February 26, 2017

Meet Jessica Rosen of One Down Dog in Silverlake and Eagle Rock

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jessica Rosen.

Jessica, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I started practicing yoga while working on my master’s thesis. All-nighters, minimal showers and an overall lack of self-care finally got me onto a yoga mat. Since then, I have completed two 200hr teacher training programs, level 1 yoga therapy through Loyola Marymount’s Yoga Therapy Rx program, and a 300-hour teacher training at Yoga Blend.

After my first training in 2006, I got what it truly meant to be of service, and felt a strong pull to spread the yoga love. I began my career working in the field of addiction as an inpatient and outpatient therapist integrating yoga into my work with patients. I found it to be extremely rewarding – hearing from several patients that yoga had changed their lives. I quickly realized that I liked the yoga part far more than the therapist part.

In 2008, I dropped everything and moved to Los Angeles where I managed a yoga studio and taught classes. I dreamt of one day opening my own yoga studio/wellness center – to serve as a space for community and connection – but never thought it was actually possible. I had a list of reasons I couldn’t do it – not enough money, not enough time, unrealistic expectations and an overall sense that I was not qualified. But, somewhere deep inside of me, I held on to the idea that if I let it, life could be good to me.

Finally, 30 days before I turned 30, I decided to let go of the expectations I had and got creative. I found a temporary shared space on craigslist and opened up the very first One Down Dog yoga studio in January of 2013. Since then I have been able to fully self-fund and grow from that shared space to 2 permanent locations and a third that will be breaking ground early next year. One Down Dog offers over 100 classes per week, yoga teacher training, workshops, events and most importantly a place for students to call home with a built-in support network that we call the ODD family.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Smooth? What’s that? Nothing worth having is ever smooth, is it? This road has been bumpy and windy and super challenging, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. The challenges have led to massive amount of growth for myself and my business. My first major hurdle was learning how to do all the legal and logistical stuff to get a business set up. I am so grateful for social media which helped me to find people that knew more than I did. Figuring out how to fund my business after banks turned me down for loans was the next challenge. At a time when we were about to expand, that was pretty scary stuff. I ran an IndieGoGo campaign and figured out creative ways to come up with the money to open my dream space. Once the lease was signed (a long and trying process) it was late nights doing lots of the work myself with friends to save as much as possible on the buildout. Once open we were faced with navigating day to day operations with ease – determining best policies and practices, always learning the hard way what works and what doesn’t. Thus far, the most frustrating challenge I continue to face is people not taking me seriously. As a small young female entrepreneur, I am asked if my husband will be joining my business meetings, contractors attempt to take advantage assuming I am not informed and business acquaintances regularly ask about my “partners or investors”…I have none. While it can become frustrating, I am stronger for it and attribute these challenges to my success.

So, as you know, we’re impressed with One Down Dog – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
One Down Dog is a yoga studio with 2 locations on the eastside of Los Angeles. We offer kick-ass, feel-good yoga classes, one-to-one sessions, yoga dance parties, workshops, events, retreats, teacher training, a full retail store, community and so much more! Our classes are exciting, upbeat, challenging and set to the best playlists you’ve ever heard. One Down Dog is a yoga studio & inclusive community space where awesome people can come together, have fun, and create even more awesomeness! We are the cheers of yoga, the place where everybody knows your name. We care about our students and work hard to create a space where everyone feels safe and supported.

So, what’s next? Any big plans?
Our next big move is opening our third location in Echo Park which is projected to open in March of 2017!

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