[00:00:00] Monica: Welcome friend. Today I'm sharing my own story of how I fell in love with yoga and what prompted me to quit my six figure career and open a yoga studio ten years ago. But before we begin, let's take a deep breath together.
[00:01:20] Now in my younger years I was always quite active and loved playing sport, but when I was in grade 12 I tore some of the ligaments in my knee and I couldn't run or do any ball sports or intense exercise anymore. I'd dabbled in yoga before, doing a few classes at the gym here and there, which I always quite enjoyed.
[00:01:42] And I also crazily tried Bikram yoga twice and thought I was going to die, but that's another story. I really only started getting into yoga when I moved into a house that had a yoga studio at the end of the street. I signed up to a beginner's yoga class on a Sunday afternoon with no idea what to expect.
[00:02:00] When I arrived at the studio, the instructor asked me whether I'd done yoga before. I nodded and said, yeah, lots of times. Technically it wasn't a lie, but I was still very much a beginner. Now the room was filled with thin, athletic people, so I found a spot in the back where I could hide. And at first the class was fairly easy, with some simple stretches and breathing.
[00:02:25] Until we got into our first down dog. And it was actually my first down dog. And it was so much harder than it looked. I'd always been reasonably flexible, but I had zero upper body strength, and as my arms were trembling and my legs were trembling, I was glancing around the room hoping to see someone else struggle, but everyone seemed to love it but me.
[00:02:48] The teacher even had the audacity to call it a resting pose, and this made my eyes roll. Then the class started to move into a flowing sequence where we were moving without breath. It was really strong and I could hardly keep up and I was holding my breath. I really struggled with that whole moving and breathing concept and I'd just been so used to holding my breath I didn't realize that was a bad habit that I had.
[00:03:14] But when we finally got to the end of the class and lay down in Shavasana, a deep calm washed over me. For the first time ever, my mind was quiet. I was awake, I was alert, but there was nothing going on upstairs and that was beautiful. I became quite hooked to this feeling and I started going almost every day, sometimes twice a day.
[00:03:40] Yes, I liked the physical yoga poses. Yes, I liked getting stronger and fitter and I could see my arms and legs toning up, but I was really hooked on that feeling I had after class. It was so relaxing and that relaxing feeling lasted throughout the day. Now at the time I was going through some health challenges, I experienced a period of about two years where I had chronic daily headaches.
[00:04:07] They weren't migraines, but they were still quite debilitating, and some days I was bedridden. I tried everything. I tried acupuncture, physio, osteo, chiro, naturopath, craniosacral therapy, bowen therapy, rolfing, you name it, and everyone had their own take on why I had these headaches, from leaky gut to issues with my spine, but one thing was for certain, lowering my stress really helped my headaches.
[00:04:34] At the time I was working in state government and I really hated my job. I was a middle manager setting up a portfolio management office and I didn't really like the people I worked with. The work was stressful and unbeknownst to me my nervous system was really dysregulated. was good money, it was secure, it had great super and benefits, but I think it really contributed to my headaches.
[00:04:59] So I slowly became addicted to yoga, and my day wasn't complete a class. I'd either go to a yoga class before work, or I'd go straight after work, and I was always there on the weekends. And my headaches, and my back pain, and shoulder tension, all subsided. Life was good when I was doing regular yoga.
[00:05:21] I would often dream of yoga poses, and some of my New Year's goals were certain yoga poses. Yoga became one of the central features of my life, and I was loving it. Then one day, my favorite teacher was sick, and a substitute teacher was teaching the class. And I thought to myself, I could be a yoga teacher.
[00:05:42] But I thought that you had to go to India and I couldn't take that amount of time off work and it just seemed like a really distant dream. Fast forward a few years and I'm on my honeymoon in Thailand and I wanted to do some yoga, but I couldn't find a class as we were on a remote island. So I rolled out my yoga mat and just started teaching my husband and myself.
