Today we’d like to introduce you to Katie Cottier.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
As a mother of two, I believe that yoga and motherhood are the perfect complements to help us be our happiest, healthiest selves. I wasn’t always sure about having children, and prior to becoming pregnant with my first child, I questioned my abilities, both physically and mentally.
One thing I was sure of was my love for yoga. I had been practicing for over ten years by this point, and while expecting my daughter, I shifted my focus to prenatal yoga. I credit this unique practice and the focus on mind, body, and breath as essential in helping me have positive, healthy pregnancies and smooth recoveries. When pregnancy made me feel like my body was an unfamiliar place, my yoga practice brought me back to myself and kept me grounded. After my children were born, Baby & Me yoga provided a special bonding time with my babies while also reconnecting to a sense of self in the postpartum period. Moreover, the supportive community of mothers that forms around these experiences is unlike anything else.
These experiences inspired me to share the wonderful benefits of yoga with others. I decided to leave my job teaching University ESL and start teaching yoga, specifically prenatal and postnatal styles.
At first, I taught private lessons in homes and parks, and then I added public classes at Birch Family Birth Services in Thousand Oaks while pregnant with my second child. I still teach a combination of private and public lessons and enjoy both one-to-one interactions and shared group settings. I consider it a privilege to be a part of so many women’s pregnancy and motherhood journeys, and I love being a continuation in the long line of women supporting women.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Some of my biggest struggles have been learning how to self-promote and use technology and social media in a business sense. After spending ten years in the field of academia, the business world was a little foreign to me. Luckily I’ve had great support from friends and my husband. And a surprising amount of skills from academic teaching actually roll over into teaching yoga!
Seed to Sprout Yoga – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
I help expecting and new mothers find peace, wellness, and strength through yoga and community. I specialize in Prenatal yoga, Postnatal yoga, and Baby & Me yoga. Having practiced extensively throughout all three trimesters of two pregnancies in addition to teaching throughout my second pregnancy, I feel a special connection to and understanding of the mamas in class.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
I will always look fondly on the time when I was teaching pregnant mamas while pregnant myself. Also, I enjoyed bringing my newborn to Baby & Me yoga as my “teaching assistant”. I find teaching yoga to new and expecting mamas to be especially rewarding and am humbled anytime someone thanks me for helping them navigate this momentous transition in life or simply for helping them feel better. I believe that when you heal the mother, you heal the child and the future of the world is brighter.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.seedtosproutyoga.com
- Phone: (805) 409-7312
- Instagram: @seedtosproutyoga
- Facebook: @katiecottieryoga
Image Credit:
Sacha Riviere
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