Welcome to my site!
Im a Wellness and Vegan Coach in Encinitas, CA (North County San Diego).
I love helping people achieve optimum health in body mind and spirit.
I have a Master’s Degree in Exercise Physiology and a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism from the University of Kansas.
After college I worked as a personal trainer for Dr. Deepak Chopra in La Jolla and as an exercise physiologist at the Pritikin Longevity Center in Santa Monica, CA.
I’m also Certified Food for Life Plant-Based Instructor with the Physician’s Committee for Responsible Medicine and have been vegan since 2002.
I have taught Ashtanga Yoga since 1997 and was a yoga studio Owner in Kansas City, MO for 16 years.
When I was younger I struggled with exercise addiction and was either under eating or overeating. I gained 20 lbs after college within six months, due to emotional eating, while I was still doing daily cardio and weight training.
Then yoga found me and transformed my life on every level. It helped me lose the weight and replaced my internal war with BALANCE. Yoga, combined with meditation, also helped me to love and treat myself better. These mindfulness practices can help you too.
Yoga taught me to see the Divine in all living beings and the practice of “ahimsa” non-harming. I have great compassion for ALL animals and want to help end their suffering.
I became vegan in 2002 after listening to a talk by Ohio Congressman, Dennis Kucinich. He spoke about how the book, “Diet for a New America,” by John Robbins, alleviated his health problems. At the time, I was already vegetarian due to my love for animals, but was suffering from severe allergies, asthma and acne and was using my inhaler WAY too much. My doctors had never asked me the four magical words, “What are you eating?”
Once I became vegan, I experienced immediate relief from these ailments and was able to get off my daily inhaler and allergy medicine. My skin cleared up within a week. It also deepened my connection to all animals, birds, fish and the planet. Once I learned about the cruelty of the dairy, veal and egg industries, I became vegan for ethical and spiritual reasons as well.
When I met my husband, Wade Mortenson, in a yoga class in 2007, he was miraculously already vegan! What are the odds? He’d had thyroid cancer and decided to keep his gland and change his diet and lifestyle. He went from being a stressed out omnivore cop to a vegan yoga teacher. We even had a vegan wedding in Santa Monica with our Kansas and Wisconsin relatives and everyone loved the food, especially the cake! My step-kids, Kaden and Kaiah, love our food too and help us cook at home.
These are some of the many reasons I love teaching people how to adopt a delicious and easy plant-based diet. It’s a win, win, win for health, animals and the planet!
Contact me for a FREE CONSULTATION and let me know how I can support you in your wellness journey: kathleen@kathleenkastner.com.
I have written two books, Yoga’s Path to Weight Loss: A Mind Body Spirit Guide to Loving Yourself Lean and my dating memoir, The Cheerleader Speaks: What God Taught Me About Men and Myself. I have also been published in Yoga Magazine, Vegan Lifestyle Magazine and The Law of Attraction Magazine.
Informative and inspiring movies:
Forks Over Knives
What the Health?
Vegucated
Cowspiracy
Earthlings
Thank you for visiting my site!
Peace to you and all beings.
