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Portrait of Anne-Julie Tafuro, featured by Yoga Founders Magazine
#87Latest Story

Yoga Teacher & Retreat Host - Paris, France

How Anne-Julie Tafuro Built a Yoga Business Without Losing Her Voice

Before teaching yoga in Paris, Anne-Julie Tafuro was CEO of a communications agency in Avignon. A first yoga class in a park changed her direction. She went on to create Anne-Julie Yoga during COVID, grow a library of 200+ videos, and train teachers through Chakra Flow®—while learning to protect her values and choose business partners carefully

Business
Anne-Julie Yoga
Category
Yoga Teacher & Retreat Host
Read time
8 min read
AllYoga TeacherStudio OwnerRetreat HostYoga School
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Teacher TrainingYoga TechYoga Business CoachFounderWellness FounderCommunity BuilderAuthor / CreatorRetreat Center
Portrait of Kimi Hajian, Retreat Host behind alkimiapp.kimihajian.comYoga Tech
#7720256 min read

When a Yoga Teacher Chooses Consistency and Builds a Business Rooted in Authentic Study

I am a half Iranian, half Czech girl born in London and raised in the Czech Republic. At eighteen I moved back to London to study marketing because I loved creativity and psychology. That path led me into seven years of corporate marketing where I managed campaigns, worked with major brands, and learned how the digital world moves. Yoga arrived much earlier in my life when I was sixteen. My first class was Bikram only because someone told me it burns calories, and as a hypermobile teenager I was suddenly good at it. My ego loved that, but soon I realised yoga was much more than a hot room and sweat...

Portrait of Simon Borg Olivier, Teacher Training behind simonborgolivier.comTeacher Training
#7620254 min read

Teaching Yoga or Following Rules? Simon Borg Wants You to Rethink the Difference

I’m a father, a scientist, a physiotherapist, and (many would say) a bit bananas. I love to dance, party with younger people, play guitar, sing with my students, and share good energy. I’d say I’m just a guy who likes to live and enjoy my life and help others enjoy theirs. My journey into yoga was anything but typical. At age six, my father taught me advanced breath-holding techniques — unknowingly initiating me into the world of pranayama. By age eight, an Olympic athlete guided me through exercises that helped me control and massage my internal organs using breath. I didn’t know it then, but I was learning yogic kriyas and bandhas. At 17 I was introduced to a Tibetan lama, through which I started exploring tantric (not sexual tantra but essence of tantra) philosophy and practices and after suffering injuries from conventional fitness methods, I've found yoga which provided relief for that - after that everything clicked and I dove deep into practicing more than 6h daily for the next decade...

Portrait of Rowie Geraerts, Studio Owner behind spiritualpretzel.com & www.shizencollective.comStudio Owner
#7520256 min read

The Founder Who Found Freedom by Holding It Lightly: Insights from a Grounded Yogi

A life outside of yoga? For me, everything is yoga. That’s why my Instagram blurs the line between professional and personal. My dad brought me to my first yoga class when I was sixteen, a rebellious teenager who didn’t expect to fall in love with it. I’ve been practicing ever since. The rebellion is still there, but now it’s more focused, more useful. Part of me moving to Japan was rebellion too—it was probably the last place anyone expected me to end up, including myself. I’ve always been a traveler, and yoga has been my grounding force no matter where I go. I completed my first 200-hour teacher training in India at twenty-one, and since then, yoga has been part of my everyday life. Over the years, I’ve logged more than 1500 hours of teacher trainings as both student and facilitator...

Portrait of Sage Rountree, Studio Owner behind sagerountree.comYoga Business Coach
#7420255 min read

Sage Rountree: PhD Scholar Turned Yoga Entrepreneur with 13 Books, Strong Legacy

I come to yoga from a very different world. I spent seven years in graduate school and earned a PhD in English literature from UNC Chapel Hill. My professional life started in academic publishing, where I worked for a dozen years with Duke, Cambridge, and Oxford University Presses. Along the way, I spent six years as a public radio announcer at WFDD and WUNC, which gave me production skills I still use today for podcasts and audiobooks. Outside of work, I’ve always been an athlete. I’ve competed in everything from 400-meter sprints to ultramarathons and triathlons of every distance, even racing on Team USA for the 2008 World Triathlon Championships. I’m also a certified endurance sports coach through USA Triathlon, USA Cycling, and the Road Runners’ Club of America...

