Eastern wisdom with modern Western science. She facilitates healing through mindful movement, meditation, breath awareness, visualization, relaxation techniques, affirmations, sound, and energy medicine. Paula presents annually at the International Yoga Festival in Rishikesh, India, and leads global wellness retreats, group healing journeys, and continuing education programs in both English and Spanish.

A performing artist and devoted nature lover, Paula now resides in Woodstock, New York, where she retreats, studies, and explores new frontiers in mind-body science and sustainable living.