[00:06:05] I was amazed that I could just string a whole class together based on my experiences. It was like every word that every teacher had ever said came out, and it was like every pose, every sequence that I'd ever done was accessible to me in the moment. It was amazing how this yoga was just coming out of me without...
[00:06:25] much thinking about it. And at the time I was also reading the book The Alchemist by Paolo Coelho, and one of the quotes from the book that really resonated with me is, and when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it. It dawned on me that I should become a yoga teacher.
[00:06:44] when we returned home, I enrolled in a yoga teacher training that was part time over nine months. It fit really well into my work schedule and they encouraged us to start teaching friends and family ASAP to build our teaching confidence. By this time I was working in a different organization and I approached my friends to see if they wanted to do some yoga in the park after work.
[00:07:08] They were super keen so we did a few classes, but there was always a problem with the weather, or mosquitoes, or even just weirdos perving on us.
[00:07:17] I approached the HR department to... See if I could offer free yoga and meditation sessions to staff on lunch breaks or after work. But they replied with the usual bureaucracy of a fire warden needing to be on site, etc, etc. So then I found a local hall in Norman Park. I made a blackboard sign and stuck it out the front that said yoga, Tuesdays and Thursdays, 7pm, 10 bucks.
[00:07:42] And in no time those classes were full. I regularly had 40 people in class, and people were paying me to roll out their yoga mat in front of the toilet. It was wild.
[00:07:53] The classes grew more popular, so I looked for another venue in the area and found a really beautiful church to hire. So I was working full time in IT by day, and teaching yoga four nights a week. It was great. Then one of the venues informed me that they were selling the building, so I started looking for another venue for my classes, but I couldn't find anything close by.
[00:08:17] One day I was walking home from work through Mowbray Park. It's a really special spot on the Brisbane River with hundred year old fig trees. And as I was walking through the park, I had this flash of insight, well don't judge me here, but I honestly think the trees spoke to me and said that I'd find my venue in East Brisbane.
[00:08:36] So as soon as I got home, I jumped onto realestate. com and searched Brisbane, and lo and behold, I found the studio for rent. I messaged the agent to have an inspection, and I actually knew the building as I used to live on Withington Street when I first moved out of home. I even had my 21st James Bond themed birthday party in that street.
[00:08:56] And when I arrived, I knew I had to have it. There was a really special energy about the studio. It has soaring six meter ceilings. It's a loft space in a heritage building that used to be a cinema. There's a really special vibe that anyone who's been there knows. But it was out of my price range, so I went home and did some maths.
[00:09:18] I also asked the universe for a sign. And two really cool things happened. That night at yoga, I made so much money that I couldn't fit all the cash in my wallet. I think I made about 700 in an hour. So I took that as a really positive sign. And the other really cool thing that happened is that my singing bowl began to sing.
[00:09:41] So let me explain a bit. About 18 months prior, I bought a Tibetan singing bowl from a monk at a yoga festival. And I was so excited to play it, but when I got home, nothing happened. I Googled it and I practiced so many times, but it would never sing for me. And then I read somewhere that the bowl will only play when you're ready.
[00:10:02] So on a whim, I decided to pull that dusty old brass bowl out that I hadn't touched in over a year. And lo and behold, it sang for me. I took these two synchronicities as a sign. So I signed the lease, quit my job and opened the yoga studio two weeks later. I had no plan, no strategy, no business experience, just youthful naivety and a willingness to make it work.
[00:10:28] And ten years later, I haven't really looked back. To be honest, I didn't really have a plan for how long I'd be in business. I was just trying to get through my first year, then the next, then the next. I wanted to create a place that I would want to go to. Ten years ago, the yoga scene in Brisbane was either hot power yoga or ultra hippie yoga with lots of incense and Sanskrit.
[00:10:52] I wanted to create a place for people like me, people who weren't into the hardcore parts of yoga but wanted to find that calm place within like I had. I wanted to create a place where people wouldn't be intimidated or feel like they don't look the part. I wanted to create a place where people felt safe to explore their inner world.
