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Hello Elliott,
On this day, 25 years ago, I opened my very first yoga studio in Rye, NH. My husband spent weeks getting the space ready, and friends came to paint and then celebrate the opening with a big party! Just a few months before, I told my boyfriend, Steven (now my husband), that I was really burnt out on personal training (I had owned my own company for 8 years). He asked me what I would want to do instead and I told him, I thought I would like to teach yoga. Now, back then, there were no formal teacher trainings, and I had only been practicing for maybe a year, primarily with VHS videos (remember those?). He asked me, “well, why don’t you do it?” I said, “I don’t know enough yet”. He said, “Do you know a little more than most people? Do you love it and want to teach others something that you think is amazing and helpful? Then what are you waiting for? Just stay ahead of your students and keep learning!” Three hours later, he called me and said he had found me a space. I went and looked at it and fell in love with it. I told my clients that I would be closing my personal training business and opening a yoga studio (there was only one other very small one on the seacoast back then). And, O2 Yoga was born. Check out this vintage photo from our original postcards!
So, in a crazy, full circle moment, I am re-opening the original space for a small amount of in-person yoga. The schedule will change weekly or monthly and all classes will still be live-streamed. I have thought many times, over the years, after encountering and being knocked down by incredible hardships, that I was done with teaching yoga. But, like an old friend, it keeps coming back to me as something I love, that brings me joy, that calms me down, that picks me up, that gives me a sense of purpose, that makes me feel like I am doing something to hopefully add more light to a dark world. So, check out the schedule for the next few weeks. Join me in-person or online and celebrate 25 years of O2 Yoga! Keep on being the bad-ass, world-changing, loving, compassionate, resilient, and beautiful tribe that you are! Peace, Mimi
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