Today we’d like to introduce you to Jennifer Yockey.
Hi Jennifer, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I have been in recovery from substance use disorder since 2009. In 2011, I had my son Lucas.
In 2013, I noticed that I was unsettled. Having a young child, not sleeping, not having a career outside of the house for the first time in 25 years… I felt unmoored, and since I was no longer using substances to cope, I embarked on a quest to quiet my mind or, at least, find pockets of internal peace. That’s when I found yoga and all of its amazing benefits.
I took my first teacher training in 2014, thinking that I would incorporate my newfound love of you and meditation with something I had done all my life: golf. I certainly wished I had yoga and meditation when playing competitively.
I then took another teacher training focusing on the mental side of yoga and the powerful connection of the mind and body.
I started teaching and hoped that all of my friends from the recovery community would embrace this practice as it seemed like the missing link in my own recovery. They didn’t follow, and that is an entirely different story…
In 2017, I was on the coast in central California, visiting my parents and kicking the idea around of opening a studio in Atascadero. We owned a rental property there, and I was hoping to get out of the desert heat as I do EVERY July.
My husband called and asked that I drive back to the desert and meet him in Old Town. It was my birthday, and he wanted to celebrate. He asked me to meet him at one of the buildings where we both had visited as our former golf colleagues had rented a space there. When I asked why we were meeting there, he said, “I think this is a great place for GATHER.” And so, it began. We opened our doors November 2, 2017.
My brother said to me about 6 months in, “I think GATHER was meant for the community and for you.” He was so right.
GATHER has brought me, personally, so much joy. I have never woken up in the morning wishing I “worked” somewhere else.
I have stayed true to the mission of bringing classes that connect the mind & body and to do it in a way that is accessible and inclusive of all people. Our community truly is family. We have had baby showers, marriage re-commitment ceremonies, grief circles, women’s groups, book clubs, yoga, pilates, kid’s classes, workshops, sound baths, breath work, meditation, and acupuncture.
We continue to share classes and practices that uplift our community, and we are so very grateful.
When the pandemic hit, we were considered essential. We had classes out on the lawn, and people were SO grateful to see one another and be outside, in nature, and move their bodies. There was so much upheaval and so much coming together, all at the same time. Without that space, I don’t think we would have made it.
So, here we are. We just had our 6-year anniversary.
I am grateful for every joy, every bump in the road, every person who has walked through our doors.
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 laughed when I read the question.
It has been far from smooth, but I am not sure any road is. I think the bumps and the struggles illuminate the joys and celebrations.
Starting a business is WORK. Everything is a new road, and that is exciting and terrifying at the same time. Being 48 and opening a studio that focuses on what yoga IS, a work in not a workout, was challenging. Staying with the mission and values that I envisioned was rough. It was a one-person show, and that has its benefits and drawbacks. One of those being I didn’t have someone to bounce ideas off of or get feedback.
In 2017, I took my son to an outdoor kid’s yoga class and met my “right hand yogi”, Cassidy. She has been such a blessing to our community, the studio, and to me, personally.
In 2020, the pandemic hit, and that was just nutty. The odd thing is that in 2019, I had built an online platform and had tested being outside a few times. No one wanted to be online, and 4 people showed up outside for class (and they were all my friends). I closed the physical studio on March 12th and went online on March 13th. I taught for free for three months, figuring we would be back in studio by midsummer. We all know how that turned out.
When September 2020 came around, we took classes outside. People were so happy to be outside and to see other people and do something relatively normal. Having that space saved our business but more importantly, uplifted our community’s morale and mental health. It truly was a magical time despite the circumstances.
In August of 2022, a large restaurant went in across from us. It had been vacant for a decade. This is not something we were expecting, and I had grown very attached to our space, but it was evident we couldn’t stay. Again, things aligned, and another suite opened, and then three months later, the suite that we really wanted opened.
I learned a lot of skills that have nothing to do with yoga postures, like design, hiring contractors, knocking out walls, moving, cleaning. And then using the subtleties of yoga like: letting go and letting it be.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Owner, GATHER Yoga + Wellness Yoga Teacher E-RYT 500
Author, Gathered Truths
Wellness & Recovery Coach
What has been the most important lesson you’ve learned along your journey?
The most important lesson. Well, I guess is that it all works out. As Cassidy reminds me continuously, it is the “Best possible outcome.”
I am a very diligent, persistent, and hard worker, and that has served me well in many situations, but the lesson and the more challenging thing to accomplish is to resist less, to remember to breathe, to pause, and to rest.
Very few things are emergent.
I can’t control other people, places, and things, but I can control my response to those things.
Give my best, commit to the process, and remember the outcome will be what it is.
Stay true to oneself.
Honor your values, hopes, and dreams.
You won’t be everyone’s cup of tea.
Stay open.
Don’t take yourself too seriously.
We are all just walking each other home.
Pricing:
- $69 Unlimited for 21 days (new to studio)
- $135 monthly unlimited
- $75 4-class monthly mini membership
- $26 drop-in
Contact Info:
- Website: www.gatherlaquinta.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gatherlaquinta/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gathermovementandwellness
Image Credits
Amber Linn Photography
