Steady your course with Vela.

A stress insight and recovery tool designed for educators.

Set your sail. Tend your flame. Navigate stress with Vela.

Set your sail. Tend your flame. Navigate stress with Vela.

Why Vela

In Latin, vela means “sail”—built to move with shifting winds.
In Spanish and Portuguese, vela is also a candle—a steady flame.

You are both: the sail that adapts, the flame that lights the way.
Vela is here to help you tend both.

This isn’t “just stress.”

It’s decision fatigue, compassion fatigue, and crowd control—all before lunch.

Vela translates your signals from biometric wearables into insight—then gives you tools to reflect and reset, before stress takes over.

How Vela Works

  • Sync Your Wearable

    Connect Vela to your wearable device in seconds. OURA, Apple Health, Fitbit, WHOOP, etc.—we meet you where you are. Your body has a story to tell. We help you listen.

  • Get Real-Time Stress Insights

    See patterns you didn’t know were there. Track shifts in your energy, recovery, and emotional load—without judgment. Vela turns raw data into gentle insight.

  • Use In-the-Moment Reset Tools

    You don’t need an hour. You need a moment. Vela gives you real-time reset prompts tailored to what your body needs. Pause. Breathe. Re-center.

  • Build Micro-Habits Into Your Day

    Change starts small. Vela helps you build micro-habits that fit into your real day—not your ideal one. These small rituals add up to sustainability.

Real support, even before Vela’s live. Download the free guide.

5 Hidden Stress Triggers Teachers Overlook & What to do About Them in Under 5 Minutes

Insightful | Fast | Specific | Actionable

Teaching is tough.

You don’t have to do it on fumes.

Start listening to your body and recalibrating your days.

A Note from the Founder

Hi there,

I built Vela because I’ve been the person on the other side of the the table trying to hold space for exhausted teachers. I’ve coached new educators who were brilliant and burning out by October. I’ve seen firsthand how much you carry—and how little time you get to process it.

I’ve also been inside school systems, nonprofits, and national learning orgs, trying to make the work more sustainable. I know the professional development world well enough to know that what’s often missing isn’t another strategy—it’s a space to feel what the job is doing to your body and your mind.

That’s what Vela is. A quiet, supportive tool designed for people who care deeply and need care too.

It blends everything I’ve learned from years in public education, instructional coaching, curriculum design, and a graduate degree from Stanford’s Learning, Design, and Technology program. It’s not perfect (yet), but it’s being built with heart, real data, and deep respect for the work you do.

Thanks for being here. I truly mean that.
Let’s shape Vela together—so it truly serves the people who need it most.

Warmly,
Daniel Villarreal
Founder, Vela