Today we’d like to introduce you to Juliette Kurth.
Juliette, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I started my Yoga practice/journey in New York City in 1984 at the Iyengar Institute on Spring Street. I was acting on Broadway in La Cage Aux Folles and needed a variation in my dance routine. I fell in love with the precision and simplicity of the form and continued to explore other forms of Yoga such as Hatha, Ashtanga, Vini, and Anusara.
I left NYC in 1991 and followed the Institute as well as the Center For Yoga and the original Yoga Works out in Santa Monica. From here I immersed myself in Workshops, Conferences, classes, retreats, studying with some of the greats; Richard Miller, Maty Ezra, Iyengar, Gita, Eric Shiffman, Patricia Walden and many more established Yoga leaders.
My acting career was unpredictable so I decided to venture off and start my own Yoga studio, along with my husband Jonathan Emerson. I had met him in a play at the John Anson Ford Theater and kept noticing he was practicing Yoga moves off to the sides of the theatre.
We found a building in the heart of the Silver Lake community on the corner of Glendale Blvd. and Rowena in 1995, and have been there ever since. I was also carrying my first child at that time, which always reminds me of how long we have been running the studio. WE wanted to create a “down home,” friendly environment for the entire commit to feel comfortable coming to; middle-aged, young, older adults, kids’, moms, babies, toddlers, etc.
I led ALL the Flow classes at first and my husband taught all the beginners classes, which he continues to. I moved on to starting a full Pre and postnatal program for women and their babies/children, offering a class every day of the week as well as a many parent & me classes. I also started one of the first Yoga Alliance 85 hr. Prenatal Teacher Training programs. I also became a birth and postpartum doula and have been doing that for 17 years.
Currently, my passion lies primarily in serving pregnant moms and postnatal ones too and am working on a Masters Degree in social work at USC with a focus on Maternal Mental health. I am volunteering my time as a yoga instructor in the maternal Wellness Dept. at Huntington Hospital as well as working at a shelter for homeless, teen, pregnant moms in Los Angeles.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Smooth?!? That never happens for anyone running their own business. The keyword and mantra you have to keep in mind is flexibility and the patron/customer is always right! I learned that as a waitress for many years in NYC. If you challenge the customer, you may lose them in the long run, therefore adaptability is the key. Finding ways to accommodate and accept the student from where they are coming from.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Silver Lake Yoga – what should we know?
WE offer a VARIETY of classes all day long! That is what really sets us apart from the other studios. We also pride ourselves on being a “friendly. neighborhood studio,” without the pretentiousness of a store or a corporate setting. The teachers are warm, inviting and will work with the student’s individual needs. There is NO judgement around these walls!
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
My cheerleaders were my beloved friends, family and husband who always believed that if you set your intention clear enough, the goal would materialize! That has been true since I set out looking for the space 24 years ago.
Pricing:
- $20/class, $85/6 class series, $100/8 class series, $120/10 class series, $135/ Monthly,Senior discounts on series
- $50/New Student Monthy
Contact Info:
- Address: 2810&1/2 Glendale Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90039 - Website: www.silverlakeyoga.com
- Phone: 3234595778
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: silverlakeyoga
- Facebook: Silver Lake Yoga
- Yelp: Silver Lake Yoga
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