SPARK.N.STRIDE with Mach
SPARK.N.STRIDE with MACH
Conversations exploring wellness, mental health, resiliency, and personal development with Mach a retired US Air Force veteran.
SPARK.N.STRIDE with Mach
Yoga Six Franchisee Kim Fallon on Passion, Purpose, and Wellness.
From panic attacks to peace, from corporate boardrooms to yoga studios—this conversation takes you on a transformative journey into wellness entrepreneurship and finding purpose after trauma.
Kim Fallon candidly shares her path from high-powered banking executive to yoga studio owner, revealing the breaking points that forced her to reevaluate everything. After experiencing debilitating anxiety, navigating a painful divorce from her high school sweetheart, and battling alcoholism during the isolation of COVID, Kim found salvation on her yoga mat. What began as a personal healing journey evolved into a bold career shift when she left her six-figure salary for a modest position at a yoga studio—a decision that eventually led to opening her own Yoga Six franchise.
Our host parallels this journey, describing how transitioning out of 24 years of military service led him to seek holistic alternatives to PTSD medications through yoga practice. Both share powerful stories of ending up in emergency rooms with panic attacks, only to be told "it's all mental"—a diagnosis that propelled them toward mindfulness practices rather than traditional medical interventions.
Perhaps most captivating is Kim's description of the Temescal sweat lodge ritual in Tulum—two hours in complete darkness with increasing heat, where strangers support each other through discomfort without even seeing one another. This powerful metaphor for finding breath and presence amidst chaos resonates throughout their conversation about building community through shared vulnerability.
Whether you're considering a career change, struggling with anxiety, or simply curious about yoga's transformative potential, this episode offers honest insights about finding light in life's darkest moments and creating purpose from pain.
was it? Was it?
Speaker 2:hot yoga was just regular I've always liked the hot yoga.
Speaker 1:I don't know me too, like, yeah, yeah, me too, yeah, yeah, it's just like it kind of like.
Speaker 2:I just feel like deep into practice, like being warm and cozy.
Speaker 1:Maybe I don't know, sure, yeah, yeah, yeah, it's definitely got a good. Uh, it's good on your muscles, right. It's good on your joints and that kind of thing. So it's so cool that you're here and that we can kind of like talk about you know a number of things, but you know we're centered around yoga because you know I want to talk about how you got into your franchise but I picked, I picked up yoga or I don't know if yoga picked me up about um, it's almost a year now. Nice, it's almost a year. So I go down down the road here um to bask yoga, hot yoga.
Speaker 2:That's where I go when I'm in town too oh right, yeah, I love they're great. They're very similar to the studio that I have in boston same kind of a style, a hot studio, yeah so let me ask you this, so like um.
Speaker 1:So when someone is guiding, I was gonna say teaching, but uh, I just guiding.
Speaker 2:I like, I like saying it yeah, it is, it's true, it's.
Speaker 1:It's been so much fun. I feel like I've learned all this new terminology and I gotta tell you one thing before, like I don't want to lose my train of thought, but what I really enjoyed about BASC and I don't know if this is they were extremely welcoming to the notion that I had no background in this whatsoever. It's kind of like, you know, it's almost like showing up for something that you've. It is showing up for something that you've never done before, but but, um, so I enjoy how they guide the classes, in the sense that each person has their own way of doing it, but it's soothing. It's not the same, but it's like soothing, like I have, and I guess that's what kind of like gets you into.
Speaker 2:That's how you gravitate to who you want to kind of follow or be guided by definitely because each teacher is there, has their own, like you know we talk about like their own vibe, yeah, kind of style, you know, and there's lots of different ways that you can be trained in yoga. So, um, you know, based on your training too, you have a lot of different style. But, um, I think that when you find the teachers you're talking about that are really authentically themselves, that's when the connection starts and that's when it becomes more than just a physical connection. It like brings you back to that space, like that map, because it's that combination of just feeling good about being there, because, like Mare was talking about before, she's like whenever I'm like, she says I show up and I just want to get through the fucking class, like I don't even want to do anything else, I just want to make it to the end and so, like, when I talk to my students, I'm like like we'll be on the mat in child's clothes.
Speaker 2:I'm like, give yourself a fucking hand, you made it here.
Speaker 2:Like that's a lot of fucking work. There's a lot to do during the day, carve out time for yourself, and I think what the point that you bring up that welcoming environment? That's what I think the connection for me too. So other classes like I would go to the gym and I would feel so intimidated, like by just not knowing how to use equipment or not using it right or hurting myself or anything like that. But when I arrived in a studio I always felt like it was okay, like it was just like go with your flow and do what you want. And I think the most the teachers that the most are effective are like that. They kind of hold the space for you to move and breathe how you want, and that's kind of like the beauty of it. That's when, like that's when the magic happens.
Speaker 1:So check this out. So you know I was in the Air Force. I was in the military for 24 years and you know I was transitioning out. It's going on like a year and a half now that I've been out, but I was transitioning out and one of my New Year's resolutions was you know what You've always wanted to try yoga. You've always okay.
Speaker 1:So now, like now, you know, going into the new year, and you know I was on like all this anti-depression medication and this kind of thing and like medication for like PTSD and this kind of thing. So I wanted to see because I wanted to see if I could wean myself off of all these medications, if I tried to like a more holistic approach to my wellness. So like growing up, growing or growing up in the military, I should say, you know, um, it was all about like you know, push-ups and sit-ups and running and, and then when I got to my first base I got to Charleston, south Carolina, in 2000 I really got introduced into like lifting weights and you know the protein and creatines and this kind of thing, but there was never, ever any sort of like mobilization, mobile, like nothing, nothing regarding our joints or stretching our muscles or anything like that. But we were young guys, right, we were young, we were just like whatever, lift, lift, lift. Not even legs, like I didn't learn about working on my legs till like in my thirties.
