Today we’d like to introduce you to Ina Cole.
Ina, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Ever since I was a kid, I have been drawn to movement, music and being outside in nature. I grew up in a small village called Neumarkt am Wallersee, just outside Salzburg, Austria and I was a very happy, active child. I was always dancing, running around in nature or finding some kind of way to move. I started taking hip-hop and movement classes when I was young and in elementary school I began playing guitar. I had one-on-one lessons and spent countless hours in my room trying to teach myself songs, singing along while playing guitar or looking up tutorials for songs I loved. Later I joined choirs and attended a music-focused middle school where we performed musicals. Music and movement were simply part of my world. I think I was always drawn to them because they gave me a sense of freedom and a way to express things that I didn’t always have words for.
I eventually decided that I wanted to become a teacher. While working for a nonprofit organization called Kinderfreunde, I came into contact with children with special needs and that experience made me realize that special education was where I wanted to be. I studied special education and after graduating, moved to the San Francisco Bay Area for two years to work as an au pair. It was my first time living outside Europe and the culture shock was huge. At the same time, it was incredibly exciting. I traveled, learned English, experienced a completely different culture and fell in love with being somewhere new.
When I returned to Austria, I actually started to be a special education teacher and eventually worked in integrative middle schools for 6 years. Teaching was incredibly meaningful to me and I loved my students. I loved working with children because of their openness and individuality and because every child challenged me to look beyond what was immediately visible and find a way to meet them where they were. But when COVID hit, I started questioning what I wanted my life to look like. I felt a strong need to move, explore and experience something different, so I left Austria and spent almost a year in Mexico.
Mexico became another turning point. I worked in hostels, did work exchanges, danced salsa and bachata and taught beginner dance classes. I also discovered sound healing there. I remember being completely mesmerized by my first sound sessions. I was fascinated by how sound could create such a strong felt experience without needing to explain or understand anything, simply inviting the body to slow down and listen. It felt like I had discovered a whole new world. Around the same time, I traveled to Costa Rica for my first yoga teacher training.
Yoga itself has actually been a thread through my life for many years before that, but it had not yet revealed its true magic to me until recent years. What kept bringing me back was how I felt afterward. Movement had always been a way for me to feel grounded and connected to myself and yoga gave me another way to do that.
After Mexico and Costa Rica, I lived in Sardinia for a while, where I began teaching yoga and completed a sound certification. I started borrowing Tibetan singing bowls from friends and offering little sound sessions around the island. Eventually I moved back to Austria, this time to Vienna, where my husband, Curtis and I lived for three years.
Those three years were probably the busiest years of my life. I worked as a special education teacher, while simultaneously building my own business. I reduced my teaching hours and began teaching yoga and offering sound baths in studios all over Vienna. At one point I was teaching in six different studios, often traveling 30 or 40 minutes across the city between work and classes. I was also deeply immersed in partner dancing, especially Brazilian Zouk, which became another huge passion of mine. I traveled to dance events and retreats and sometimes taught yoga and sound there as well.
Somewhere along the way, all these things that had seemed like separate parts of my life started coming together.
Teaching yoga to many different people also made me realize how individual every body is. I would have someone come into class with an injury or pain and realize that the way I had originally learned yoga simply couldn’t work for everyone. I started asking myself how I could make yoga safer and more individualized and that eventually led me to yoga therapy. I am now training to become a C-IAYT yoga therapist, with a growing focus on trauma-sensitive and therapeutic approaches.
Sound became another important part of my work. I invested in my own instruments, slowly building a collection that now includes crystal tones singing bowls, a guitarlele, chimes, a kalimba, a drone flute, a large rain stick, tuning forks and other instruments. I love working with sound in groups, but I especially love the possibilities of one-on-one work, where the experience can be much more personal.
I also became interested in craniosacral bodywork after experiencing a session myself. I was amazed by how gentle it was while still creating such a profound experience. I was drawn to the quietness and subtlety of this work and to the idea that sometimes the body doesn’t need to be pushed or fixed, but simply given space, safety and attention. I realized that I wanted to explore working with people through touch and bodywork as well, so I got a diploma in craniosacral balancing.
