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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 Eric Leto Soares, Teacher Training behind ericyogabali.comTeacher Training
#5020254 min read

The Niche Strategy That Helped Eric Grow His Yoga Business : And How You Can Too

As a former professional fitness athlete and high school teacher, my life was built around improving my physical health, refining my aesthetics, and mastering new disciplines. I thrived on overperforming and pushing productivity, until I hit a breaking point. Burnout crept in, leaving me in a dark and lonely place. That was when yoga found me. It began with meditation and pranayama, eventually leading me to asanas and the deeper philosophical aspects of the practice. At first, staying focused and carrying the benefits through the day felt almost impossible. But I noticed that on days I skipped practice, anxiety, restlessness, and destructive thoughts would return. So I made a promise to myself to practice daily, no matter what. Ten years of consistent practice and studying ancient yogic scriptures led me to my first teacher training, and from that point on, yoga became my life’s path...

Portrait of Niki Riga, Studio Owner behind yourlimitlessstudio.comStudio Owner
#4920254 min read

The Studio Vision Niki Had at Five That Grew Into a Profitable, Long‑Running Yoga Business

From the time I was five, I knew I wanted to open a studio. In kindergarten, I told my dance teacher I would one day run my own dance space, and I never let go of that vision. I studied dance and business in undergrad, then earned a Master’s in small business entrepreneurship, all with one goal in mind. Yoga first appeared in my life as a required class in my dance degree, then found its way back to me while finishing my master’s. Early in my practice, I sat in a large chain studio, surrounded by perfectly styled practitioners in matching sets, and felt like I didn’t belong. I wasn’t there for aesthetics. I was just trying to quiet my mind and body through post‑college transitions. That moment of feeling out of place sparked a new idea — a welcoming, space where people could show up exactly as they are...

Portrait of Alison Quinlan, Studio Owner behind namastehouse.ieYoga Business Coach
#4820254 min read

How Alison Built a Life of Practice, Purpose, and Connection, Through Yoga and Teaching

Movement has always been part of my life. I spent my teenage years immersed in ballet, then went on to study at the National College of Art and Design in Dublin. Professionally, I worked across marketing, communications, and events in Ireland’s arts and film sectors, environments that were dynamic, creative, and often high-pressure. Yoga entered during my twenties and quietly became my anchor. What began as a way to reconnect with movement soon deepened into something more. My husband David and I discovered a shared passion for the practice, which shaped our connection as much as our path forward. Those early classes felt like a return to something familiar. Ashtanga drew me in, but it was Vinyasa that truly captured my heart through the art of sequencing...

Portrait of Kate Moats, Studio Owner behind Studio OwnerYoga Business Coach
#4720254 min read

The Mat Conversation That Sparked a Studio and a Lifelong Mission for Kate Moats

I first found yoga when I was 20, at a time when my life was full speed ahead. I was working 60–80 hour weeks as a full-time hairdresser and part-time bartender, hustling hard to build a life for myself. From my very first class, something clicked—like the practice struck a chord I didn’t even know needed tuning. It softened the rougher parts of me and started quietly mending the relationships in my life that needed healing. Within a year, I was in teacher training, the youngest one in the room, cracked wide open and completely absorbed in the transformation unfolding, physically, emotionally, spiritually. Outside of yoga, I’m a wife, a mom, and a lifelong student of anything that makes me feel more connected to myself and others. I was born in New Jersey and co-owned Balanced Planet Yoga in Marlton, NJ...

Portrait of Francesco Guglielmino, Retreat Host behind francescoguglielmino.comYoga Business Coach
#4620254 min read

Why Francesco Walked Away from Stability to Build a Yoga and Fitness Vision That Inspires

Before yoga became my path, life took me through unexpected turns. I grew up in Switzerland and began my career in banking, earning my diploma as a Bankfachmann. But deep down, I knew that life in an office wasn’t for me. I left banking, moved to Zurich, and pursued professional dance, which opened doors to performances and eventually took me to New York City for advanced training. Later, I transitioned into acting and modeling, moving to Los Angeles. Movement, expression, and personal growth were always at the core of my life — and yoga eventually became the container that held it all together. My first real contact with yoga came in New York at age 23, while dealing with persistent back pain from my dance years. Yoga didn’t just help physically, it gave me an inner calm...

Portrait of Becca Barnard, Yoga Teacher behind theyogapatch.comYoga Tech
#4520254 min read

No Fancy Studio. No Perfect Plan. Just a Vision That Becca Barnard Made Work

Becca’s first experience with yoga came at 16, when her mom brought her to a gentle class in the basement of a church. Something clicked. She left that class knowing yoga would always be part of her life. Raised in Connecticut, later moving to NYC for college, Becca explored arts and education, but also carried the quiet weight of learning disabilities. School felt overwhelming. She battled anxiety and self-doubt from a young age, but those same challenges sparked her gift for empathy and her drive to help others feel safe in their own skin. Over the years, yoga became more than just movement, it became medicine. A place to return to. A space to rebuild. A practice that helped her remember who she is...

Portrait of Michael Jay, Studio Owner behind yogabizchamp.comYoga Tech
#4420254 min read

Michael Jay’s Blueprint for Studio Success Without Burnout: Real Advice for Founders

Michael’s story begins long before his first formal yoga class. Raised by a hippie parent, yoga was part of his life from the start, woven into his upbringing, not as a trend, but as a way of being. Decades later, after running a successful marketing agency for 20 years, a retreat reignited something in him. That moment of reconnection pulled him back into the practice, first as a student, then as a teacher, eventually becoming a studio owner. Yoga stopped being something in the background. It became his path forward. Outside the studio, Michael is still a creative at heart. He’s a tech geek who loves roller skating, a practice that reminds him to stay connected to joy, freedom, and movement. His approach to yoga and business is shaped by his love for building things from scratch...

Portrait of Alecia Iwanchuk, Studio Owner behind intentions-yoga.caStudio Owner
#4320254 min read

Quitting the Corporate Ladder to Help Women Rise: Alecia Iwanchuk’s Yoga Journey

Alecia Iwanchuk is a proud mom to one son and three kitties, and her journey into yoga began as part of a personal healing process. What started as a physical practice quickly unfolded into something much deeper. As yoga began transforming her mind and body, she also reconnected with her soul and uncovered her purpose: to help others awaken their potential. This calling led her to explore energy work and kundalini yoga, eventually anchoring her path as a healer. In 2021, she created a sacred space in her own home, a studio built to help women reconnect with themselves. Through yoga, Alecia guides her clients to use their bodies not just for movement, but as powerful tools for healing and empowerment...

Portrait of Joyce Mol, Retreat Host behind joycemol.com and www.mindeventsfactory.comYoga Tech
#4220254 min read

How Joyce Mol Built a Healing Yoga Platform from Just a Few Mats and Hosting Retreats

My name is Joyce Mol, Certified Yoga Teacher with a focus on yin yoga and fascia release therapy. My yoga journey began in 2017 after a burnout. That experience cracked me open, it taught me to live more from the heart and led me to a path of deeper connection. In 2018, things became even more serious after I was in a car accident. My physiotherapist recommended yin yoga to support my healing from a whiplash and PTSD. That practice helped me reconnect emotionally and made it clear that I needed to walk a different path. That same year, I completed my first yin yoga teacher training. Learning how the elements, organs, and emotions are all intertwined taught me to slow down and trust a new way of living. From there, I followed more trainings, including a 200-hour yin yoga certification...

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