Speaker 1:But with that being said, right, so I've always wanted to like, dedicate, like with me it works a little different. So some like my wife, right, right, she can operate kind of like in chaos, where me I gotta kind of, if I'm gonna go into something, I and maybe it's like the cancer in me I just need I, I need things to feel right before I can go into it. Yeah, so with the yoga, I felt like okay, I felt right, I felt like the time was right and I knew that I had something that I wanted to accomplish and that was I really wanted to see if I could get off the medications. And I'm off the medications that's awesome, I know that yeah that's funny that you mentioned that.
Speaker 2:I feel like I had a similar like conversation with myself when I was in Mexico, because when I was able to like you know again, there's there's very few times like that you can just like peel away right and really get into something. So when I was in Mexico, the same thing, like just getting into my practice, and I was practicing a lot and journaling and just everything, and same thing. I have had problems with anxiety and depression my entire life and, um, I was just like you know. Maybe at this point I'm ready to go off this and take a chance and really feel again. You know what I mean and just allow yourself to be, because sometimes that's really scary.
Speaker 2:But I feel with yoga, what it's taught me is that in all that chaos and all that drama and just things that happen, at the end of the day you've got your body, you've got your mind, your spirit and you can come back to it anytime and they're just there and you just have to learn to tap into it. So I love that you did that. I'm in the same place. It's scary too, right.
Speaker 2:The other another big thing for me that I rarely talk about but, um, it's a big part of who I am now is I've struggled with alcoholism, you know, especially during I don't know. You know you look at it now and you're like okay, so it was my whole life. But you know, during COVID it was when it really kind of crept up on me, and so I've done a lot of work in that space and I was taking some medication for several years now to help with my sobriety and one of the things I decided was to go off that medication because it's just again medication. It's adding chemicals to my body and even physically I had to go and get an injection in my rear. It's painful, the way it made me feel, all those types of things that happen and so being able to like take that leap of faith and just being like, all right, I'm a long enough along in my sobriety that I feel like I can like handle it a little bit better on my own.
Speaker 2:Um, but it's also my practice, like that confidence that I get on the mat, that I've been able to, now that I've been practicing for years and that it's taken this long, that I feel like I can take it off and I tap into the same things that when I'm stressed out and or I'm anxious or, you know, feel like I'm tempted or whatever that might be, I go back to the same things I do when I'm on my mat and I feel chaos and craziness. You know, just back to the breath, back to my body, back to knowing that I can control the situation as long as I like, really take the time to evaluate and just sink in. You know what I mean. Like you just close your mind. Yeah, you're like, the drama's there. It's not going away, you know, it's just about managing it you know so so I've been.
Speaker 1:So I started in March. We're going into the new year, so I started in March. We're going into the new year, so I started in March of this year and immediately I start wanting to bring in, like my buddies, even family too, right, like, hey, like you got to try this, like at least once. You know, and one of my buddies after we, you know, he's a cop in New York City. Stressful job, you know what I mean.
Speaker 2:He's like dude, he's like. That was like um going away on a trip.
Speaker 1:That's awesome. He's like that. That was like going away on a trip like your, your mind just kind of, even if it was just like for an hour. You know what I mean. But what I didn't realize until like so I'm writing a book. So I'm writing a book and I'm working some stuff out and it's pretty much about you know, ultimately it's me being young, growing up with a mother dick. It's a heroine and like this entire craziness of a childhood, traumatic childhood that you know it's wild, the whole process is wild, and I'm down here in the studio writing at like four in the morning, I write for an hour and then I'll come back and I'll do edits the following day. So it's therapeutic in the sense that you're coming back to what you wrote and you're writing about, like this, this crazy childhood upbringing, but in it I just realized not too long ago that I had anxiety as a child and I just I don't even know. It might have been like mild, but I realize now like, oh man, like that's what that was, that's what that feeling was, you know, but it got really bad. It got really really bad Like after my deployment to Afghanistan, and then it, like it kind of like went away for a little bit and then it it just in.
Speaker 1:Uh, I think it was like in 2000,. Uh, in 22, 22, 22, april of 22,. I had like a severe panic attack. That's scary. I'm just like, oh my God, like what is this? And it lasted for like like the severity of it, like I was like almost like in a in a mind and that lasted for like two weeks. But I had to go to Alabama for like a training with the Air Force, where I stopped off in Charlotte to visit a friend the next day. I was like, hey, man, like something's wrong with me. So they took me to the ER. So I went to the ER. The doctors are like hey, man, like whatever you're going through it's mental, yeah, it's not physical. They're like hey, man, like whatever you're going through it's mental, yeah, it's not physical. They're like you could lose a little bit of weight, your blood pressure is a little high, but you know we don't think you're going to stroke out or anything, but whatever it is you're feeling is mental.
Speaker 2:That's scary yeah.
Speaker 1:So. But you know, going back to that, I'm like oh man, how do you deal with that? And in the military, for the most part, they're going to put you on some kind of a medication. Yeah, I mean, that's easy to fix. You know what I mean? Yeah, so it wasn't. Like life is funny, how it works and how things happen, and how things happen for a reason. So when I'm at this point in my life now we're like, hey, listen, like the military is now behind you. Now you have like this next chapter of your life, like what do you want to do with it? You know what I mean. So you know, maybe it was the right time to guide me in that kind of way, but, um, I extremely think it's. I really wish I would have known about this in my 20s.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Or even younger than that. You know what I mean. Yeah, I just didn't.
Speaker 2:No, it's definitely I feel, and I feel like yoga. Sometimes for people like and I'm stereotyping a little bit, but I definitely think for men it's a little bit more like uncomfortable. It's definitely I mean, I see predominantly women in the studio or people think it's not hard enough or whatever it is. It's definitely hard, a lot of preconceived notions about what it is or might not, but at the end of the day, it's whatever you want it to be.
