Caryn Kilback

Caryn has a deep desire to share the wisdom of meditation, Ayurveda, and the ancient Vedic culture, and strives to make this wisdom relevant for living in today’s world. She is a co-founder of Instill Meditation, an Ayurvedic practitioner, a yoga instructor, and is highly involved with varying mindfulness projects within the community, most notably Kit and Ace’s The Becoming Series and their collaborative mass meditations for Peace. One of Calgary’s women in wellness to watch, and regarded as a community leader in meditation, Caryn has been invited by various individuals and companies such as; Kit and Ace, The Wanderwell, The Nobles Management, Candor Connect, doctors and nurses, oncologists, lawyers, professional athletes, and various other entrepreneurs within the city and surrounding area to help improve both their individual and company performance through meditation. Lastly, she is also the creator of Dhára, a self-care home and beauty line providing ancient Ayurvedic rituals to support modern living.

Caryn began her meditation journey over ten years ago while living in Japan. It was there where she was first introduced to the Japanese style of Zen Meditation that was unique to a temple she studied at, called Shinnyo-En. Inspired to learn more, upon her return back to Canada Caryn volunteered to help run monthly talks on mindfulness and meditation while she continued to deepen her practical experience in other traditions such as: Shambhala, Insight/Vipassana, Self-inquiry, MBSR, and both Kriya and Tantric lineages of Yoga Meditation.

Throughout this inquiry she noted the impact meditation was having on her anxiety, behaviour, and psyche. After a serious road biking accident in 2012 combined with the built up stress and trauma from years of competitive figure skating, recreational and a short stint in competitive snowboarding, and multiple MVAs, Caryn found herself at a breaking point. Following a serious concussion (Traumatic Brain Injury) sustained in the accident, life was not quite the same from a physical, mental or emotional point of view. Several years into her recovery, upon the recommendation from one of her teachers, Caryn started exploring Vedic Meditation. After experiencing, almost immediately in comparison to the other techniques she had previously practiced, the profound physical and mental healing benefits this technique provided for her post accident, she began to understand through her teacher’s guidance that although all meditation is good for us, not all meditation techniques are created equal. Some are more effective for certain people and even certain cultures as well as work with different parts of the brain, similar to how conditioning programs differ depending on the sport you play. Through the guidance of her highly skilled teacher and mentors, Caryn found the missing link to her practice and wellbeing that has allowed her to deeply unwind accumulated stress and regain a newfound quality of life. Caryn is currently undergoing an 1800hr Initiator Training in Vedic Meditation with her teacher and is scheduled to complete her training in late autumn of 2018.