Self-Care Silver Lining: How Resilience & Creativity Took Hold After A Beloved Yoga Studio Shut Down

On the last day of June, my favorite local yoga studio, Village Yoga, shut its doors. While this may not seem like a big deal to some people, it definitely hit my tight-knit community of yoga lovers right in the heart.

You see, my fellow yogis and I met happily here each week for over five years. Known as the “athletic yoga” studio in our area, our leader, Freddy’s flow classes were THE best. I felt like we were in Cirque du Soleil in the way we mastered inversions and arm balances.

And, my passion for this studio and for yoga has manifested in a variety of ways including completing Freddy’s 200-hour yoga teacher training just before COVID hit. Becoming a certified yoga instructor is just one of the many ways I’m “living my truth” as a personal coach.

More Than A Yoga Studio

Village Yoga was more than a yoga studio:

• It was a kind, compassionate community, a family – my second home.
• It gave me structure, strength, support system, and a social life (including our Golden Retriever Club),
• It brought focus, balance, inner peace, and presence - which was especially needed over the past year when my beloved dog Benji got sick and died, as did my marriage.

Building On Creativity & Resiliency

After the announcement about the studio closing came, we didn’t have much time to mourn. In fact, we pivoted very quickly: convening a co-op and restarting yoga classes in a new studio that is literally two minutes up the street in a local church - beginning the very next day!

This is another example that, even when your heart is breaking (and perhaps especially then!), human beings can build personal resiliency. It wasn’t easy but we invoked the “it takes a village” approach and banded together because we were determined to grow and practice together as a community.

This is how our co-op is described in our print materials: 

“We are a group of yogis who found each other in one yoga room and decided to keep our community thriving in another. United in our love of this practice and inspired by sharing it with others.”

So, as much as we grieved the closing of our old studio, we are thrilled with our new one – a wonderful light-filled room filled with love, laughter and positive energy which is in contrast to the basement, dark, small studio that we were used to and loved.

To put a new spin on an old cliché: For every yoga studio door that closes…a new opportunity opens. And, I am so happy that we’ve done just that! The great lesson here is that your clients can do this too. It doesn’t have to be an epiphany born from yoga or even from trauma – investing in one’s own dreams and goals is a powerful tool in itself.

Investing in Personal Development

Even though I have spent the last year mourning the death of both my marriage and later my beloved dog Benji, I’ve continued to invest in my personal development and growth.

In fact, in addition to continuing with and committing to a regular yoga routine, I have spent the past nine months participating in the challenging and life-changing Jay Shetty Life Coaching Certification Program which I took as part of my own personal healing journey.

Unbeknownst to me, I realized that coaching is my superpower. And that’s not just my take; my clients agree! Here are two testimonials from recent coaching clients; you can find many more on my Coaching Clinic page:

“One of the things that makes Dr. Kim so very special is her presence which is spiritually uplifting for the soul, mindful and filled with passion, kindness and compassion for those with whom she works.”

“I LOVED your coaching! I remember some of your questions and the way you approached things will stick with me forever. Thank you for being such an inspiration.”

You Too Can Reinvent Your Meetings!

I am integrating these important learnings for my clients. For meeting planners who value their attendees’ well-being and education, I am now offering life/wellness coaching services that provide novel sponsorship and networking opportunities (virtual and in-person) to create an enhanced meeting experience with engaged and revitalized attendees.

My life/wellness Coaching Clinic is a result of my hundreds of hours of an unparalleled combination of academic, scientific and holistic training that will provide your clients with:

• A dynamic guide for self-awareness and personal growth
• Tools to bolster health, relationships and creativity
• Insights into why blocks may appear in certain elements of one’s life – and how to get them unblocked.

Stop. Pivot. Move Forward.

Just as my fellow yogis and I did when our precious studio shuttered, it is so important to be resilient. Be present. Be creative. And to reinvent oneself when necessary. That’s what we’re all looking to do as we come out of the pandemic.

In light of this, Invest in yourself and your conference attendees this year – to move gracefully beyond your present and into the future. Let’s walk together as we pivot for the future. If you have any questions about my coaching clinic - or how to get started on this journey, feel free to contact me.

• My coaching services can be included as part of an in-person or Virtual Wellness Lounge, an add-on to my professional speaking or a stand-alone Coaching Clinic.
• And here’s an idea: a sponsored Coaching Clinic can also extend - virtually - beyond the conference - for attendees eager to make changes in their life even after the conference ends - and return year after year.
• So, I invite you to EMAIL ME and let me know what you think about this new service and sponsorship opportunity.
• Or schedule a Discovery Call to see if a Coaching Clinic is a fit for your upcoming conferences and trade shows.

In the meantime…

Be well,

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