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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
More tags
Teacher TrainingYoga TechYoga Business CoachFounderWellness FounderCommunity BuilderAuthor / CreatorRetreat Center
Portrait of Amy Farrow, Studio Owner behind bohemeandbody.com.auYoga Business Coach
#4120254 min read

How Amy Farrow Turned a Personal Calling into the Community-Driven Studio Boheme

I always believe that Yoga found me. I started practising Yoga almost 20 years ago in my early 20s. At the time, it was still a little weird and woo woo, so I didn’t really tell anyone I was going. I just knew that when I went to class, I felt so at peace within myself. It felt so comforting that I had to keep going. I began my first teacher training with no intention of teaching—I just really wanted to understand what was happening for me. I studied slowly, and then with a gentle budge from my teacher, I taught my first class. From there, I just knew I wanted to share these teachings and help others feel that same sense of peace I found. It felt like I was remembering something ancient. Yoga became more than a practice—it became a returning home to myself...

Portrait of Cindy Waldman, Yoga Teacher behind houseoflightyoga.netWellness Founder
#4020254 min read

How Cindy Waldman Turned to Yoga After Cancer and Rebuilt a Life Rooted in Healing

I was born in the small coastal town of Cádiz, Spain, and moved to the U.S. at the age of four when my father, a Navy man, was stationed stateside. I grew up in Virginia Beach and stayed active through school, cheerleading, student government, tutoring athletes to make ends meet. Yoga found me in college, not through a deep spiritual calling, but because the lacrosse coach needed someone certified to teach his team. It was the 90s, before Yoga Alliance, and for me, yoga was just another hustle. I taught classes, waited tables at Hooters, worked retail, nannied—whatever it took to stay afloat after I emancipated myself at sixteen due to a difficult home life. For years, yoga was fitness and income. That changed after the birth of my daughter...

Portrait of Ourania Bouzouki, Teacher Training behind yogaunionbali.comStudio Owner
#3920254 min read

Inside the Mind of a Yoga School Founder Meet Ourania, Founder of Yoga Union Bali

I’ve always believed I’m a dreamer. I don’t dwell on problems—I naturally focus on solutions. That mindset has carried me through life and into yoga. One of the people I’ll forever be grateful to is a dear friend who introduced me to my very first yoga class. That single act changed everything. From the beginning, I felt held by this path. I didn’t experience the kind of dramatic hardships that many others do. Instead, I embraced both the stillness and the excitement that came my way. I allowed the journey to unfold as it needed to—without trying to control or force anything. My yoga path began with a humble studio, then evolved into leading teacher trainings, and later expanded into hosting retreats. Each chapter opened organically, and even now, I stay open to whatever comes next...

Portrait of Mahsa Javam, Yoga Teacher behind virginactive.com.auYoga Tech
#3820256 min read

Left the law, found her flow — Mahsa Javam now leads yoga at Virgin Active Australia

Outside of yoga, I’m a recovering overachiever with a love of learning, language, and the little things that make life feel meaningful—like morning cuddles with my cats. I grew up as the child of Iranian immigrants and learned early that to survive and succeed in a new country, I had to work harder, be smarter, and do more than others. My ambition and love of language led me to study Law and International Studies, and I spent a year in Paris studying political science and French at Sciences Po. Fulfilling every migrant parent’s dream, I went on to work as a corporate lawyer, and later as an operations executive in the tech industry, climbing my way up the corporate ladder. I lived in New York during the height of the pandemic, helping expand an Australian tech startup into the US market—a role that was fast paced...

Portrait of Thy Monzo, Teacher Training behind Teacher TrainingYoga Business Coach
#3720254 min read

My Studio Closed, But I Didn’t Lose Myself. Thy Monzo Is Still Walking Her Yoga Path

Thy Monzo’s yoga journey started back in 2004 during her university days in Canada. After walking into her first Ashtanga class, something clicked. The breath, the presence, the connection—she had never felt anything like it. Soon, daily practice became part of her life. She discovered Bikram Yoga not long after, and her love for hot yoga took over. By 2007, she completed her first teacher training—not to start teaching yet, but simply out of deep passion for the practice. That passion kept growing until 2010, when she completed another training and began teaching full time. She moved to Australia in 2012 and continued doing what she loved most—teaching yoga...

Portrait of Mukesh Kothari, Studio Owner behind bindusaryoga.comStudio Owner
#3520254 min read

Mukesh Raised Where Yoga Was Born Now Teaching Worldwide and Leading YTT

My yoga journey began before memory itself, being born in Rishikesh, India, yoga became part of my life from the start. Surrounded by sacred energy, I naturally gravitated toward this path. I’ve been teaching since 2004, and over two decades later, I’m still deeply inspired by the transformation yoga brings. The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali have been central to my evolution—not just as a teacher, but as a human being. Whether I guide students through asana, pranayama, or meditation, these ancient teachings shape everything I offer. Today, I primarily train yoga teachers and support experienced practitioners in refining their skills, especially in yoga philosophy and advanced adjustments. This is more than work to me, it is my life’s path...

Portrait of Pilu Yoga, Studio Owner behind saltywateryoga.comYoga Tech
#3420254 min read

Instructor to Yoga Founder: How Pilu Built a Global Platform to Grow Yoga Teachers

I’ve always been a traveler, an ocean lover, and someone who finds freedom through movement. I used to be a freediving instructor, a surfer, and even a circus acrobat. The sea, adventure, and physical expression shaped my adult life in powerful ways. Yoga first came into my world through my grandmother, who would teach simple practices to me and my cousins when we were kids. It was lighthearted, playful, and planted a seed. Years later, while living in Australia, I reconnected with yoga in a much deeper, more meaningful way. Yoga became more than just movement—it became a way to anchor myself in the chaos of change, to reflect, to rebuild, and to realign. That return to the practice marked a turning point in my life and laid the foundation for everything I would go on to build...

Portrait of Peter Lin, Yoga Teacher behind empower-mend.comYoga Tech
#3320254 min read

After Chasing Achievement for Years, Peter Lin Found Real Fulfillment in Teaching Yoga

Growing up, I was always the try hard kid, the one who pushed hard to succeed in sports, school, or anything I took on. That drive followed me into adulthood. I earned two engineering degrees, worked at a healthcare software company, and kept chasing excellence through athletic competition. I first turned to yoga as a form of cross-training, something that would improve my mental and physical performance. But over time, it became much more. The real shift came through the philosophies of yoga, staying open-minded, being non-judgmental, and living fully in the present. I came to realize that my need to achieve was rooted in insecurity and a deep need to feel worthy. Yoga showed me that I could still be driven and ambitious, but now with more self-love and less pressure to prove something...

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