Today we’d like to introduce you to Vee Gomez.
Vee, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I was born and raised in a small town in New Jersey, where I lived for the first twenty-nine years of my life. I found Yoga after being diagnosed with an autoimmune disease called Sjogren’s Syndrome.
I began practicing yoga regularly to manage my symptoms. Curiosity and intrigue-filled my soul, so I decided to further my yoga journey and enroll in a teacher training program.
There I found that my true passion and joy was teaching yoga, and upon graduating, I ran The American Yoga Academy in Summit, NJ. The experience of running a yoga school helped shape my future in the yoga industry. In February 2018, I saw an opportunity to move to Santa Monica and teach beach yoga. I was hesitant at first and couldn’t imagine moving thousands of miles away from my friends, family and everything I knew!
My husband, Eric, urged me to further investigate, and I decided to fly out to California in April. I fell in love with what I saw in front of me and decided that this was a chance I had to take. We packed up our dog family and rented out our house. I drove across the country with my three dogs! It was a ten-day journey and a once in a lifetime memory. We arrived in Los Angeles on May 30, and I started teaching beach yoga on June 1.
In eight short months, I’ve grown the business and established a great presence in Santa Monica. I am privileged and blessed to be able to teach on the famous Santa Monica Beach, next to the ocean, watching the sunset, seeing the dolphins. People from all over the world come and find themselves healed through this experience. It’s been quite a journey!
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 people would say teaching yoga on the beach in Santa Monica is living the dream. But the road to yoga paradise hasn’t been easy!
First of all, moving to a new place, where you don’t know anyone, is one of the most difficult changes a person can go through. I struggled with it immensely, and Eric was also going through his own adjustment phase too. I really missed my family and my comforts. It was definitely challenging on us as a couple, and as business partners to be going through this monumental life change that happens relatively quickly.
I also took on a new job! I had to learn how to teach yoga on the beach, pretty much on the fly, and adapt quickly to my new environment. I started working just two days after arriving in LA, and I had committed to two classes daily. My autoimmune disease started acting up more because of these stress triggers, and I would feel a lot of fatigue and mental fog. I hadn’t found any teachers yet who could help me, and it was a very emotional time in my life.
Coming into my fifth year of entrepreneurship, this was definitely my biggest investment in terms of money, time and energy. We had put all of our savings into this, and as a new business, we aren’t making the millions quite yet. But despite ALL of this, I am extremely confident in what’s to come in the near future.
Please tell us about Beach Yoga SoCal.
Awarded Best Yoga Santa Monica and Best of LA, Beach Yoga SoCal is LA’s only yoga studio without walls. We host daily classes on Santa Monica Beach, and make it our mission to spread knowledge of the ocean’s holistic powers to everyone we meet! Our classes are right next to the ocean, directly on the sand, with the sunset as our backdrop.
We take pride in making world-class yoga retreat experiences accessible to the locals of Southern California, and tourists from all over the world. Every experience with us is a unique one. We create lifelong memories and transformative experiences for people.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
I loved anytime I traveled! My mom, sister and I would travel to India every other summer to visit my mom’s side of the family. Those trips make up a huge chunk of my childhood, up until I was well into high school.
My aunt lived in Massachusetts, and I loved taking road trips with my parents and sister when we would go there. The four of us would take road trips a lot.
We visited family in Ohio a few times and drove down to Atlanta to visit some friends. I just loved exploring new places and seeing new things. I was always curious and eager to learn.
Pricing:
- Single Class $25
Contact Info:
- Website: www.beachyogasocal.com
- Phone: 424-262-5362
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: instagram.com/beachyogasocal; @veetheyogi
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/beachyogawithbrad/
- Twitter: twitter.com/beachyogasocal
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/beach-yoga-socal-santa-monica-3?utm_campaign=www_business_share_popup&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_source=(direct)
Image Credit:
Eric Gomez
Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
