Inspiring Conversations with Monica Wurst of CorePower Yoga

Today we’d like to introduce you to Monica Wurst.

Hi Monica, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I started practicing yoga in 2009 and quickly realized how deeply the benefits of a meditative practice could affect my life. I began teaching soon after and now it is my full-time career. I teach public and private classes in hopes of sharing the powerful effects of the practice with others and have returned to graduate school working towards my Master’s Degree in Sports and Performance Psychology so I can back the mindfulness practices I teach with current science. I was the Area Lead for CorePower Yoga in Westlake Village and Thousand Oaks for six years and recently have become the Project Coordinator for the same company. I have taught yoga privately to the Los Angeles Rams for four seasons, and this will be my first season working with the Dallas Cowboys during their training camp in Oxnard. I have also been a Lululemon Ambassador for the Westlake Village location for three years.

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?
Becoming a yoga professional has been a challenging but deeply fulfilling road. You have to have a lot of passion and deep belief in what you are doing and a knowledge that it can help people find a greater sense of peace in their lives. That passion and belief is what keeps you going in the early stages when finances might be hard. In the end however if you care about what you do and the lives you touch, everything starts to come together.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
CorePower Yoga is currently the largest yoga studio corporation in the US, with over 200 locations across the country. While I originally began practicing at Yoga Works and Bikram studios, I have spent the majority of my teaching and management career with CPY. Over the years, I have been trained in Hatha Yoga (through a separate 500 hour Yoga Alliance training), Power Vinyasa, Hot Hatha/Vinyasa Fusion, Yoga and Weight Training and Restorative Yoga. Currently, I specialize in working with professional athletes and sharing mental skills training techniques grounded in yoga and backed by science to help offer a cutting edge in their sport. As an instructor, I am most proud of the work I have been able to accomplish with athletes from varying walks of life and to be able to see their growth in finding peace of mind and focus in practice.

Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
Keep going. Do what you love and what you know helps the world around you. There is a learning curve to start, but there is no replacement for passion, dedication and years under your belt.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: @monica.wurst