Kara Latta - Founder and Chief Fun Officer of The Playful Warrior
Kara Latta
Kara is the Founder and Chief Fun Officer of The Playful Warrior, a brand that reconnects adults back to their inherent nature and playfulness. She is also a Play and Mindset Coach and the Creator of ThoughtPLAY. She helps humans reconnect to their inner child through the PWR of play and subconscious reprogramming so they can embody and express their true self and create a life that excites them.
ThoughtPLAY is an innovative 8-week PLAY journey that transforms your subconscious mind and uses the power of uninhibited creativity to cultivate self-worth and create a life that excites you. It features the PLAYBox and PLAYBook delivered to your door (mail to get excited about!!) Kara is also a Speaker and Certified Life & Success Coach, NLP Practitioner, Hypnotherapist, TIME Techniques and EFT Tapping Practitioner.
I’m so excited for you to connect with Kara, check out her work, and follow along as she continues to help women deeply connect with themselves and create a life that excites them through play.
I'd love it if you'd introduce yourself, what you do, and what you're working on.
I’m the Founder and Chief Fun Officer of The Playful Warrior, a brand that reconnects adults back to their inherent nature and playfulness.
I’m a Play and Mindset Coach and the Creator of ThoughtPLAY. ThoughtPLAY is an innovative 8-week PLAY journey that transforms your subconscious mind and uses the power of uninhibited creativity to cultivate self-worth and create a life that excites you. It features the PLAYBox and PLAYBook delivered to your door (mail to get excited about!!)
I also offer special 1-off play sessions for partners, families and friends. I do corporate play sessions with teams as well and offer them a fun, unique way to connect virtually, minimize burnout and boost mental health.
How did you get started?
I was going through a hard time (what some call a dark night of the soul) and I felt lost and stuck. I was working through childhood trauma, had a relationship end, was living through a nasty cockroach infestation, had ongoing health issues and was working at a corporate job that depleted my soul. Everything seemed to be falling apart, and then I lost my job due to COVID. At that point I knew it was finally time to show up for me. All the healing work I was doing was so heavy, so I started connecting to my creativity and playing more. It radically started improving my life and I decided to embark on a play journey.
What inspired the work that you're doing?
Once I saw the benefits play was having in my own life, I began studying the science behind play to understand why. I learned that play deprivation is actually a risk for our health according to Stuart Brown, MD. National Institute for Play. And as a society, we are very play deprived. Adults learn play is silly, immature, fluffy, purposeless, but this couldn’t be further from the truth.
To truly connect with ourselves, we need play. Play opens up what’s possible for us and expands our life. It brings more joy, fun, creativity, adaptability, productivity, wealth, and radically improves our health and well-being, which is especially important during a pandemic. Playing also helps us build self-esteem, self-trust and helps us feel more confident and balanced.
Once I understood the power of play, I knew I had to bring it to more people to transform lives with a business.
What is your biggest passion? Do you feel like you're living your passion and purpose?
My biggest passion is true self-expression (experiencing it firsthand and connecting others to it). I definitely believe I am living my passion and purpose since connecting to play is connecting to who we really are. We are all inherently playful and connecting to play means giving ourselves permission to express our truth and who we are, not who the world wants us to be.
What is your joy blueprint? What lights you up, brings you joy, and makes you feel the most alive?
I love dancing! Whether it’s dancing to hip hop music, latin dancing, Motown music, disco, I like to switch it up and explore all kinds of movement to get in my body. I also enjoy painting blindfolded and exploratory walks in nature. Breakfast also brings me a lot of joy as well as deep, vulnerable conversations where someone shares their heart and soul and is met with compassion, love and acceptance.
How do you live intentionally? Are there tools/resources/practices that you rely on to help you stay mindful and grounded?
I love doing a morning routine where I drink tea, do stream of consciousness writing, meditate, play and connect to my favourite affirmations. Throughout the day I like doing a shaking meditation to connect back to my body and let go of anything that isn’t serving me. I also love using the app ‘I am’. It offers positive affirmations that pop up on your phone throughout the day. You can choose the themes and frequency; the affirmations serve as great reminders for me and help me tap into gratitude and a stronger mindset.
What would your younger self think about what you're doing now?
She would be SO. EXCITED. So happy I’m no longer at a job that I hate and she would feel like I’ve finally come home to her and am listening to her! She loves to play!
Do you have a go-to mantra or affirmation?
For my fellow recovering people pleasers out there, one that helped me step into my power was: ‘I am learning to tolerate disapproval.’ I also have this affirmation on my fridge that I use every day: ‘I expand in abundance and love every day, and inspire those around me to do the same.’
What is your biggest dream?
Speaking (or playing!) on stage with Oprah.
To learn more and connect with Kara visit her website www.theplayfulwarrior.com and you can find more information about ThoughtPLAY here and different ways to play with Kara here. Plus you can connect with Kara on Instagram @theplayfulwarrior and via email hello@theplayfulwarrior.com
Joy Corner is an interview-style blog series brought to you by Seek The Joy Podcast. Our mission continues to be a desire to share your stories, truths, joys and inspiration in your words. We invite you to join our corner, and share your joys, passions, and moments of inspiration as we continue to seek the joy, together. Join this series here