YogaFoundersMagazine.Submit Story

Real founders. Real stories. Real impact.

Meet the foundersshaping thebusiness of yoga.

Behind every yoga business is a founder with a vision. Explore their journeys, lessons, and strategies to build, grow, and make an impact.

Explore Founder Stories Submit Your Story
Shawna Krueger, yoga founder featured by Yoga Founders Magazine
Simon Borg-Olivier, yoga founder featured by Yoga Founders Magazine
Kimi Hajian, yoga founder featured by Yoga Founders Magazine
Eddie Arpin, yoga technology founder featured by Yoga Founders Magazine
Sage Rountree, yoga teacher and founder featured by Yoga Founders Magazine

86+Founder stories

WorldwideFounders across borders

Business insightsLessons that drive growth

Built forYoga entrepreneurs

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 April Fort, Teacher Training behind aprilfort.comYoga Business Coach
#3220254 min read

April Fort Left Behind the Library Dream to Build a Business That Breathes With Her Life

Before yoga entered her life, April Fort imagined herself surrounded by books, dreaming of a career as a librarian. That all changed during her senior year of high school, when she stumbled upon a stack of yoga books in the library. What began as curiosity sparked a lifelong path. Years later, when she became a mother, yoga became more than just a personal practice, it became her way of life. With three homeschooled children and a full heart, she chose a career that allowed her to stay close to them. Yoga gave her that freedom. Through practice, April realized that yoga isn’t confined to a mat. Every breath is pranayama. Every movement, an asana. Life itself becomes a flowing meditation, if you’re present enough to notice it...

Portrait of Palmyre Lefebvre, Yoga Teacher behind yogaetmenopause.frYoga Tech
#3120254 min read

Menopause, Misconceptions & a Mission: Inside Palmyre Lefebvre’s Online Yoga Studio

I’m 45, a mom of two teenagers, and a former journalist in wellness and fitness. For years, I balanced professional life with being present for my kids — self-employment was my way of holding space for both. My first yoga class was nearly 20 years ago in Sydney, and I absolutely hated it. Years later, back in France, intense back pain led me to give it another try. Nothing worked — not doctors, not physiotherapists — until I shifted focus to the more spiritual, grounding aspects of yoga. That’s when everything changed. I realized my pain wasn’t just physical — it was rooted in something deeper. Yoga became a path of healing, one I didn’t expect...

Portrait of Evi Choutou, Teacher Training behind satidynamic.com www.consapevolezzadinamica.itTeacher Training
#3020254 min read

The Courage to Be Original: How Authenticity Became the Foundation of SATI Dynamic

From a young age, I’ve been a seeker—a curious student of life. Born and raised in Greece, I moved to Italy at 18 to study architecture. There, I was introduced to spatial energy and the unseen impact of our environments. Specializing in Bioarchitecture and Feng Shui, I began to understand how energy moves not just through buildings—but through people. To support myself during my studies, I began working as a fitness and wellness instructor. What began as a job soon became a calling. Movement became the bridge between two worlds I’ve always lived in: the structured and the fluid, the physical and the invisible. It became my way of understanding life, healing, and guiding others...

Portrait of Helen Calligeris, Yoga Teacher behind intergr8therapy.comYoga Tech
#2920254 min read

How Helen Rebuilt Her Life, Business, Faith, Creative Vision, and Community Connection

Born and raised in Cape Town, Helen Calligeris’s life has been shaped by devotion—to her family, to God, and to the healing power of movement. Now living in Ottawa, Canada with her husband and two children, Helen is a psychotherapist, creative thinker, and lifelong student. Yoga first entered her life in childhood when her mother brought her to a class, but it wasn’t until her dance teacher, Marlena, reintroduced her to the practice that she truly fell in love. For Helen, yoga was more than movement—it was a return to self, a way to feel whole again. Creativity is one of her core values, allowing her to view the world from fresh perspectives. Living in gratitude and faith, Helen believes yoga is not just a practice, but a spiritual anchor in uncertain times...

Portrait of Monica Arcoya, Yoga Teacher behind monicaarcoya.impact.meYoga Tech
#2820254 min read

Monica Arcoya’s Journey from High-Pressure Careers to Holistic Yoga Leadership

Originally from Spain, I spent five years working in high-pressure environments across London and Australia, managing construction and design projects under relentless deadlines. While I was proud of my corporate accomplishments, I felt disconnected from myself. My introduction to yoga wasn’t glamorous—I started with YouTube videos at home, lacking flexibility or experience. Even lying still felt like a challenge. But something kept pulling me back. Gradually, I began noticing subtle shifts: I was calmer, more grounded, and less reactive to stress. It became a quiet refuge after long days. And over time, it started to reshape the way I approached life. That’s when I knew yoga wasn’t just a practice. It was a path...