Speaker 2:Yes, and that's what's so cool about it, you can take a class at 95 degrees, sweating your ass off, or you can just lay on the floor for 45 minutes with a bolster and a block and hang out, and that can be just as therapeutic. It's a real about, really just about what you need right now. And so when, um, when I'm teaching, when I'm practicing, like that's just what I try and tap into. Like you've shown up, you made it here. So what do you mean right now? Like, do you need to move a lot and move a lot, and if you need to sit on the ground and stretch and do that too, you know, and it just allows you to kind of like, find that space to do that. So how?
Speaker 1:did you. Okay, so you, I. You said you were in Hoboken, you were pregnant. What brought you from Hoboken to Boston?
Speaker 2:So I was working at the time. I worked for Santander bank. So I was an executive in sales at the time. I worked for Santander bank. So I was an executive in sales for them. For you know, I started with a branch manager and just kind of moved my way up. I worked for them for um a total of like about 15 years or so, and so they're based in Boston. So as I moved up the corporate ladder, you know I was flying back and forth for work to New York. I'm from New Jersey to Boston like probably once once a month at least. So I just had an opportunity up there with them.
Speaker 1:And so I jumped at it and took it and went up to Boston. Wow, okay, so that's how you get up to Boston. So, to your point, you were like you were, you were pregnant. You're like you said, you were in your thirties.
Speaker 2:My son was like they were just before they started school, so Nicholas was like five and Christian was like one. Wow, yeah, they were babies, wow, so they have a little Boston accent. So when we come back to New Jersey, my mom was like, what is he saying? I'm like it's okay, it's just from Boston now, mom.
Speaker 1:But yeah, that accent, that accent, it's a little right. You could go many places but like there's no other place where you could be, like it's kind of sounds no no, when he was at like preschool, I like couldn't understand what his preschool teacher said.
Speaker 2:I'd be like all right, whatever, see you later, see you tomorrow, yeah, because he was so little. But, um, yeah, so that's how I ended up in Boston and I was just working, you know what I mean, just doing my thing. I didn't even at that point I never thought I was getting into yoga and things like that, but I had kind of a similar situation too, which kind of really transitioned me into a lifestyle change. So I had a panic attack as well and again I had anxiety and depression, probably for as long as I can remember.
Speaker 2:But again we were up in Boston and I just remember like I had been traveling a ton for work, I was literally exhausted and I was finally home and just kind of like relaxed and like ironically, that's when I have the panic attack I'm like what the hell, you know? And I literally remember like my heart like pounding in my chest and I was like I'm going to, like I thought I was having a heart attack in my chest and I was like I'm gonna, like I thought I was having a heart attack. I literally thought I was having a heart attack my um, there's a heart disease in my family, so immediately your head goes to like make starts making up all these stories, um, and things like that, where, like I and you know, my husband at the time like called 9-1-1 and I was like, and I was same thing, I'm in the hospital, in the ER, and they're like there's nothing wrong with you. And now I'm like, well, now I just feel like a jackass you know what I mean.
Speaker 2:I'm like no there's something wrong, like you don't understand, like I was gonna like fall over, like I couldn't breathe, I couldn't like see straight, I couldn't like I was in a fog, like I, like you know, and they're like nope, it's all mental. And then, like you know, I go home and I got a call from my pediatric, my primary care. I should say I'm pediatrician, yeah, right, my primary care, who, um, I just again had a nice relationship, which is always amazing. Um, that's because she's from new jersey too. Um, but, um, and she was like what happened?
Speaker 2:I'm like I don't fucking know yeah and she was like it's too much, like you're doing too much, and like we just had a really good sit down conversation, um, and at the time I was seeing a therapist, just because I just think that's good for everybody, and I just really leaned into it and there was like the my world was spinning and I just needed to make some choices, and really difficult choices, and like during those next couple years, as I, you know, separated from my husband at the time, like decided to like you know, I had to sell my house. At the time, like decided to like you know, I had to sell my house. I decided, like am I staying in New Jersey or staying in Boston? Am I coming back to New Jersey? It was a lot of um, a lot of scary and big decisions to make. My kids were still, you know, fairly young at the time.
Speaker 1:How old were your kids.
Speaker 2:They were. I got separated in like 2016. So, um, they were like second grade, third grade, 2016. So, um, they were like second grade, third grade, yeah, little baby still. So, um, you know, it was a lot for all of us and so, and I just kept going back to my mat and to yoga and then, um, the big change for me happened during COVID.
Speaker 2:So, you know, you mentioned things, things happen for a reason. I'm a huge, huge believer in that because I, if you looked at my life now, you'd be like something must have happened for some reason, because I never would have planned any of this, like what? Um, so I just, um, you know, I had gotten my teaching certificate from yoga a couple years before, and then I was home during COVID again, my kids were little, so they were in elementary school at the time. Um, me and my husband were separated, so we living in, I was living in this little apartment and I had to be there because everything was on Zoom and whatever. And so the studio that I had gotten my training with had asked if I would start teaching like online classes for them.
Speaker 2:And I was just like me, like I don't know, you know, and I'm like sure not, you know. And I and I started doing that and I literally just fell in love with it, like immediately and as things started opening up, I was just again you go back to that anxiety, the other things I was working through I just needed to change and I was like I'm not going back to corporate America you just decided, and so you just decided you were gonna like not go back to corporate america yeah yeah, like, like did that okay.
Speaker 1:Was that something that took a while? And if it did, how long did it take?
Speaker 2:well, there's always. There's definitely some situations that happen too. So I had been working, um, um, I was working at santander for a while, I was over at mit and then, um, I was working at the time and it just again. I was in this really, really bad place in my life and it wasn't going well, and so I was offered basically a severance package and or a different job, and I was like you know what? The shit is hitting the fan and I needed to, and then the same thing the COVID was happening. It was almost like the signs were telling me to take a break.
