mission, story and beliefs

Hey there! I'm Dara Poznar, a Certified Life Coach and Alignment Strategist based in the beautiful mountain town of Asheville, NC.

I help high-achieving, emotionally exhausted men and women who are tired of over-functioning in relationships go from second-guessing their needs, people-pleasing, and feeling emotionally undernourished to building deep self-trust, honoring their boundaries, and creating mutual, aligned relationships—so they can finally experience the love, success, and inner peace they’ve been working so hard for, using my Authentic Alignment Framework.

I know what it’s like to seem successful on the outside while quietly struggling in your relationships, wondering why love feels so hard, why you’re giving so much and yet still feeling unseen, unfulfilled, and not enough. I’ve lived that reality. And now, I help others break free from those same patterns, so they can return to themselves and experience a grounded, soul-deep fulfillment that isn’t dependent on being chosen, validated or approved of by anyone else.

My Story

For most of my life, I believed that once I found the right relationship, everything else would fall into place. I thought love would complete me, fill the emptiness, quiet the self-doubt, and finally make me feel whole. So I made romantic love my ultimate goal. My compass. My center.

I didn’t realize I was seeking something outside of me that could only ever be found within.

Over and over, I gave my all…hoping that earning the love of someone else would finally allow me to fully love myself. I confused devotion with identity. I stayed in relationships where I twisted myself to fit someone else’s needs, all while downplaying my own. I over-functioned and called it commitment.
But in reality, it was self-abandonment.

Then came the relationship that changed everything.

I believed I had found the love of my life. I believed we were meant to be. That he was my soulmate. But when my trust was broken, I was forced to face a truth I had spent my whole life avoiding: staying would mean betraying myself.

And the only reason I had the strength to walk away—by far the hardest thing I’ve ever done—was because I had made a quiet but life-altering vow: to live in Authentic Alignment. To live every day guided by my deepest truth and self-worth. To never again betray or abandon myself in the name of love. To no longer sacrifice my truth, my voice, or my well-being for the illusion of security or the hope of being chosen—and to instead always choose myself.

That relationship didn’t complete me. But it did awaken me. It showed me how far I had strayed from my center. And it called me…gently, painfully, unmistakably…back to the truth and back to myself.

And from that place, I became someone who no longer confuses love with sacrifice. Someone who is no longer available for one-sidedness, emotional labor masquerading as connection, or relationships where only one person is doing the work. I became someone who could finally create a partnership rooted in mutual respect, shared effort, and honest, soul-nourishing reciprocity. A love that enhances my life—not defines it.

My Journey

I was raised in a strict religious cult from ages 13 to 23. My childhood was marked by instability, emotional neglect, and the chaos of addiction. By the time I entered adulthood, I learned to perform for love and base my worth on how others perceived and treated me.

But through years of deep self-inquiry, trauma healing, and spiritual reclamation, I finally came home to myself. I stopped centering others. I started centering truth. I began to choose myself, not from anger or ego, but from alignment.

What took me far too long to understand about self-love and creating balanced, mutually fulfilling relationships, I now teach to others with clarity and compassion, so they don’t have to spend years stuck in confusion, resentment and self-doubt the way I did.

My Mantra

No mud, no lotus.
I believe our greatest growth comes from our deepest struggles.

In my view, true happiness and fulfillment come not from the absence of struggle, but from living in congruence with who you really are—your deepest needs, values, desires, and truths. Alignment doesn’t guarantee an easy life, but it does offer something even more valuable: peace, clarity, and the joy of living in integrity with yourself.

"The privilege of a lifetime is to become who you truly are." — Carl Jung

My Mission

Today, I guide over-functioning, heart-centered individuals into a new way of being. A life of alignment, not anxiety. Power, not performance. Intentional, mutual relationships. Not endless chasing.

Because the truth is:
You were never meant to earn love.
You were meant to embody who you truly are.
And when you do, the right love will recognize you. It won’t need to be chased, convinced, or forced.

XO,
Dara