Every picture is worth a thousand words and a million hearts, and I wanted to share my yoga journey in a way that I love!
Every picture is from a place along this journey, and these are just like every sequence that I write, curated and nurtured from my heart. Some of these are of me, but many include all of the people in my life and the energy that we share!
It all started in NYC, 1995.
I was a bartender by night and yogi by day!
The first time I ever took a yoga class I knew I had to have yoga in my life.
And, to be more specific, what really happened that day was that yoga made sense to me and the way I thought about life. It made everything I'd already experienced make sense in a way that nothing else ever had.
Yoga speaks the truth, and I never looked back. In August of '98 I got married and there were lots of changes in my life. The gym where I had taken classes closed and there wasn't much time to find a new place, but my thoughts were always working there way back to the philosophy and perspective that I had discovered. By 2000, Wes and I decided to move to Atlanta and it was time for me to really focus on my practice.
Our first yoga class in Atlanta was at Bikram Hot Yoga in Sandy Springs, in 105 degrees and I couldn't believe that yoga could get any better, but the heat took it to another level!
I was a bartender by night and yogi by day!
The first time I ever took a yoga class I knew I had to have yoga in my life.
And, to be more specific, what really happened that day was that yoga made sense to me and the way I thought about life. It made everything I'd already experienced make sense in a way that nothing else ever had.
Yoga speaks the truth, and I never looked back. In August of '98 I got married and there were lots of changes in my life. The gym where I had taken classes closed and there wasn't much time to find a new place, but my thoughts were always working there way back to the philosophy and perspective that I had discovered. By 2000, Wes and I decided to move to Atlanta and it was time for me to really focus on my practice.
Our first yoga class in Atlanta was at Bikram Hot Yoga in Sandy Springs, in 105 degrees and I couldn't believe that yoga could get any better, but the heat took it to another level!
In addition, I loved being able to practice yoga outside and before long yoga started to include a new hobby of taking lots of photographs of nature.
I started working at Bikram Hot Yoga and a short time later Wes came on board to help me manage two studios. We renamed the studios Atlanta Hot Yoga,
added a third studio, and made these places our yoga home for 10 years!
I taught 20+ classes a week, started my Teacher Training school and when I wasn't in the classroom, Wes and I had a blast creating many marketing and ad campaigns and always looked for ways to bring yoga to more people in more ways!
But, something was missing... something we knew we needed in our lives.
added a third studio, and made these places our yoga home for 10 years!
I taught 20+ classes a week, started my Teacher Training school and when I wasn't in the classroom, Wes and I had a blast creating many marketing and ad campaigns and always looked for ways to bring yoga to more people in more ways!
But, something was missing... something we knew we needed in our lives.
Lachlan was born in 2009, and there are not words to describe what it means to me to be a mom! I felt my heart open more than I ever imagined possible! Our life was full and happy, but as change is the only constant, so our life changed...
Things went in a direction we didn't have planned at all - The Universe is funny like that.
We had been invited to continue on as partners in the studio we had put our heart and soul into for the past 10 years, but unfortunately the owner of that studio was not being honest, and we learned a valuable lesson about trust.
And, although those days were difficult, we decided that we were going to build on and invest in our love for yoga and all the people we had practiced with and taught for all those years!
The decision was made to open our own hot yoga studio and
Red Hot Yoga was opened in August, 2010, on Lachlan's 1st birthday!
I was a new mom and a new business owner, but as it turns out these types of challenges show you what you're made of and are good for your soul!
We had been invited to continue on as partners in the studio we had put our heart and soul into for the past 10 years, but unfortunately the owner of that studio was not being honest, and we learned a valuable lesson about trust.
And, although those days were difficult, we decided that we were going to build on and invest in our love for yoga and all the people we had practiced with and taught for all those years!
The decision was made to open our own hot yoga studio and
Red Hot Yoga was opened in August, 2010, on Lachlan's 1st birthday!
I was a new mom and a new business owner, but as it turns out these types of challenges show you what you're made of and are good for your soul!
Thousands of classes were taught over the next decade, as well as many teacher trainings!
Owning the studio and meeting so many amazing people over the years has been incredible! We experienced some of the best and some of the toughest times of our lives and I don't think that there will ever be another studio like Miami Circle. We moved to our Cain's Hill location just as the yoga world was changing...
Independent studios were being replaced by chains. The focus on practicing was eclipsed by fashion and you could literally point in any direction and find a free yoga class there. Our studio was doing well, but things were quickly turning away from quality teaching and more into a "money game", and that was never an interest of mine.
And so the Universe, working in its perfect way, was already opening my mind to new possibilities...
Owning the studio and meeting so many amazing people over the years has been incredible! We experienced some of the best and some of the toughest times of our lives and I don't think that there will ever be another studio like Miami Circle. We moved to our Cain's Hill location just as the yoga world was changing...
Independent studios were being replaced by chains. The focus on practicing was eclipsed by fashion and you could literally point in any direction and find a free yoga class there. Our studio was doing well, but things were quickly turning away from quality teaching and more into a "money game", and that was never an interest of mine.
And so the Universe, working in its perfect way, was already opening my mind to new possibilities...
Wes and I made the decision to transition from brick and mortar to going online in 2019.
I've always wanted to be able to share yoga with as many people as possible and this was the path that I see the most possibility in. From the very beginning of my yoga journey,
yoga has helped me see through illusion, alleviate suffering, and
nurture my soul, and these things were all something I knew I had to share. My plan was to focus on my Youtube channel, but then no sooner had we sold the studio, the pandemic hit and changed all of our lives.
I knew yoga would be more important than ever before so I immediately transitioned my trainings online and opened up Live ZOOM classes.
I was also hired by Lernsys to create an online course for kid's yoga!
That's my story so far, but there's more to come!
I look forward to everything this beautiful Universe has to offer,
and the adventures that are in store for all of us
as we live and breathe and practice together!
namaste
B
I've always wanted to be able to share yoga with as many people as possible and this was the path that I see the most possibility in. From the very beginning of my yoga journey,
yoga has helped me see through illusion, alleviate suffering, and
nurture my soul, and these things were all something I knew I had to share. My plan was to focus on my Youtube channel, but then no sooner had we sold the studio, the pandemic hit and changed all of our lives.
I knew yoga would be more important than ever before so I immediately transitioned my trainings online and opened up Live ZOOM classes.
I was also hired by Lernsys to create an online course for kid's yoga!
That's my story so far, but there's more to come!
I look forward to everything this beautiful Universe has to offer,
and the adventures that are in store for all of us
as we live and breathe and practice together!
namaste
B