Speaker 1:The universe was talking to you. Yeah, like the universe was like.
Speaker 2:This is not going well.
Speaker 2:And nothing was going well. Like again, I was like completely lost, like I felt like very the word I go back to when I describe this time in my life is broken. Like I married my high school sweetheart, Like he was literally the love of my life. From the time I can remember and you know, remember, and you know, and you know we still have a good relationship and that's great, but it takes a while to get there, like you know, um, and we had a rough divorce and um, it's hard, it was hard on me, it was hard on him, it was hard on the kids, um, so I knew that this time in my life I just needed like a little time out. This is also when I feel like that drinking kind of clicked in. We're home, like everything's closing down. I was scared, I was lonely, all of those types of things, and I knew that I needed to make some kind of change because it was going bad really fast.
Speaker 2:So yoga was again this place where I I found time and time again that like, not confidence, but just clarity, I guess, is maybe the word that I'm looking for, or just a space that I could feel free and feel like like safe. I don't know, it's a lot of all of those things at once. So I just kept going back to that spot and so when I was teaching it and when I saw that saying words to people and getting, first of all, when you say things, people they actually do you're like hey, that's pretty cool. And then, like when you get people coming after class, I'm just being like that was an amazing class, like I loved your music, I loved what you had to say, I loved how I feel now, like it means something and it just felt really good. And then I was like head right into the deep end. I was like, from there I just decided that this is what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.
Speaker 1:Wow, yeah, so. So, kim, so that happens. And then, while, while you're going through this feeling how, how long after, does, like, the severance package and all that kind of like happen. Yeah, is it? Is it like kind of like at the same time?
Speaker 2:yeah. So that's just one of the things. I feel like I was lucky, so I had a little bit of like. You know what I mean, because again, you're going through like part of this is like just even setting myself up. Like you know, I'm going through divorce, getting separated. That's a big financial change. You know, all sorts of things like, and part of the decisions about even opening up a yoga studio and things that were financial, you know I could say, oh yeah, I want to be a yogi and travel the world and hang out and do yoga all the time, but that doesn't pay the bills at all.
Speaker 2:So, like my big transition was like okay, like I had been in business and banking and finance for years, um, you know, and I was like how can I tie these two spaces together? So I, um, when I left and things started kind of opening up, I actually took a job and I think the pay was like I don't even know if it was like 40 grand.
Speaker 1:I was like oh my God, I'm on by 25 again Like what is this?
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean I was making like six figures working.
Speaker 1:It's like this is a huge deal.
Speaker 2:I was like what the hell am I thinking?
Speaker 1:You're like universe. Are you for real?
Speaker 2:right now, I know. And so I got a job as a studio manager at a local yoga studio in Boston. So I got there and I just was, like you know, I'll give it a try, I'll see. And then I had met other, and that's what yoga is about, I really feel like for me it's just about meeting one person who's taking me to the next spot, who's met me, introduced me to another person, and that's what I love about it. So, you know, I met new friends there and then they worked at the time at like core power, which is a corporately owned franchise, like you know what I mean.
Speaker 2:They're corporately owned, they're all over the US, um, and at the time I had to put like my like mom hat on. I'm like, all right, I need benefits, I need a steady paycheck, like as a yoga teacher, like if I didn't teach I didn't get paid. You know, it's a very you know whatever. So, um, I needed a steady paycheck, I needed benefits for the kids, um, and so I went to work for Core Power and I was a studio manager and teacher for them for about two years. So I worked for them for about a year and a half. It's like a local. You know well, they have them all over the US.
Speaker 2:But and that's kind of like, when I was there I was kind of like again, always kind of thinking you know what I mean. Like my entrepreneurial hat came on and I was just like I can do this, I can do this somehow. And then I kind of like just started researching, like do I want to open up, just find a spot on the corner and be like, hang a shingle outside and be like Kim's yoga, please come, or you know. And then I started looking into franchises and one the ironic thing where I crossed yoga six path was one of my best friends from home lived out in California at the time and I used to go visit her and it was like her yoga spot, right, she's like, oh, let's go do yoga, you know. And it was a yoga six and I just loved it. I just again, I like hot yoga, that's kind of my jam and it's a hot studio. So I went there, I loved it and I, just as I started researching, like I just went back there, I started researching them and looked into a couple of different options. We went out to California.
Speaker 2:Their Exponential Fitness is the parent company that owns Yoga 6. They own so their process. They own all boutique fitnesses, so they own Yoga 6, they own Cycle Bar, pure Bar, club, pilates, rumble, fitness Row House. There's a couple of them, but I'm in the Yoga 6 space so went out there and met with them and just really liked what they had to offer.
Speaker 2:To be honest, I think it was probably the best decision because you know you open up your business Like I don't really know what I was doing, like you know I was going to open up the doors and be like hey, so they give me like all of the backbones of my business. So, um, marketing, you know brand recognition, um, a lot of training and development for my teachers. So one, you know brand recognition, a lot of training and development for my teachers. So one of the things that was really important to me is I'm a yoga teacher first and so when I was thinking about how I wanted my space and that's how I like to kind of like the you know our space, yoga six space, where our studio I wanted to be like, all the things that I loved about all the spaces I worked at and all the things that I didn't like were things that I didn't want, so I wanted somebody there at the front desk.
Speaker 2:There are some studios that usually have the teacher there and they'll check in, but they're not going to have the same conversation. I want somebody there answering your questions. If you have a question about your credit card, your membership, they should be able to answer. You don't want to have somebody email you back.
Speaker 1:There's lots of things.
