Today we’d like to introduce you to Chaz Russ.
Hi Chaz, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
It all began when I was introduced to the benefits of yoga as an adolescent. As an academic, over-achieving 14-year-old model rife with perfectionism and body image issues, I found peace on my yoga mat. I graduated from Rutgers College with Highest Honors with a degree in Genetics and high hopes of a PhD. Although I enjoyed the discipline inherent in the academic research world, I felt a deeper calling: to continue to help people, but with more immediate gratification. I then became a real estate agent – assisting people literally find their homes was deeply rewarding, yet it still didn’t satisfy my need to be creative and expressive. I had 14 years of musical theater experience, so being “on stage” came naturally to me.
I then met Gurmukh, my yoga teacher back in 2002 who told me I would be a great yoga teacher.
And here we are. 🙂
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I would say that I’m blessed to have had huge success over the 25+ years I’ve been in business, but much of that came from lots of trial and error. For instance, Sisters Yoga, the yoga studio I founded in Fresno in 2003, was in the black in the first month! Yet I know that that was the case because I had really done the due diligence to create an environment for women so that they felt truly safe to tend to themselves – both physically, and it didn’t break the bank either.
The biggest struggle I’ve faced was Covid. Simply, it decimated my industry. YogaWorks went belly up. All my private clients stopped booking sessions, as we were all so terrified of interacting with one another. All of my upcoming international retreats had to be canceled. And let me just say that THAT was a nightmare – leading a retreat in “ground zero” Tuscany during the peak of Covid – then Greece, where the government wouldn’t let you leave if you tested positive. My entire staff had to quarantine in Athens for 10 days just in order to leave the country. There’s a lot there that I would love to talk about – at the end of the day, it was a testament to the resilience of the human spirit. 🙂
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am a Yoga Business Entrepreneur & Consultant, Travel Curator, Master Celebrity Teacher (25+ years), Global Transformational Retreat Leader, Founder of Sisters Yoga & Sisters Yoga School, (200-hour program) and Yoga Coach for Athletes. Simply, and humbly, my offerings are known for their life-changing results.
Wearing my heart on my sleeve and with an honest and irreverent Jersey Girl delivery, I have a way of lightening up the heaviest of topics and moods, turning esoteric spiritual truths into accessible conversations, and making it easier and more fun to walk the arduous yet necessary path of self-love, introspection, and healing.
Having led 60+ retreats all over the world, and with meticulous detail and thoughtful curation and concierge service, each bespoke retreat experience offers an authentic cultural immersion with sights and bites as lived through the hearts of the locals of each locale. As a certified travel specialist and owner of Sisters Yoga Travel, I’m known for providing “Five-star trips on a 3-Star budget.” I pride myself on offering these retreats at affordable prices. In doing so, more of us get to explore this one wild and precious Earth… and we do it together, as a Retreat Family.
With disarming warmth and welcoming care, I joyfully lead people to discover ways in which to live their best and most successful life. Although I take wellness seriously, I believe it should be approached with levity, as life is serious enough. In a nutshell, I help people help themselves, and they have one helluva good time in the process. 🙂
For more information about my transformational retreats, consultant work, or sessions: www.yogawithchaz.com
“Yoga shouldn’t be serious – life is serious enough.”
Join the Yoga Party!
Before we go, is there anything else you can share with us?
I am honored to have been selected for this inquiry. I would love nothing more than to have the opportunity to talk about ways that yoga and transformative experiences should be and can be more accessible. 🙂 Thank you!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.yogawithchaz.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yogawithchaz
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yogawithchaz
- LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/yogawithchaz
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Yogawithchaz
- Other: https://www.sistersyogatravel.com
Image Credits
Garone Africa
Steve Adams