Portrait of Joyce San Pedro & Amy Reed, Studio Owner behind theyogahouseny.comYoga Business Coach
#7320255 min read

Two Women, One Lifeline Practice: The Story Behind The Yoga House’s Remarkable Growth

Joyce grew up in Queens, New York, the daughter of immigrant parents from the Philippines. After graduating from NYU, she worked in publishing and later in film development at Sony in Los Angeles. Eventually, she returned to New York to be closer to family, got married, and moved to the Hudson Valley in search of a different pace of life. It was here that she deepened her yoga practice and met Amy in a Poughkeepsie studio, which, in a full circle moment, became the location of their newest studio years later. For Amy, yoga has always been inseparable from her life. She lives in Kingston, NY with her wife and daughter and is deeply rooted in the Hudson Valley community. She describes her personal and professional life as fully integrated, with yoga serving as the foundation. Her home, friendships, and professional work all revolve around building inclusive, supportive spaces. When Joyce and Amy met, their friendship quickly extended beyond the mat, setting the stage for a powerful partnership...

Portrait of Eddie Arpin, Yoga Tech behind offeringtree.comYoga Tech
#7220255 min read

Eddie Arpin: The Vision Behind OfferingTree, Serving 2000+ Yoga Businesses Worldwide

Eddie Arpin is currently the CEO of OfferingTree, husband, and father of two children, and lives in Saint Paul, MN. Growing up, Eddie was exposed to meditation and mindfulness from his father’s transcendental meditation practice. Meditation would later reemerge in Eddie’s life and impact him both personally and professionally. Eddie has an undergraduate and graduate degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Minnesota. Before starting OfferingTree, he was researching transportation systems at the university with the goal of increasing safety and mobility, with a focus on teenage drivers. When he wasn't studying physics and math, he was staying physically and mindfully active...

Portrait of Adrianne Jerrett, Community Builder behind allmatstaken.comYoga Tech
#7120256 min read

How Adrianne Jerrett Turned Podcasting Into a Yoga Business That Inspired Other Founders

Outside of yoga, I’m a mother to a 15-month-old boy and a student of herbalism. My background has always been rooted in a deep fascination with the natural world. I hold a BSc in Ecology and Biodiversity and Marine Biology, along with a Certificate in Captive Wild Animal Management. For years I worked as an aquaculture research technician, growing baby fish, and later as a wildlife keeper. I have always been drawn to animals and the rhythms of nature. Beyond that, I’ve explored many creative avenues in the digital space, from being a writer and Pinterest Manager to working as a brand and website designer. Today, I also host a podcast. Each of these roles has served a purpose, even when the bigger picture wasn’t clear at the time. Somehow, they always loop back together...

Portrait of Charlotte Holmes, Yoga Tech behind insightout.yogaYoga Tech
#7020254 min read

Charlotte Left the Spotlight to Teach Yoga: From Modeling to Building the Insight Out App

I didn’t grow up in an ashram or with a yoga mat at my bedside. My path into yoga was far more accidental than planned. Before teaching, I lived in a world that prized outward achievement: modelling, pageants and a career built on appearance. From the outside, it looked like I had “made it.” Inside, I was searching for something deeper than the next accolade. I first stepped into a yoga class in my early 20s while living in London. At the time, it was practical — I wanted something to replace the expensive dance classes I had grown up with. Coming from dance, I could move well and was eager to master the postures. But yoga wasn’t about perfecting shapes. That first class gave me something I hadn’t felt in years: presence. I walked out alive and connected, and that glimpse of inner silence drew me back again and again. Yoga became my anchor through heartbreak, grief and the unraveling of who I thought I was. As I navigated betrayal and divorce, the practice reminded me I didn’t need to be fixed. I just needed to remember who I already was. Over time, my practice expanded beyond the body into meditation, mantra, kriya, breathwork and the science of the nervous system. What began as movement became a way of living...

Portrait of Carol Schoonhoven, Studio Owner behind carolbvi.comStudio Owner
#6920254 min read

From Rock Bottom to Pura Vida: How Carol Turned Struggle Into a Thriving Community

I’m Carol Schoonhoven, 34 years old, born in Colombia. For as long as I can remember, I carried the weight of borderline personality disorder, depression, and anxiety. As a teenager, I tried to ignore it all, but over time the heaviness grew. I turned to alcohol and self-harm as a way to cope. Later, I entered a toxic marriage filled with emotional abuse. When that marriage ended in 2022, I hit rock bottom. The depression felt impossible to escape. At that point, I realized I had a choice to make—not just for myself, but for the family and friends who had stood by me. I finally listened. I went to therapy. My therapist encouraged me to try yoga again. I had practiced before but never truly committed. This time, everything was different. I embraced it fully. With every practice, I felt a shift inside me...

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