Today we’d like to introduce you to Carolyn Pedersen-Howard.
Carolyn, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
It is truly an honor to share the story of CPH yoga with you. It is particularly significant because I started CPH yoga almost a year ago to date. I began offering online gentle yoga as the result of the global pandemic.
CPH Yoga was initially born out of a desire connect with my friends and family and have an online platform to practice safely together and remain connected. CPH Yoga has evolved to reach many more people, offering safe accessible yoga in the comfort of your own home with a super connected encouraging community. However popular Yoga has become, there is still a false perception that one needs to be super bendy and flexible to be able to practice.
That is not the case at all, in fact the stiffer you are the more you need yoga. Yoga isn’t about getting into contortionist positions (though it can be that if you want it to be) it is so much more than the physical practice. Yoga is about building that mind-body connectivity, of truly knowing yourself and your body and its needs. It’s about practicing breath work to support you as you move through this crazy life. Offering you tools to self soothe and calm yourself and move towards a state of relaxation where your body and mind can heal. Yoga, for me, is truly about self-healing your mind body and soul.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Building and maintaining a business is always challenging. It may seem glamorous to someone looking in but there is a lot of blood, sweat and tears that goes in wholeheartedly running any business. I believe there is always a point in a business where you need to ask yourself – if all the time, effort and commitment is worth it? You have to look deep within and dig deep and decide to take that leap of faith.
The biggest opportunity I felt as CPH Yoga was growing was finding a way to compile all the classes into an online accessible library to provide more functionality and access for my members. Finding an online library provider was a challenge but Ribbon has been great to work. That investment has allowed me to serve my community better as my monthly members have access to every class type (varying in length and physical intensity) anytime included in their membership.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
One might not associate yoga as a creative artistic expression, but in my opinion, it is all that and more. I love to creatively sequence my classes and interweave the theme (intention), the music offered and poses taken, to provide a multi-faceted experience. I am truly honored to take the seat of the teacher and guide my students through a self-care and restorative yoga sessions.. A student’s progress is my greatest achievement as a teacher.
The impact of yoga is incremental and progressive over time. As with all good things, it takes practice and dedication. It’s not a quick overnight fix, but one that slowly unfolds over time. By building a mind-body connectivity a student is able to see and feel their progress in their bodies.. The journey we are on together is truly special.
The beauty of yoga today is that there are so many options available to explore with each teacher offering a different expression. No two yoga classes are ever the same. Don’t give up on yoga, just find a teacher that resonates with you. They are out there! The benefits the practice offers your mind, body and spirit are worth the search!
What matters most to you? Why?
Community matters the most to me. I believe community is our life blood. It’s what keeps us going and drives us forward towards something greater than ourselves. There is a Sanskrit word “kula’ which translates to community or tribe. It’s the coming together of people to practice yoga (on and off the mat) sharing that common thread of yoga that weaves us even closer together. I love our CPH online yoga ‘kula’.
We have grown into a family that nurtures, trusts and cheers for one and other. I think one of the things that I love most about community is how collectedly we have the power to do so much more good than we could ever do on our own! Kindness is contagious! The CPH Yoga community, over the past year, has contributed $1659 in donations and raised much needed awareness supporting the following charities: Global Vision Citadelle Ministries (Haiti project), Wells of Life (Ghana project), North County Lifeline- Project Life, Wounded Warrior and San Diego Pug Rescue.
Pricing:
- Monthly Membership: $30 per for unlimited 30 day access for live and recorded classes
- Drop in – Live class: $10 with access to class recording for 6 days
- Drop in – Recording: $6 per class with access for 24 hours
Contact Info:
- Email: info@cph-yoga.com
- Website: www.cph-yoga.com
- Instagram: cph_yoga
- Facebook: @cph-yoga
- Other: CPH-Yoga Spotify
