Our Journey

When I first stepped onto a yoga mat in my local yoga studio, I thought I was simply looking for a good stretch. I wanted relief from the tightness that had built up from years of moving too fast and giving too much of myself to everything else.  

Over time, the practice began to shift how I viewed myself and the world around me. I started questioning what spirituality meant to me and what my true purpose in life was. That is when I realized that yoga was more than just postures — it was a path toward personal transformation and a deeper community connection.

I have always been a people person. For years, I worked in customer service, helping others in small ways every day. When I discovered that I could use those same social skills through yoga — not just to guide movement, but to foster community connection and help people connect to something deeper — I knew there was no going back.  

In that shift, I found confidence and a deep sense of purpose. Teaching this practice at my yoga studio allows me to help others experience personal transformation, finding strength, clarity, and connection within themselves.

One day after class, a student said to me, “When you open your own yoga studio, I want to know, because I am going to be your first member.” That moment stayed with me. It planted a seed of community connection that grew quietly at first, then stronger over time, until it became something I could no longer ignore, leading to my personal transformation.

When I first moved to Edgewood almost twenty years ago, there was an old 1960s gas station just down the road. Over time, it transformed into Blooming Mad, a charming garden center with a greenhouse wrapped around the side. 

I didn’t know it then, but that building would one day become part of my story. As I began my journey of personal transformation through yoga, I would drive past and imagine it as a yoga studio — a space filled with movement, light, and a strong sense of community connection.

Years later, that dream of creating a community connection through yoga became a reality. Transforming that weathered building into The Body Shop Yoga studio was not easy. There were long days of sanding, painting, and moments of doubt. But little by little, it came to life. The walls shifted from red to matte black, echoes turned into laughter and breath, and the space began to radiate warmth and energy once again, becoming a true hub for personal transformation.

What once fueled cars now fuels community connection. What once grew plants now fosters personal transformation within our yoga studio.

Every time I unlock the doors to our yoga studio, I take a moment to soak in the space, the energy, and the community connection that fills it. What began as an idea has blossomed into something much bigger: a home for movement, stillness, and belonging. The Body Shop Yoga is not about perfection; it’s about showing up, breathing through the work, and embracing personal transformation — just like this building — which reminds us that change is always possible.