[00:11:13] I wanted to create a place where people could really use yoga to change their lives, like I had. And I think because of my own health challenges, we tend to attract a lot of people who are experiencing illness or chronic pain. We also have lots of clients experiencing stress and anxiety who want some relief.
[00:11:34] And the thing that I'm most proud of is this wonderful community that we've created, and the lives that we've changed. Over last 10 years, I've witnessed so many clients transform their lives through yoga. role at the studio gives me this unique perspective on how people navigate the ups and downs of life.
[00:11:54] Some of our clients have endured unbearable hardships. Some have had traumatic childhoods, and many are burnt out and exhausted from anxious living. I'm incredibly fortunate to witness clients rebuild their lives after tragedy and rise from the metaphorical ashes. And what I've seen time and time again is that the ones who bounce back from tragedy understand the value of habit and routine.
[00:12:21] They've learned the importance of caring for their mental health. The people who successfully navigate hard times have routines and habits that support them. have daily practices like movement, breathwork, and meditation that create some structure in their lives when things are falling apart. So many people wait for a crisis before they tend to their mental health, but the people who already have mentally healthy habits bounce back from a crisis much faster because they're already resilient.
[00:12:53] And resilience doesn't come from enduring hard things. Resilience is cultivated through our daily habits. Real yoga isn't about touching our toes or getting flexible. Real yoga is about using our body and breath as tools to calm our minds. Yoga builds mental fitness and resilience. It increases our capacity to deal with life.
[00:13:18] Yoga makes the hard times a little easier, and the good times even better. Yet so many people get caught up in the physical appearance of yoga, or think that they're not young, fit, or flexible enough to start, so they miss out on the life changing benefits nervous system and calm mind offer.
[00:13:37] When life has taken a turn for the worse, the ability to manage our mental and emotional state, to think clearly, to make good decisions and maintain perspective, makes a massive difference. in our ability to navigate these challenges. And the people who seem to sail through adversity, use yoga to guide them.
[00:13:58] Beyond fitness and flexibility, yoga can change how we think and feel about ourselves and the world. Yoga can help us end the war with ourselves and find the inner contentment that we all seek. Our body houses our mind, and how we move, breathe and feel can have an incredible influence on our thoughts.
[00:14:21] Because let's face it, once our basic needs are met, the quality of our lives is primarily determined by our thoughts. And if our thoughts are negative and critical, it doesn't matter if we have career success, money in the bank, or a hot body, we still feel miserable. So many of our clients have turned their lives around by committing to a regular yoga practice.
[00:14:43] Practicing twice a week will change your body. Practicing five times a week will change your life. Yoga has changed my life for the better and it has for many of our clients too. If you want to change your life, we have to change what we do and that's where we come in. We can teach you to relax your body.
[00:15:03] We can teach you to regulate your nervous system. We can teach you to calm your mind so that you can live your best life. And we have an amazing introductory offer of three weeks for just 77 and it's backed by a rock solid guarantee. So if you've been looking to start yoga for the first time, or perhaps you want to get back on your mat after a break, there's no better time to start with us.
[00:15:27] So what do I love most about yoga? Well, there's certainly poses that I love. I do down dog every day. I can't believe that the pose that I hated the most has become one of my favorites. I love half moon pose and that feeling of balance and equilibrium. I love doing a supine twist when my back hurts. I love a long held pigeon pose when my glutes are tight.
[00:15:54] The thing I love most is the experience of being awake and alert yet having no thoughts. And it happens to me regularly at the end of my yoga practice. I experience a moment of bliss and that's what keeps me coming back for more. Now, you don't have to escape to a cave or live in an ashram to experience peace and calm.
[00:16:19] Average, everyday people experience this every week with us at yoga. And our studio is filled with real people, real bodies, all ages and sizes, because we don't care what you look like, we're more interested in how you feel on the inside. And if you want to feel calm and at peace, you know where to find us.
