Today we’d like to introduce you to Carlease Austin
Hi Carlease, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I was born and raised in Denver, Colorado. I am the third and youngest of 3 children from my mother, Delila. Growing up, I was showered with love from my siblings and grew up in what I would call a close-knit family for a good portion of my childhood. Fast forward to 12 years old, my life and identity took a shift I would have never seen coming. I learned that the only dad I had ever known, was not my biological dad, and it was then, my life started on a spiral that took over 30 years to stop spinning. At 13, my brother Jerome, the eldest of us three suddenly passed away on October 9th, 1995 of Lymes Disease. At 14, May 1st, 1996, 7 months later my sister Michelle died of a heart attack while in the Army during physical training. If you’ve ever heard the song ‘When Dove’s Cry” by Prince, and he says, “How could you just leave me standing alone in a world that’s so cold?” That was my life from there on out. I am a Teen Domestic Violence Survivor from the ages of 14-17. I obtained my GED and started college at 16 years old to become a Medical Assistant. Fastforward again, at 19 I lost my first child by miscarriage and a few months later was pregnant with my beautiful baby boy. At 20, I became a mother to Dealow, my son. That’s where my mission got serious!
Fast forward 22 years, at 42 years old, I now reside in Mansfield, Texas, having moved to Dallas 5 1/2 years ago. I am the Founder and Owner of A Peace of Mine by Carlease, LLC, The Chakra Box, and The Shadow Box Podcast. I am a Certified Grief and Trauma Coach, RYT 200 Yoga Instructor, Certified Birth Doula, Master Usui Reiki Practitioner and a Shadow Work Guide. I have a Bachelor’s in Psychology (2017) and a Master’s in Cognition and Neuroscience, from The University of Texas at Dallas (2023). I am what you call a Holistic Professional, who also creates bath and body products that cater to your entire Chakra System. I am nowhere near where I started, but I am exactly where my loss, grief, trauma, pain, and determination lead me to….My Purpose.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Absolutely NOT…lol. I didn’t even know smooth roads existed. When you have a young girl as myself, growing up with almost every odd against her, each and every road was a journey. Not just a means of reaching a destination. If that makes sense. I mean from my abuser getting shot and paralyzed when I was 17, to me fleeing to Alabama, still trying to get away from him EVEN after. In 2002, after I had my son, I contracted a staph infection after having a c-section, that had me hours away from dying, which lead me to have a hysterectomy. To then, years later having a heart attack when my son was 3 years old, which lead to me having open heart surgery! Smooth roads? Yeah no! lol!
We’ve been impressed with A Peace of Mine by Carlease, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I founded A Peace of Mine, to help the collective find peace in their lives, through services I was gifted and purposed to provide. In life, I knew all I was striving for was to have peace and to one day be happy. Here at A Peace of Mine, we understand that navigating in this world is tough. When you have grief and or trauma that tags along, you need someone to come along side of you and guide you to the light. I help my clients to learn how to function in their new normal while grieving. Through Trauma Coaching and Shadow Work Guidance, I bring my clients to the awareness of their Authenticity and help them shed conditioned parts of themselves from childhood. This gives them the chance to become who they were purposed to be, not the way they were inherently raised to be. Being a Holistic Professional, I believe in Mind- Body-Soul connection, which brings us to my Saving Grace, Yoga! When done from an authentic true sense of self, Yoga forces you to turn inward and find your Drishti (Focused Gaze) within, bringing you into an undeniable, yet humble self-awareness. I offer 1:1 and group Yoga sessions, including Pre and Postnatal Yoga. As we come into ourselves, we must align our past, present and future. This is where Reiki comes in. In Reiki, we can clear self-limiting beliefs, cut soul ties, heal sexual trauma, and direct our energy to feed us at a deep cellular level within our inner-being. Adding another car to the train, I offer Birth Doula services and Birth Trauma Coaching. I want women to know they have an advocate and someone who sees who they are becoming even through their pain. It is especially important for African American women, who face many life-threatening disparities while in labor and childbirth.
In all that I do, in all that I am, and in all my brand represents, we strive to let everyone know that there is Purpose in your Pain and Beauty in your Ashes.
What does success mean to you?
I Am Success. Success can only be defined by the labor one puts in to reach a desired destination. Success is reaping the rewards of the fruit you labored for…, the destination you were Purposed to Create.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://apeaceofmine.org
- Instagram: @apeaceofminebycarlease_llc
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carlease-austin-99114648
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@theshadowbox-pod?si=lATaHk_Fi_s7p_o3