Speaker 2:But I also wanted my teachers again to feel really well supported. It's a journey and I think the best teachers are ones that are constantly learning and taking classes and learning from other teachers and experiencing things, and Yoga 6 gives me this opportunity and this platform for them to talk to teachers in Tennessee, talk to teachers in Florida. They can do all these trainings, things like that. I never thought of that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's like things that I, as a small business owner, I can't offer any of that to them. I never thought of that part, so it's just like Of the network.
Speaker 2:Yeah, the network of it. That's really good. And in Boston there's no other yoga sticks. There's one that we're right in Somerville, massachusetts. There's another location out in Wellesley which is about 45 minutes west of us, so we don't have a lot of the brand recognition Like if you go out on California, I think they're like, you know, like a Starbucks, like every other corner. You know they're kind of a staple out there, but it was still like the state, the building and the franchise and the kind of like.
Speaker 2:The outline of the program was really exactly what I needed. They've taught me a lot of different things and it's still small enough that I can literally call the CEO and just be like hey, like I need to talk about this, you know, and things like that. So it's been great. I really really love the support and me and Pej, my husband, are on target to open up two more. So Assembly Row in Somerville is our first location, um, and we've just been really happy with the support that we've gotten from exponential and yoga six specifically, that we've decided to open up two more and I really just feel like you know it's for us it's just about expanding our footprint. It makes good business sense, um and also the support is huge, like I just feel like we have a lot more support and um from them to be able to expand a little bit easier than I probably would be if I was just like you know, just me and my, you know soul prop kind of situation. So it's been really nice.
Speaker 1:yeah, man, like do you ever, do you ever like so like? I find myself like I reflect a lot more now than when I was in the military. I don't know why that is, I don't know. I just don't know if it's like the way I look at time now, or in any case. But do you ever like think back to yourself when you you know you're to the tough time when you had to like move and like go from Hoboken and to Boston and whatever it was exactly that you were going through the separation and like? Do you ever like think back on them and like feel like you're like living a different life now?
Speaker 2:oh, I'm absolutely living 100 different life now, um, and I think it took getting through a lot of the shit to get to the other side, you know, and everybody's got stuff like. Everybody's got stuff like especially these days, there's a lot of heavy things out there and, um, again, I look back and I reflect a lot, um, and sometimes I'm just like how did? How did this happen? This is like journey, was this windy, windy road? Um, but I also don't think that I'm done yet to either, and that's really exciting for me, um, and for the first time in my life, I feel like I'm looking forward to the future. You know what I mean. So I am in a different place. I'm in a different place than I was a couple of years ago. Um, even before that, and you know, um, when I lived in New Jersey, I was a different person. Um, you know, I have kids now my mom.
Speaker 2:You know it's all like you take it with stride and when you take the opportunities and grow from them, then that's good. And you know, sometimes it doesn't always happen. So, but the yoga has really taught me to like dig in and to take time to reflect, because that's part of it. You know you can go and get into the grind of things every single day and of things every single day. And that's the easy thing.
Speaker 2:Like I say, if we're practicing, like when you slow down or you get into like pigeon or something, that's like really uncomfortable, like you're like this, like I don't normally sit like this or you know, but you sit down and you just come back to your breath and it's hard and it's easy when you're moving and you're fast and you're going, and it's just easy to be mechanical. But when you dig in and get into like postures or dig into journaling or dig into a meditation or anything like that, that's when the real work starts and that's when the good stuff happens. And that's like what Tulum was for me, you know, like getting away, you know going into this spot where I could once again be vulnerable again.
Speaker 1:How did you land on the spot that you went to? Because I saw it on Instagram. I was like oh man, kim, I want to talk to you about this experience you had there. So how'd you land on that exact resort? Is it the right way to call it a resort?
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah. So it's like a yoga kind of resort, so it specializes in yoga classes. So, again, it's a funny story because it's all the path that crossed you. So I, um, through yoga six, I became um friendly. So one of the things again that they offer is training for the teachers. So when we first opened up the studio, I, uh, we had what is called a master trainer. So when you go to a yoga studios, we called yoga six, because there's six signature classes there's a hot, a power sculpt, restore slow flow and a one-on-one, and all the teachers are taught to teach those types of classes. So what we do is they bring in someone to help teach my classes.
Speaker 2:So this young lady, montana Mitchell, came in, um, she's from Pittsburgh and she's a teacher out there for a South Hills um yoga six and she's one of the master trainers for yoga six. So she came out and taught my team and me because I teach at the studio and I just love her. Like she. I feel like she's like the 25 version of me, like I'm old now, right. So I look at her like, okay, she's cool and she does a lot of things that I can't because she's half my age, um, but, um, I just love her, she just has. I always say to her like um, she has little sprinkles, like she just has this magic about her. Like you, just, she's one of those people that you come into the room with her and you're like, oh my God, I love this girl. I don't even know her, um.
Speaker 2:So we connected really well and she was planning this retreat and, ironically, if we back up a little bit, um, I had done a yoga retreat in 2023 before I opened the studio um down in Costa Rica, and it was the first time I'd ever done one and I'd always wanted to do one, and I kind of, like, you know, put it together, it was good. It wasn't great, but it was good and I was looking to do another one. And this specific resort where Montana was having this retreat was called the Amsala Resort in Tulum, and it was one of the places I was looking for. And so I was on Instagram, as we all are from time to time, and I was looking at Montana's page and she had posted something that I think somebody had backed out of one of the rooms or something like that, and she was like, hey, I've got a bed opened up in a single room, like come do yoga and like that's the one thing about yoga, like you can literally pick up and wherever you land with a yoga mat, you have like instant friends, instant friends, like instant friends. So I'm like fuck it, I'm going to Tulum. And so I call her and I'm like hey, you got a spot for me. She's like of course I do.
