Tending the heart’s wise, wild grace.

Hello! My name is Kayla Mravec (she/her), and I received my spiritual direction training with Teresa Blythe at the Phoenix Center for Spiritual Direction in 2023. My spirituality and writings are rooted in embodying authentic love through compassionately embracing and sharing the wholeness of our stories. I have cerebral palsy, and my faith and my disability are deeply integrated. I understand my cerebral palsy to be an invitation for myself and others to live with courageous vulnerability. 

I hold a B.A. in Religion from Ohio Wesleyan University (2010), a M.Div. from the University of Notre Dame (2014), and I completed a chaplain residency at the Cleveland Clinic (2019). I became a Level I Reiki Practitioner during my residency as another way to support patients, loved ones and staff. Reiki is a Japanese relaxation and energy practice which is akin to laying on of hands in the Christian tradition. My hope is to eventually incorporate reiki as an optional additional offering in my spiritual direction sessions. During my time as a chaplain intern and resident I also began to create poetry as a way to express how my experiences on the hospital units transformed my ever-deepening understanding of self, the divine and being human.

I relocated to Georgia for the pandemic where I spent time discerning my vocation and immersing myself in creativity, writing and service. Working and volunteering with a local nonprofit, Deep Center, I mentored middle school students in creative writing. Through my work with Deep Center and my own spiritual journey during this time, I began to recognize the power and beauty in creating space for myself and others to listen to the inner wisdom of the heart. Connecting these innermost renewed recognition with encouragement from loved ones near and far, I identified my calling toward becoming a spiritual director.

Attending worship and contemplative prayer group at my church, practicing yoga, dancing, reading novels, and enjoying a cup of herbal tea are all practices through which I nourish my wild grace.