Laura Messer was born and raised in Asheville, NC, which she credits with fostering the immense creativity within her.

During her childhood, she spent most of her free time dancing with the Land of the Sky Ballet and dreaming of elephants, giraffes, and other majestic animals, since she always had a tremendous love and compassion for all beings.
Laura went on to study at the College of Charleston, graduating with a bachelors degree in Corporate Communications and a minor in Dance. While there, she danced with the Robert Ivey Ballet Company and had several inspirational mentors. One of her Modern Dance teachers in particular had a profound influence on her when she regularly incorporated yoga into her practice. This is when Laura fell in love with the conscious connection of breath and movement.

After graduating in 2002, Laura moved to Greenville, SC to begin her career in the corporate world. While busy with the demands and stress of the medical sales industry, she continued to practice yoga as a way to cultivate a mindful way of living.

In 2010, Laura was introduced to the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, a global wildlife conservation organization based in Nairobi, Kenya that is best known for rescuing and rehabilitating orphaned elephants and rhinos found alone in the wild. It touched Laura’s heart.

She never imagined that one day she would be able to unite her passion for yoga and her love for wildlife conservation as one but in 2016, Laura embarked on a journey to complete a 200-hr yoga teacher training with Linda Patterson at Integrative Yoga Therapy. While there, she imagined teaching yoga and educating her students about wildlife conservation at the same time.

Laura is now dedicated full-time to her passions of yoga, wellness, and wildlife.