Aura Garver, Wellness Coach
You probably know Aura Garver as the founder and owner of AuraFitness – an airy, bright yoga and fitness studio on Gusdorf Road – but that only scratches the surface of her remarkability. A Taos native, Aura is one of those people fortunate enough to have found a true passion to build a business around. As a wellness coach, yoga teacher, and personal trainer, Aura’s goal is to empower people to feel, and be, their very best. “If I can help people find their inner source, their own feeling of vitality and life passion through their physicality, that’s what I’m looking to do,” says Aura. “How you feel in your skin affects everything else.”
She’s not talking about vanity, either. Aura is overtly dedicated to the true health and wellness of our community, from designing and leading Centinal Bank’s corporate wellness program to her work piloting the GetFIT project to help young children and teens connect with their own self-esteem and confidence through physical well-being. She works one-on-one with several young people, including some with diabetes, to help them manage their fitness and wellness. Anyone from 10 to 18 can do yoga for free at Aura Fitness at any time. She leads women’s fitness retreats, week-long excursions to places like Belize and Hawaii, taking a small group of women someplace beautiful to help them reconnect with feeling vital and healthy.
With the sincerity of a person who truly believes in their mission, Aura swears that she never gets tired of focusing on other people’s wellness. “I love what I’m doing. I recently had a client ask, ‘Don’t you get bored, watching me do the same exercises over and over?’ And actually, I don’t,” she laughs. “I love coming to work. You give a lot, in this business... you need to feel the passion.”
Aura grew up here, and went away for college; when she circled back around, she realized that Taos was where she really wanted to be. “Taos is really special. I love the physical aspects. I love that we have crystal clean air and mountains all around,” says Aura. As for the creative, intelligent women she rubs elbows with around town, “I think there’s a certain fortitude of spirit required to 'make it' in Taos, so I think Taos tends to draw strong women. It provides a space to connect with strength of spirit, as a woman, and to allow yourself to be inspired by living in Taos. It’s a place to find your strength.”
Where can you find Aura in her spare time? “I love to hike right up the first part of Divisadero Trail, where you can look out over the valley and see the whole span of our little town,” she says. “It’s always beautiful and inspiring.”
By Rita O’Connell for Holy Cross Hospital, 2012. www.TaosHospital.org
Photo by Lenny Foster, © 2012, www.lennyfoster.com