Speaker 2:And then I was talking, and I was talking to Pej, my husband, and I'm like I want to go to Tulum. He's like well, I want. Like originally I was like oh, we'll check it out, we'll see. If we like it, maybe we'll do a retreat for you know, yoga six or with our studio. And it became it wasn't any of that as soon as you get off there. And I got into my practice, it was just about being in Tulum and being in yoga and meeting all these people. Like Pej and I were the only people from Boston, everybody else was from Pittsburgh. So we were there with like 32 strangers in Montana. But again, going into getting onto your mat, like um, it just like automatically, you just kind of like sink in and um, I know that we were talking about the um Temescal that I did while I was there, so like that's also really fun. So when you go away, one of the things that I love to do and I think most people would enjoy like really getting into the culture right.
Speaker 2:So I'm in Mexico so I've got to do, like you know, things that are really traditional. So the Temazcal is a sweat hut, so it's a traditional, like kind of Mexican tradition that the family kind of comes together and they celebrate. Or when they're praying together or coming together like um for the holidays, whatever it is, they, they um heat up this hot, this hot. So what you do is um, it's usually on Saturdays or Sunday nights, cause again, it's kind of like a, um, a special occasion, and they have um I forget the name and I don't want to butcher, but they have um somebody who's like the fire fireman and they heat these like lava, almost like volcanic rocks, all day long. So they're like hundreds and hundreds degrees and they're just out in like this wood burning stove, like in the middle of the jungle, for real yeah, yeah, so hold on.
Speaker 1:So this is not part of the resort.
Speaker 2:No, no, like this is just like, yeah, we like did this as like an excursion, like kind of off, yeah, did everybody do it? Not everybody, okay, not everybody. So I think there was probably about maybe like 12, 15 of us that went. Um, so you go and like you live, like that's the other thing with tulum, like it's in the middle of the jungle, like you have all these resorts, and then you cross the street and it's like a jungle and, uh, so we're walking down this little path and we see this, like you know, this little hut and this fire burning, and so the person comes out and you know you take time to, you know, thank your ancestors, you face the north and give a blessing the south, east and west, and then, um, you start to go into this hut, one at a time. So you go in and you go clockwise around the outside of the hut and inside the middle it's completely enclosed and inside the middle of it is a fire pit and it's empty when you first walk in. So you come in and you have, usually it's like they usually say, the abuela, the mother, the grandmother of the family, whoever's leading the prayer, comes in and they bring in the heat rocks, one at a time. So you come in at six at a time, so the fire man brings in one rock at a time and then they throw water on it and so it starts to steam up the little hut, and then Six Rocks in and they're like, and they throw this water and then they take a blanket and close off. So you're literally in pitch black, like you can't even see your hands in front of your face, and you're sitting there and it's hot as shit, what? And you just have to come back to your breath. And you just have to come back to your breath. And you just have to come back to knowing that you're in a safe space and that you're sitting in there. And, um, the person who's leading it is usually leading a prayer or chant or mantra of you know whatever it is that they're kind of talking about. And you go back to kind of like blessing your ancestors and getting into your breath and you have to start to control your breath because the heat and the humidity in the room is so strong.
Speaker 2:So after a certain period of time, um, you call for the porch out the door to open, the gate to open and they pull the blanket aside and some of the heat comes out, but then the fire guy comes back with six more rocks. So then you go into the, the second gate, which is six more rocks, and so now there's 12 rocks on in the Temescal, and so the heat's hotter, the steam is more, and they take full buckets. I mean, the buckets are like and you're dumping this entire water. There's water flying everywhere. They give you little herbs, so some of the herbs were it was chamomile, basil, rosemary and another one I can't remember. It was a local to Mexico and you can kind of like fan yourself but it doesn't really do anything.
Speaker 2:But I feel like when you're like how long is this taking? It takes two hours. You're there for two hours. So you're in there and you don't have any concept of time or of what's going on, because it's completely enclosed. You're in there and, like you don't have any concept of time or of what's going on, because it's completely enclosed, you're in complete darkness, um, and it just keeps getting hotter. So again, after the second door, they open the door, some of the cool air comes in, kind of gives you a moment of reprise, and then he comes back in with six more rocks and so now you're up to 18 stones on the fire, and they're just like you put one and it just closes the gate. And you're up to 18 stones on the fire and they're just like you put one, and it just closes the gate and you're back in. So what is it like?
Speaker 1:how do you? Okay, it's one thing, to find your breath and then get, get aligned. Yeah, get everything aligned, but two hours is still a long time it's a very long time. That's a long time to kind of like do you start to like, hallucinate or like?
Speaker 2:you get a little crazy, I mean.
Speaker 2:I mean, I feel like by the time I was done, I was like laying on the bottom of the floor because I'm like it's colder down there, um.
Speaker 2:But the other thing too, like for me, um, you're also sitting next to people, right, so you're in this like space, and I remember at one point I was breathing really heavy, like I felt like I couldn't catch my breath and I was like struggling, like I like it was breathing, and all of a sudden I just felt someone's arm, like the woman next to me, and she just put her hand on my shoulder and then you're right back in that community, like she's like I got you, like she doesn't even have to say anything. It's like the, the, the touch was just enough. Yeah, you know, um, she can't see you, she could just hear. Yeah, you know. And like everybody else's experiences was similar. Like you know, I mean, like I touched this, I could feel you breathing, I could, you know, and you kind of just come together, um, and you know, it's an experience, it's almost like avatar yeah, like it's an experience and like you don't realize how long you're in there.
Speaker 2:Um, if they would have told me I was gonna be in like 200 degrees steam for two hours, I've been like sorry. No, thank you, I'm tapped out, no way. But you know, it's about just going in and trusting the process, you know, trusting that you're gonna be okay, wow if you ever go back, we would want to like go yeah of course that's uh like I would want to like go yeah, of course, that's like.