Leaving my secure career as a full-time special education teacher was definitely scary. I didn’t know if I could really build something of my own. But something surprising happened: even though I was working more than I ever had before, I didn’t feel drained in the same way. I felt incredibly energized by the people I was meeting and by the work I was doing. I began to understand that there is a difference between being busy and being fulfilled.
Now Curtis and I have moved to Santa Barbara, California and we are starting another completely new chapter. We’ve only been here for a short time, so in many ways I am starting over again. Right now I am building my work around therapeutic yoga and sound while continuing my yoga therapy training and exploring how I can eventually bring this work into places like rehabilitation centers, pain centers, wellness settings and other environments where people could benefit from individualized support.
I also recently started creating jewelry using gemstones, glas beads, freshwater pearls and sterling silver, which is another creative outlet that I have been slowly developing.
When I look at my life now, I don’t see one straight career path. I see a lot of curiosity and following little sparks of interest and magic. Music led to movement, movement led to teaching, teaching led me toward yoga, yoga led me toward therapy and sound and bodywork became other ways of connecting with people. Even all the traveling and different places I’ve lived have shaped how I see myself and the world.
I don’t think I ever had a five-year plan. I mostly kept following what felt meaningful and what made me feel alive. And now I’m here in Santa Barbara, trying to build a life around those things and see where they take me next.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Definitely not. From the outside, my life might look like a series of exciting adventures, moving countries, traveling, teaching, dancing and building my own business, but there has been a lot of uncertainty behind it.
One of the hardest things was leaving my secure career as a special education teacher to invest in my education and instruments. I had a stable job and a very clear path, and choosing to step away from that to build something of my own was scary. I didn’t really know if I could make it work and I had to learn everything along the way; how to build a business, find clients, use social media and put myself out there.
I also had to learn to be comfortable with not knowing everything. As a yoga teacher, I eventually realized that every person who came into my classes had different needs, injuries and experiences. I sometimes found myself thinking, “I don’t know if this is safe. I don’t know how to help this person.” Instead of ignoring that, I let it lead me toward deeper learning.
I don’t think you ever completely stop being afraid. You just become more comfortable taking the next step without knowing exactly where it will lead.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
My business is called “withinasound,” a name my husband Curtis actually came up with. There is a little story hidden inside the word: “within a sound,” with “Ina” right there within it, while also playing with the idea of “with Ina.” I loved that it could hold both my name and something that has become such a meaningful part of my work.
‘withinasound’ grew out of my work with yoga and sound, but over time it has become something broader. I work with movement, sound and nervous system regulation to help people slow down, reconnect with their bodies and find practices that support them in everyday life.
I offer therapeutic yoga, sound sessions and group experiences, with a strong focus on creating a safe and supportive environment. I am especially interested in one-on-one work because it allows me to meet each person where they are and adapt the practice to their individual needs.
What sets my work apart is the combination of everything I have learned through my different paths. My background in special education taught me how important it is to see each person as an individual. My yoga and yoga therapy education has taught me to look at movement in a much more individualized way and sound has become another tool I use to support regulation and connection.
I don’t want people to feel like they have to perform yoga perfectly or somehow fix themselves. I want to create a space where they can pause and listen, so they can find what actually feels supportive.
I am proud that ‘withinasound’ has grown organically from something that started as a personal passion into work that allows me to be of service to other people. My goal is to keep learning, keep expanding my offerings and create meaningful experiences that help people feel more at home in themselves.
Do you have any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
One of my favorite childhood memories is actually spending time in my room with my guitar. I would spend hours trying to learn songs I loved, looking up tutorials and figuring out how to play them while singing along. I wasn’t trying to perform for anyone. I just loved being completely absorbed in it.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.withinasound.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/withinasound/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61572446072114
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@withinasound
