2 years ago, I taught my first class for Soul & Steady Yoga Parlour. Many of you don’t know the birth story so I’d love to share it with you.
While I was working in advertising and media for many years, I started my yoga career. My first certification was in 2010 and I never looked back. Over the course of 10 years, I spent thousands of hours in trainings, being a student, absorbing knowledge about the yoga path. Yoga was the first physical practice that got me outside of my head and into my philosophical soul. It was in the quiet moments that I heard my heart so I wanted to teach in a way that focused on the heart and soul. My style is to weave the yin & yang, the mind & the heart, the body & the soul.
I taught so many classes, especially at 6am so it didn’t interfere with my day job. I started to create and lead my very own teacher trainings and mentoring yoga teachers. I had a strong passion for silence so I would hold poses for my students to feel.
In 2016, I wanted to open up my own yoga studio. I felt ready. I met with a business development organization in Long Island City. I envisioned black painted walls, rock and roll blaring through the speakers, an energy that was accepting and for everyone. I remember my students putting me in contact with venue owners so I could teach for myself, in my yin & yang, masculine & feminine, serious & playful, easy & challenging way.
When I started to travel to teach yoga trainings, that's when I decided owning a studio wasn't my path. Teachers and students from all over the place asked for ways to keep in contact. Do I offer videos? I had an “A-ha” moment and thought about the online space. I loved the idea of no walls, no box, no limitations, no restrictions. Anyone, anywhere can tune in. I can build a life where I can live anywhere.
I came up with so many different business names. Connect Yoga is one that still sticks with me but Soul & Steady felt right. Before I had an idea on how to make it come alive, I named it. I found a graphic designer and a photographer and worked with them closely to showcase its personality.
And then everything in my life shifted. My foundation changed. I got divorced, left FOX and the advertising and media industry, and was on my own for the first time ever. I was so uncomfortable. I had so many feelings. I still have so many feelings.
In 2018, I was in Hawaii taking an advanced training with my teacher, Yogi Charu. I put the words Soul & Steady everywhere I could. On my water bottle, notebook, I wore a Soul & Steady t-shirt, I had a Soul & Steady tote. In my heart, Soul & Steady was alive. It was in me, I just needed to see it and understand it. I was in Vienna teaching a training with my Soul & Steady t-shirt on. I was promoting Soul & Steady before really knowing what Soul & Steady was going to offer but I knew the brand's style of teaching and intention.
I led a yoga retreat at The Himalayan Institute called Soul & Steady Yoga. I created a Soul & Steady weekend training and flew to Cleveland, OH right before CoVid shut us down to teach others the style.
I was growing into Soul & Steady but I still had no idea how I was going to bring it online. Then the universe was really kind to me and I got the chance to manage an amazing yoga studio in Brooklyn, close to my home. I got to see the ins and outs of running a yoga studio and I knew that a traditional yoga space wasn't for me.
And then BAM.
The pandemic hit. We all got shut down. Yoga shifted online and it became the norm to practice with ZOOM! I worked so hard on my website, integrating payment systems, creating packages, scheduling, and so much more. I was given this shot to make it work and I worked hard. I learned how to build Soul & Steady step by step. I had to remind myself to breathe and take it inch by inch. When I say the process is the dream, I mean it. I've learned so much about myself and how to accept myself.
Here we are 2 years later and we are just getting started. Soul & Steady has become my foundation, my vision, my child. Somedays I feel inspired and excited. Other days I’m freaked out and paralyzed. But I haven’t yet, not once, thought of leaving my baby. This is my path and it's up to me to stay present so we can grow. Even when I'm not sure how.
Everything I say in my yoga classes comes from my heart and my own struggles. We are all divine beings living in a materialistic world. I believe that Soul & Steady is here to remind us, “Inch by inch, life is a cinch. Yard by yard, life is too hard.” The more we aware of our feelings, emotions, wants, needs and fears, the easier life is. It's still challenging, draining, stressful and frustrating but we handle it with a smile. We know that the energy we feed is the energy that will grow. Everyday in class, we talk about it. We practice being present with it.
Everyday, we can create the life that we wish to live.
Thank you for being here.
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