Speaker 1:I would want to do that. Yeah, it's cool. I don't know that I could do twice. I would try. I promise you. I would try. I would definitely try. What is it like when you're in the dark and you're hearing the chants and the prayers and stuff?
Speaker 2:So it's kind of. The other thing too is we also got, in addition to the herbs, um, we had like little drums so, um, so drums like maracas, like. So you could almost like find like your own rhythm, like you're taking something and just kind of like tapping you know. So again, you're kind of coming into this rhythm of breath too, so you also hear all these sounds around you, so you can hear the drums of the other people in the room with you, the steam of the water. It's's just an all-encompassing experience. It's really hard to describe unless you're in there.
Speaker 1:But it sounds so cool.
Speaker 2:It's cleansing the day of. You can't drink, you've got to rehydrate all day long, no caffeine, you've got to prepare. If you go in there after hanging out on the beach at Tsumul, you're going to prepare. I mean, if you go in there like after like hanging out on the beach, it's the only mode that you're going to puke and have a miserable experience. But what time of day is it? It's at night. So it's always at night, usually on Saturdays or Sunday nights. Yeah, so it's like at the end of like. Once the sun goes down, the moon is at the like. Coming up is. Yeah, it's pretty cool, did you do you?
Speaker 2:feel different, but I couldn't even sit in a sauna, Like you know how they have saunas and things like that Can't do it.
Speaker 1:Can't sit in a sauna, but you can do hot yoga, though?
Speaker 2:Yeah, but hot yoga I can do. It's all about tapping into, you know, yeah.
Speaker 1:What was it like afterwards? Like after you came out of there, I was really hungry. What did you?
Speaker 2:eat. So that was the thing to do. We didn't eat until like 9 o'clock that night because it was late and we were there, but it's a very cleansing kind of process. You're tired, you're wiped out, you know what I mean. You're completely dehydrated. So all you want is water, food, hydration and a bed. But again, just even that cleansing process, how often do you really get to sweat out the toxins of your body? You know, like, where you really sweat them out For two hours. So I mean, that's the process of it too. Wow, yeah.
Speaker 1:What's it like the next day I?
Speaker 2:don't remember. I just remember feeling really good the whole week. I know that we did it pretty early on in the retreat. Like we got there on like a friday and it was saturday night that we had done it. So yeah, it was a start. It kind of set the tone for the whole time there too.
Speaker 1:So so what's? Um? So what about like, like, what's like a day like over there, like when you're at this kind of like retreat? So, like what? What time does the day start so?
Speaker 2:we, yeah. So on this specific retreat we did, uh, well again and one of the other things, too is complete was completely optional so, like we had morning walks on the beach, had breakfast together and then we did about two hours of yoga, so from about like nine, 30 to 1130, uh, we just practiced together, um, and then had lunch and then the afternoons we kind of did whatever we wanted and then, like, we did these experience, like these excursions, like the temescal, um, some of the people on the retreat did cold plunges. That was an offering there. Yeah, like, like, right on the beach they had these big things filled up with ice and, yeah, you can go right in them. See, that I can't do, I don't know. I like the heat, I don't like the cold wow so so hold on.
Speaker 1:so when you're, when you're practicing for like two hours in the morning, is it hot?
Speaker 2:Yes, Well, we're also outside, so, like all the shalas. So what you you practice in what's called a shala, which is usually just an open space, I mean for yoga, all you need is your mat and the floor, um, but most of them, when you're at a retreat, it will be outside. So, um, you know, it's a very sweaty, sandy experience, as well, Okay.
Speaker 1:So it's basically whatever the temperature is outside. You know, it's not like it's a controlled room that's hot. No, it's not a controlled room. Okay, Not in these ones. Now is it almost like a? Is it shaded? Yeah?
Speaker 2:It's shaded.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, and the sides are open almost.
Speaker 2:Yeah, the sides would be open so you could see out. I remember when we went to Costa Rica that was one of the funnest things I remember. Just literally the jungle is just off to the side. That's part of going and being part of the culture, and the experience of it is really what makes them super fun too.
Speaker 1:Do you know who Tom Green is? Remember, tom Green makes them super fun too, do you know, do you?
Speaker 2:know who tom green is. Remember tom green, I feel like was he a comedian like way back in the day? Yeah, yeah, yeah, mtv, yeah, yeah, so he's a name I haven't heard in a while so.
Speaker 1:So he's like he's, he's one of the originators of like podcasts and there's like there's there's um film and and stuff like that on the of Joe Rogan sitting with him. Joe Rogan looks a lot younger, and that kind of thing and they're hanging out. But the reason why so? I was listening to Tom Green on Joe Rogan a while back and I don't know that he was at a retreat, but he was in Costa Rica, nice, at a bonfire on the beach, huge bonfire, yeah, right. So apparently like he went back to his room, I guess, like went to sleep, took a nap or something, gets up at like two, three in the morning, decides that he's gonna go back out to the, to the beach, to the, to the bonfire. When he goes back out there it's not as large of a fire as he remembers, so he just starts walking out. And when he starts walking out, all they did was they covered the coals with sand, yeah.
Speaker 1:So he steps into oh my goodness the fire, into the like severely, severely, like injures himself you know, what I mean, Like the shock and everything before, kind of like he could feel exactly what was going on. Had to be like medevaced and everything.
Speaker 2:Oh my God, that's crazy.
Speaker 1:Yeah, kind of crazy. I don't know if you want this in the podcast. We can probably like edit this part out or whatever, but like I think of Costa Rica and I think about things like that, yeah, no, it's a little scary.