Portrait of Vicky Chapman, Studio Owner behind Yogaloftsydney.com & forever-evolving.com.auStudio Owner
#2720254 min read

How Vicky Chapman Built a Safe Haven for Yoga Teachers and Students in Sydney

Before stepping into the world of yoga, Vicky Chapman worked as a corporate travel agent. She met her husband in high school, and they’ve been together for 17 years. At 18, she moved to the UK, where the challenges of a new lifestyle led to significant weight gain. A serendipitous encounter with yoga while traveling in the US completely changed her path—she was instantly hooked. Beginning with Ashtanga, Vicky practiced consistently for two years before returning to Australia. There, she was unexpectedly pulled into a teacher training program and began teaching yoga at a local gym at just 21 years old. Within six months, her classes were full...

Portrait of Nafiye Erdogan, Wellness Founder behind thejournie.comYoga Business Coach
#2620254 min read

Nafiye Erdogan Proved That You Don’t Need Perfection - Just Courage to Keep Showing Up

Born and raised in Istanbul, Nafiye Erdogan’s path was anything but traditional. With a background in mathematics, she explored careers in sales, education, and eventually banking after moving to Canada. It was during her time as a banker in Toronto that she quietly stepped into a yoga studio — battling depression, loneliness, and language barriers. She didn’t understand every word, yet something about the practice spoke directly to her soul. Often tucked into the back corner of the room, she moved through each session with quiet emotion, frequently leaving in tears. Without fully understanding how, yoga began to gently pull her out of the darkness...

Portrait of Stacie Dahlbeck, Yoga Teacher behind youtube.comYoga Tech
#2520254 min read

The Yoga Teacher Who Used Instagram to Spread Her Message and Fill Every Class

Stacie Dahlbeck first rolled out a yoga mat at age 12, tagging along to class with her mom. What started as something fun quickly turned into something sacred — a space where she felt supported, safe, and at ease in her own body. Not long after, her mom got certified as a yoga teacher, and Stacie knew in her heart she’d follow that path someday too. But like many, she took a more “practical” route after college. She entered grad school to become an audiologist — a steady, respectable profession. One year in, she realized she was living someone else’s dream. So she walked away. She had just moved from Lubbock to Fort Worth, a leap that felt big and brave — and it became the backdrop for her next chapter: teaching yoga full time...

Portrait of Linda Rubesch, Teacher Training behind emoceanyoga.comYoga Tech
#2420254 min read

Surfboard, Soulwork, and Strategy: How Linda Blended Passion Into Purpose

Linda Rubesch never imagined yoga would become her life’s work. A native of Budapest, Hungary, she once dismissed yoga entirely, calling it boring. Her passions were theatre, literature, and sports — until a devastating roller skating accident shattered her knee and her sense of normal. Doctors warned she might never walk properly again. Determined to reclaim her active lifestyle, she started training on her own, despite having no knowledge of recovery. A chance encounter with a fellow gym-goer led her to a pilates class, which felt too gentle. But that same instructor pointed her toward something else: Ashtanga yoga. One class later, her pain disappeared — for 90 minutes. That was enough. She kept returning, again and again...

Is your website bringing you enough trial bookings?

Get a free website sample for your yoga business. See how a clearer design can build trust, improve local visibility, and turn more visitors into trial bookings.

Free Website Sample

Business Library

Practical lessons from real yoga businesses.

Subscribe for founder breakdowns, business lessons, tool recommendations, and new story updates.

01

Free Yoga Website

Launch a new yoga website or redesign your current one with a one-month free trial to test its performance. Continue afterward for $49 per month.

02

SEO for Yoga Businesses

Help your studio appear higher when people search for yoga classes nearby, or reach clients worldwide when you teach online.

03

Social Media Management

Grow an active presence with high-quality carousels, posts, reels, and stories created to earn attention from people who genuinely care about yoga.

Want your yoga business story featured?

Submit a founder story for editorial review and reach readers who care about yoga business, studio growth, retreats, teacher trainings, wellness products, and mindful entrepreneurship.

Start Submission