Today we’d like to introduce you to Kathy Chu.
Hi Kathy, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
I co-founded a very successful sports travel agency in my 20s. In 2011, we started as a two-person team and grew the company to a multimillion-dollar business within a decade. I was working 120+ hours a week and completely disconnected with myself. All my attention went to the business/clients, and I stopped taking care of me.
In 2017, I started going to yoga as my form of exercise. I started to realize that the days I went, I was a kinder person than the days that I missed class. I had to attend the 6 am or 7 am class because my workday started early but I made it most days! Then I started to attend classes twice a day. I would start and end my day with yoga. I noticed a huge difference in my mood, stress level, and ability to think critically.
In 2018, I decided to become a certified yoga teacher to deepen my practice. I then decided I would continue my education by going on yoga retreats to continue to certify in other healing modalities like kundalini yoga, breathwork, prenatal yoga, birth doula, herbalism and I continue to learn every day.
Through experiencing and training in the other practices, I started to heal from emotional and mental trauma that I hadn’t realized existed because I was focused on running a company. I would cry on my yoga mat, experience energetic shifts, and reconnected with my spirit and those that exists in the greater universe.
Once I connected with “God” and the “Universe” I started to receive messages through numbers (numerology) to teach yoga and all the healing components of it. I was guided to sell my successful, multimillion-dollar sports travel agency to become a yoga teacher!
I signed an agreement to sell the company in December 2019 and in March 2020, the pandemic shut down travel and sports games. It was the biggest confirmation for me, to know that this is my path.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It was a relatively smooth road. We were in the beginning of the pandemic. Yoga studios were closed, people were afraid and not gathering in crowds but when the Center for Disease Control (CDC) advised that it was safe to do physical activities outdoors, I started to teach yoga at a local park that is 2.2 miles from my home.
I started off with classes that had 1 or 2 people. There were days I made $0 and days where I was making $10. I kept going because it was good for me. I wanted to be outside, and I wanted to talk to people whenever I could. And, in the darkness of the pandemic, fear, stress, etc., I helped.
It wasn’t easy, financially, but I loved it in every other way.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
I teach outdoor yoga at a local park. I bring the community together. As neighbors, we get to move together and see each other grow. The classes are open to everyone near or far. And, when I say community, I mean the larger community from local non-profits to our schools. At times, I teach donation-based classes to donate to organizations in need.
I am an intuitive yoga teacher, and I am highly skilled in alignment of the body. I’ve been able to help people with their pains, misalignments, sciatic pain, shoulder impingements, migraines, clicking shoulders, back pains, bad posture, etc.
I also hold space to heal on a deeper emotional level. I help people sit with their traumas and find healthy ways to overcome them, accept them and move on from them.
Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
Don’t burn any bridges. Don’t underestimate people and their abilities. Everyone grows at their own time and someone who you think is further behind can catch up and exceed your judgements. Listen to people and ask questions!
Pricing:
- $10: Community Class
- $77: Private Session
- $222: Private Group
- $333: Private Workshop
Contact Info:
- Website: https://therootcauseyoga.com/about
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/therootcauseyoga/
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/the-root-cause-yoga-south-pasadena
