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Meet Christy Lynn Hicks-Marsden of Yoga Blend in Burbank

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Christy Lynn Hicks-Marsden.

Christy Lynn, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I feel in love with Yoga the first time I tried it over 25 years ago in Nashville, TN. I knew I wanted to continue to learn and explore as much as possible so I dove into practicing as often as I could while having a full-time job. At the time, I was working in the corporate world and was very unfulfilled in my work.

A couple of years into my practice, my teacher encouraged me to take a teacher training and would ask me to care for her Yoga studio when she was out of town. I dreamed of teaching full time and owning my own Yoga studio one day but I knew I had a lot more to learn about Yoga and about running a business. It took me eight years to finally get up the courage to leave my corporate job and open a tiny little studio in Burbank on March 4th, 2005. We expanded to our current location in 2007.

I really wanted to create a non-intimidating place where people felt safe to connect with others while exploring their own transformation through the practice of yoga. It exceeded my vision on every level and continues to do so. Through owning the studio and teaching full time, I have grown in ways that I never imagined and I have met some of the most amazing people that are my dearest friends to this day. I have seen people meet at the studio and end up getting married or start a business together. I’ve seen friendships develop and people come together to care for each other. I’ve seen people go through some of the hardest times of their lives just as people have seen me do the same. I’ve co-trained hundreds of yoga teachers and watched them follow their passion of teaching. I get to work with people I absolutely love and feel very fortunate to have over ten employees that have been working at the studio for over a decade.

People will come up to me and say how much Yoga Blend has changed their life and how grateful they are and I am thinking just how grateful I am. There is so much appreciation from all sides. The whole thing truly blows me away.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It has definitely not been a smooth road. Although we are still chugging along after almost 15 years, there have been many obstacles along the way. Less than a year after we moved into our current location, the building caught on fire. Fortunately, firefighters were able to put it out before it really took off. One time a car drove through the building which was just so bizarre. We had to remodel after that.

We definitely have some of the very best students but there are always those people who complain about anything and everything and leave negative reviews instead of talking to us and trying to work it out which can be so frustrating as a business teaching about compassion and mindfulness. Then, there are the laws which are always changing and it’s so hard to keep track.

There were also many times when I thought the doors would close because I couldn’t pay the bills. It is very expensive to run a yoga studio. One of the hardest times was when I moved back to TN because my brother died unexpectedly and left my aging, handicapped mother and his three young children behind so I went back to help. The business took a huge hit as a result. I thought I was going to have to close the studio but fortunately, I was able to come back more regularly and get more involved again. We made it through, thank goodness!

There are definitely ups and downs to owning a business but through it all, I feel it is such an honor to hold the space for all the employees and students and it allows me to do what I love the most which is teach. It’s by far the hardest work I’ve ever done but also the most rewarding, so it makes all the struggles worth it!

Please tell us about Yoga Blend.
We are a Yoga Studio that offers a blend of styles for all levels. It’s a place where everyone feels welcome to practice, no matter what. One of our specialties is gentle classes. There was a time when I first started Yoga that I was super strong and did all the hard classes but when I got super sick and could barely move, I started doing gentle yoga. I fell in love with that practice as it healed me and allowed me to be more mindful in my approach to Yoga as well as my life. We have gentle classes every day of the week and sometimes 2x a day because of how profound those classes can be. They are some of our most regularly attended classes with a very diverse population of students who attend.

We are also a family at Yoga Blend. Everyone is super open and friendly and although we take the practice seriously, we don’t take ourselves too seriously. The studio is warm and light-hearted and people tell me all the time that Yoga Blend is the first place that they have felt comfortable practicing in a group because they don’t feel they have to look or act a certain way. That makes me very happy. And then there’s the staff. Everyone is really amazing. They care about the work, the students, the studio and their own practice. I love and trust everyone that works there. They truly are what makes Yoga Blend so special.

If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
That’s a tough one as I really don’t know that I would have done anything differently. I feel all of it (good and bad) has made us who we are and I am happy with that.

Pricing:

  • New student specials of $40 for 2 weeks or $80 for a month
  • Over 10 classes a week for just $10
  • $5 classes 4 mornings a week
  • Unlimited Yoga for just $99 a month if you commit to 6 months

Contact Info:

Image Credit:
Trent Lanz, Paul Rumohr

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