Today we’d like to introduce you to Nancy Poole.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I never envisioned myself being a yoga teacher let alone a business owner. Growing up with immigrant parents, and living through poverty as a result, has instilled a strong sense of purpose in me to constantly help those who cannot help themselves. My parents believed in the American Dream–meaning you either became a doctor, a lawyer or you win the lottery to succeed in this new world.
Although I tried all of those paths at some point in time, none seemed feasible for me. After graduating from UCLA and then obtaining my pre-medicine post-bacc certification at Charles R. Drew University, I truly thought I had found a passion in healthcare operations and I wanted to make my parents proud of my achievements. I worked extra hard as a female minority to climb the corporate ladder. After over a decade of experience, I became a Director of Operations for well-known health organizations. However, I was still feeling unsettled and depressed even though the work I was doing as a Director should have brought joy and fulfillment. I began to reflect on my life and what line of work I would enjoy doing for the long haul that was equally fulfilling–if not more.
I used the power of yoga to meditate on my feelings and remembered the time I first discovered my yoga practice many years ago as a form of healing against bullying, low self-esteem, stress, and depression. In 2020, I rediscovered my practice to manage the shifting tides in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. This was a pivotal moment in my path when I truly found my love for adventure and community through my yoga practice. I wanted to share that with the world. Thus, I made the scary and risky decision to leave my career behind to build The Holō Collective Yoga & Wellness studio in San Pedro, CA. My goal has always been to create a safe and inspiring space for all to practice while building a strong sense of community that is void of any judgement.
Today, I am RYT-200 & RPYT, Chair Yoga certified, and a new entrepreneur. I love teaching uplifting and supportive yoga with the hottest playlists to match the tempo and pace of the practice with the hopes to remove the stigma that you have to be or look a certain way to do yoga. Yoga is a journey and should be lighthearted, inspiring, and fun with the ability to self-heal through movement and connection. I am constantly striving to cultivate a welcoming and authentic space, physically and mentally.
Alright, 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?
Opening your own business will inevitably come with challenges. Overcoming them is how we grow! However, opening a business during the peak of the pandemic adds multiple layers I did not expect. One of the biggest challenges when I first started was how to bring students back into the studio and remove the fear of COVID-19 with all of the mandates. It was normal to experience hesitation of bringing yoga classes back with a group environment when we constantly heard news of the negative impacts of COVID-19 in the healthcare world.
However, with my healthcare and operations background, I also had the ability to create a safe environment by restricting our capacity and lengthening the space in between our in-studio classes so that students had more room to practice freely. Additionally, I had the ability answer more student questions and concerns in-between classes with the extra time to disinfect the space effectively so that the next cohort of students had a clean and well-kept space for practice.
There were also challenges I faced as it related to stocking my studio with appropriate equipment during the shipping crisis. To overcome this obstacle, my husband and I decided to build some of our own equipment and furniture that we needed ourselves. As a result, guests can truly get the personalized feel of our space because so much heart, sweat, and tears went into building our physical space for people to enjoy.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
The Holō Collective is a modern yoga & wellness studio with a minimalistic and airy bohemian feel. Our classes are a collective of mindful movements created and guided by each of our amazing instructors to provide that authentic, safe, and fun space for all to explore their yoga practice. Our studio collaborates with local creatives to produce specially curated events in addition to yoga classes.
Our studio is different from others because we foster community through our students and our teachers. We cater to both because it is the teaching that is above all of us. Each of our yoga & wellness instructor is given the freedom to create their own unique classes to share with our community. Our community has become a place where many feel connected, accepted, and welcomed and we’ve seen so many friendships form just from meeting in our space.
Holō means whole which is one of my proudest inceptions in the name for my brand. As a healthcare advocate who has had the honor to work alongside renowned providers, doctors, and researchers, I’ve come to learn that true healthcare is whole-person care. We address the whole person, not just snippets or compartmentalized aspects of their care. Whole-care addresses and treats the physical, mental, and community determinants of each individual. It is something in my past career that I will always try to implement in my business.
Alright so before we go can you talk to us a bit about how people can work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
People can connect with us through our social platforms (@theholocollective) or reach out to us via email (theholocollective@gmail.com) to collaborate or simply to stay up-to-date on all of our events and class schedule.
Sometimes, it can just take a follow, a like, or simply stopping by our storefront to say “hello” to validate that what we are bringing to our community is a valuable addition.
Pricing:
- New Student Intro 2 Weeks Unlimited Classes – $35.00
- 5-Class Package – $55.00
- 10-Class Package – $75.00
- Monthly Unlimited – $105.00
- Auto-Renew Monthly Unlimited – $99.75 (5% discount)
Contact Info:
- Website: www.theholocollective.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theholocollective/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theholocollective/
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/the-hol%C5%8D-collective-los-angeles?osq=the+holo+collective
- Other: https://www.google.com/search?q=The+Hol%C5%8D+Collective&stick=H4sIAAAAAAAA_-NgU1I1qLAwSEkxNk9OM0mzMDZNSk6yMqhINDdJSjEwsDC1NDS2MDc1W8QqEpKRquCRn3O0V8E5PycnNbkksywVAHaVn9pAAAAA&hl=en&mat=CfTJcxQvbxNCElYBNqvzOiyHijdiIR6XADJjtrlodA9i1NreVTGJa7TRdKofYj2MQBxuoaM-0taoPHNLagrraHjW1bDG2PTx5Q8bOPmjdXGZRVR9LJUe8DceWzvcgl2Xlw&authuser=0
Image Credits
Linda Wang Photography Alex Morehouse Herman
