Maile Wicklander
TULA Yoga Studio Founder/Owner
E-RYT® 500 (Level 1 Yoga Therapy), YACEP®, Qualified MBSR Teacher, Certified Trauma Sensitive Mindfulness Practitioner, MA in Psychology
(Yoga Therapist and Mindfulness Meditation Teacher in-training)
Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR)
Group Yoga Class Teaching Schedule:
Mondays, 10:30am, Hatha + Meditation (75 min)
Thursdays, 5pm, Hatha Yoga (60 min)
Fridays, 9am, Hatha + Meditation (75 min)
Sundays, 3:30pm, Hatha + Sound Bath (75 min)
Born and raised in Central California, I moved to Chicago in 1999 for an MA in Psychology and have called it home ever since. In 2011, I founded Tula Yoga Studio in Logan Square, a welcoming space for community, growth, and honest practice.
My specialty is SomaYoga, a therapeutic, somatics-forward approach that blends Hanna Somatics with classical yoga to re-pattern movement, calm the nervous system, and make complex shapes accessible. I primarily teach gentle Hatha yoga: slow, breath-led sequences that build steadiness and ease. I also offer Yoga Therapy, the individualized, evidence-informed use of yoga tools, movement, breath, meditation, and education, to address specific health needs and goals within a therapeutic relationship.
While SomaYoga and Yoga Therapy are considered post-lineage approaches, grounded in contemporary research rather than allegiance to a single guru/tradition, the roots of my teaching and my primary teachers draw from the Himalayan Tradition. In this lineage, yoga is understood first and foremost as a meditation practice. Āsana is approached not as performance or achievement, but as a means of balancing prāṇa, calming the nervous system, and preparing the body and mind for stillness, clarity, and insight. This view continues to shape how I teach, listen, and guide.
I’m an E-RYT 500, trained in SomaYoga Therapy through Yoga North (Duluth), and a Level 1 MBSR teacher (Brown University), with extensive training in trauma recovery, somatics, and mindfulness.
My classes are intentionally slow, mindful, and trauma-sensitive, emphasizing curiosity, interoception, strength, and resilience. Rather than using movement as distraction, I invite students to move inward, connecting to sensation, breath, thought, and emotion with honesty and compassion. Yoga, for me, is an awareness practice, a place where we strengthen our capacity to meet life’s challenges with steadiness, courage, and skill. As one of my teachers, Indu Arora says, yoga is a work-in, not a work-out, an invitation to turn inward and connect with our deepest self and true nature. I am continually humbled and inspired by the students who come to practice, each one offering new insights and reminders along the way.
Currently, I am pursuing my 1000-hour Yoga Therapist Certification with YogaNorth Duluth and training with Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach to be a Certified Mindfulness Meditation Teacher.
When I’m not at running the studio and teaching yoga, I am hanging with my awesome young adult children + husband, traveling, playing with my dog, reading fiction/poetry, exploring my native Hawaiian roots, studying Buddhist psychology, listening to records, doing pottery, knitting, cooking and swimming.
