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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 Mark Breadner, Teacher Training behind yogacoach.comYoga Tech
#5920255 min read

He Co Built Australia’s First 1,000-Hour Yoga Diploma: Then Burned It Down to Start Again

Yoga’s been with me since I was five. My mum was one of the first yoga teachers in Australia, she taught packed classes in our rumpus room. In 1980 at fifteen, I started apprenticing with her at Sutherland Hospital, working with kids who had Down Syndrome and kids with asthma. I was teaching my own classes by eighteen. Surfing entered my life around the same time and became my other spiritual path. I grew up in Cronulla, a gritty surf town south of Sydney, and both yoga and surfing shaped my way of being. But it wasn’t all smooth. I had a big energy early on. Yoga amplified that, but my environment couldn’t hold it. I learned to shrink, to read rooms, to shape shift. I chased validation through performance, trained like a machine, partied even harder. I hit burnout by 23...

Portrait of Anthony Fontana, Teacher Training behind amfpeakperformance.comYoga Business Coach
#5820255 min read

How a Former Casting Director Built a Yoga Biz Without Following Anyone’s Blueprint

I found yoga just after finishing undergrad at UC Irvine. As a lifelong martial artist, I was drawn to it for the physical benefits. At first, it was just something I did at CorePower Yoga to stay flexible. But I didn’t stick with it. It wasn’t until 2019, during a tough chapter in my life, that yoga returned—this time with purpose. I’d been deep in the entertainment industry for years as a performer, casting professional, and talent rep. I was burning out. My roommate dragged me to a class. I hated it at first. But after a few weeks, something shifted. The practice wasn’t just helping my body, it was helping me breathe again, quiet my anxiety, and start to rebuild. That summer, I enrolled in a 200-hour teacher training. The more I practiced, the more I felt like I was coming back to myself...

Portrait of Annmarie Murray, Studio Owner behind annmariefitness.comYoga Tech
#5720254 min read

She Started Yoga at 30. What Came Next Was a Business Built on Depth, Presence, and Grit

Yoga didn’t enter my life until I turned 30. At the time, I was searching for something deeper—a way to feel grounded and more aligned with myself. I signed up for my first teacher training in Ireland with YogaWorks, and what began as curiosity turned into a turning point. That training cracked something open in me. It showed me that yoga could be both structure and surrender. It became a space where I could move with meaning, breathe with awareness, and live with more intention. Off the mat, I was navigating transitions, uncertainty, and the push to always be doing more. Yoga helped me slow down. It wasn’t always easy. There was self-doubt, fear of being seen, and imposter syndrome. But every challenge deepened my practice—and taught me how to meet life with more grace...

Portrait of Daniela Fuentes, Studio Owner behind byoga.chYoga Tech
#5620254 min read

How a 26-Year-Old Designer Built Basel’s First Yoga Studio and Turned It Into an Institution

Born in Mexico City and now based in Basel, Daniela Fuentes has always lived at the intersection of creativity, movement, and deep inquiry. Her path began as a designer and artist, but yoga entered early and never left. Over the last 20 years, she’s woven together yoga, somatics, and creative disciplines to craft a body of work that’s as intellectually rich as it is deeply embodied. She didn’t just stumble into yoga. It was a calling. As she moved through careers in photography, documentary film, and editorial design, yoga remained the thread that grounded her. By 2006, Basel became her new home—and the birthplace of BYOGA BASEL, the city’s first dedicated yoga studio. She taught in unconventional spaces and watched her early classes slowly grow from a few devoted students to full rooms...

Portrait of Qing Yu, Studio Owner behind innerbloomyoga.com.auStudio Owner
#5520254 min read

Qing Yu Left Her Career in Shanghai, Lost Her Mum, Then Built a Yoga Sanctuary With Heart

I’m a proud mother to a beautiful three year old girl, a wife deeply loved by a wonderful man, and a daughter to the most supportive parents. I believe in lifelong learning and growing into a better version of oneself. Kindness, joy, and meaningful connections are values I hold close to my heart. Over the years, I’ve worn many hats: academic, technical writer, school teacher. But no matter where life took me professionally, yoga was always part of the picture. It began during university as a way to stay fit. But the more I practiced, the more it gave me — mental clarity, emotional healing, and spiritual growth. After nearly a decade of classes, I enrolled in a 200 hour training with INSPYA Yoga School. At the time, I had no plans to teach...

Portrait of Manu Molina, Yoga Business Coach behind yogabizmentor.comYoga Business Coach
#5420254 min read

What 100+ Retreats Taught Manu Molina About the Gaps in Yoga Teacher Support

At just 20, Manu Molina left behind the safety of home and a soul draining job to chase something bigger freedom, creativity, and purpose. Inspired by The Alchemist, he moved to the Spanish Pyrenees, where he discovered yoga for the first time. That one experience became the seed for a life filled with deep transformation and global adventure. Manu’s yoga journey took him through Ireland, Italy, the Canary Islands, Majorca, Ibiza, India, Thailand, and beyond. But more than the destinations, it was the internal journey that mattered most, one that allowed him to align with his values, express his truth, and build a life with meaning. Today, Manu lives in Asia, collaborating with creatorsand mentoring others to create sustainable businesses that actually make a difference...

Portrait of Magdalene Fragkou, Retreat Host behind thalassa.com.grRetreat Host
#5320254 min read

Magdalene’s Yoga Shala Wasn’t Easy to Build, But What It Stands for Is Everything

Magdalene’s story starts at the heart of Thalassa Studios, where she was born and raised after her parents fell in love with Porto Heli and chose it as their forever home in the 90s. With a background in theatre and special education in Athens, her early path was filled with creativity, performance, and a deep desire to connect with others. That same desire eventually found its expression through movement...

Portrait of Jess Trione, Studio Owner behind sahayogahouse.comStudio Owner
#5220254 min read

The Story of Jess Trione and the Creation of a Yoga Studio That Feels Like Family

I’m a truth-teller, boundary keeper, and mom to two incredible boys, Jayden and Jace. I also carry the love of our daughter Raleigh, who lives in my heart and beyond. I grew up in Amarillo, Texas, but it was in Northern California that I became a mother and began to grow into myself. We returned to Texas in 2006, and my work at lululemon reconnected me to community and to parts of myself I had tucked away. Yoga first found me at 19, but it became my lifeline after my mom’s two brain aneurysms left me running from my emotions. Years later, a goal to teach took me to Peru for a month-long training and sacred travel to Machu Picchu, an experience that changed my life. It was there I discovered not only my calling as a teacher but also a deeper purpose—to create spaces where others could heal...

Portrait of Ashley Ribaudo, Studio Owner behind saintlouisashtangayoga.comStudio Owner
#5120254 min read

How Opening St. Louis’ Only Mysore Program Taught Ashley the Real Work of a Founder

I’ve always been a curious soul, drawn to learning and trying new things while staying grounded in what feels meaningful. Over the years, I’ve worked in the fitness and service industries, as a flight attendant, in physical therapy, and in real estate and development. Each role shaped me into who I am today. Yoga entered my life in 2013 during a time when I was working long hours at a busy orthopedic clinic, competing in triathlons, and generally living out of balance. I was looking for something that could help me turn inward and reconnect with myself. I found that through the Ashtanga Yoga practice, and soon began seeking out every opportunity to learn from teachers both locally and beyond. In 2017, I completed my first teacher training in medically based therapeutic yoga while continuing to deepen my Ashtanga practice through travel, study, and mentorship with certified and authorized teachers. In 2018, I began teaching two Ashtanga classes a week at a local studio in St. Louis while still working in physical therapy...

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