Speaker 2:You know, one of the things that I was freaked out about in Costa Rica, so one of the reasons, like you go to kind of like these remote locations Not that Tulum is also the remote location, but it can be. You know there's areas of it that can be. So we were in a space that was a little bit more off the beaten path. But you know, costa Rica has blue zones. So there's these places in the world that are called blue zones that have just special energy that, um, a lot of like people who are meditating or feel like they can kind of tap into that energy, and so costa rica is one of those places that have it. But, um, so that's kind of what drew me there. But when I got there, I was terrified walking anywhere, because I'm like, am I getting eaten by an alligator?
Speaker 1:They have alligators out there, yeah, they have alligators.
Speaker 2:I mean it's like you're still out in the middle of Costa Rica, You're in the jungle. It's kind of like you got to be careful too. Really, you know, like one of the cool I mean cool and not cool Like you're walking down the pass and there's little monkeys kind of like doing their thing above you and hanging out. Yeah, but it's fun.
Speaker 1:An alligator, alligator. I'm not a big fan of alligators. Alligator, get a hold of you.
Speaker 2:Yeah, no. Like some of the girls that were, I remember, in the country they went, like you know, um kayaking and like they're literally in these like mangroves with alligators. I'm like, yeah, alligators. I'm like, yeah, no, I'm good right here, good on the beach I'll just be over here.
Speaker 1:Yeah, like, instead of like deer crossings, like we have here in new jersey. It's like alligator crossings have you been back to those just?
Speaker 2:that was the first time I've been there. That was the first only time I went to costa rica. I would love to go back. So one of the things that, um, uh, I'm working on definitely is another retreat. So, um, tulum was beautiful and amazing, um, and I loved it, but I had just decided it wasn't a place that I wanted to do another retreat, I wanted to do something a little bit different, and so, actually, this is pretty exciting. I'm actually just signed, or I'm working on it. Right now we're going to be doing a retreat to Iceland.
Speaker 2:When I was in Tulum, I met this lady, catherine, and she's the one who kind of ran the retreat that Montana was running and that's what she does for a living. So she's a yoga teacher from Pittsburgh, um, and she's just kind of like she's been a teacher for a long time, but one of the things that she wanted to do with her practice was travel, travel and yoga, travel and yoga. So she kind of came up with this company called the retreat, um, and like I know that she's going to the Swiss Alps in like August of next year, and she was just great and we just kind of like you know. So it was like you know, I was picking her brain about things and she was able to hook me up with this woman up in iceland that she had done a retreat um with, and so, yeah, we're planning it right now. It's gonna be really cool. So do you have a?
Speaker 2:day or a month, so we're gonna do it um may of 2026, so it's gonna going to be over Memorial Day weekend, like that week. So May 23rd through the 30th, so it'll be seven days, so okay.
Speaker 1:So folks get things confused, right. So they think Iceland, they think it's ice and cold, but it's really like nice and plush.
Speaker 2:Yeah, exactly, it's supposed to be one of the most beautiful places in the world and for me up in Boston it's kind of a no brainer, like it's literally just it's pretty close for us to get up there and it's been really popular lately too, um, and it's just that contrast. So, like you, definitely, you know, you can go see a glacier one day and then hop in like a like volcanic, like hot stream and like soak there for hours in like 85 degree water. Wow, yeah, so it's gonna be really cool. But it's been getting back to the elements, getting back to um. That's another part of the retreats. It's about getting away, experiencing the culture, the food. You know, most of these retreats are either like very organic food or vegan food, things like that. Like, um, you're drinking water, like you know what I mean, like things like that, like so, um, it's all part of the experience what about?
Speaker 1:um, so, with the food right, so is that kind of like all inclusive or is it just like when you put something like that together? Yeah, is that something to consider yeah, no, so, yeah.
Speaker 2:So we definitely like, whatever the retreats we we do, or when I went on them, it's all inclusive. So you kind of go there and you've got the whole day planned, you know. So the food is inclusive, the yoga, you know things like that too, and then you can always add on extra stuff too we've been, we've been uh uh, mayor and I my wife and I.
Speaker 1:We've been talking about possibly getting you know like we're like. How many times are you know? We've done quite a bit of traveling. It's like we're going to go back to the same place or not, but she's really interested in kind of like I showed her your photos you guys got to come with us. It'd be great.
Speaker 2:I would love for you guys to come. It'd be so good. Yeah, yeah, it'd be so fun.
Speaker 2:And we're all about that Something new, something different, and the fact that it's surrounded around like wellness, like I'm all about that, yeah, and I think that like I don't know, and I guess I mean I haven't been on other wellness retreats so I can't really speak to them but what I love about it is that sense of community, like it's kind of baked into yoga, like that's the whole point is like going there, um, and not knowing it, I feel like I came home with 30 new friends you, you know what I mean.
Speaker 2:We're still on the WhatsApp trend. And they're like oh, we're going to this in Pittsburgh. I'm like damn it, I'm missing it. But it's fun, and even that I have Montana and Catherine coming into Boston to do a special class at my studio. They're coming in to come to a concert in the city and so we're incorporating a nice special class with them in. And it's nice to have people from different areas and um different experiences come and just like share their love of yoga too. So I'm looking forward to that too.
Speaker 1:It'd be cool if, if, um, in some kind of way, like in the, in the future, as you continue to grow this, if you could like do something with, like, the veteran community.
Speaker 1:I would love that, yeah, in your area Cause, I mean, so many people can benefit from you know, just, you don't have to get. You know, I was always under the impression that if you couldn't do this or you couldn't move, like this like is out of your reach. But clearly you start where you start, you know. So, um, there's, there's like veterans out there, man like, simply being able to, like find rhythmic breathing can do wonders for you.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:You know just that. And then of course, you add everything else. You have the stretching and the, the mindfulness, and it's. I could talk about it all day.
Speaker 2:I'm glad me too. Yeah, I can talk about it all day. I'm glad me too. Yeah, I could talk about it all day. No, I love it Just giving back to the community. I mean, with Yoga 6 in the studio, we're new and we're definitely trying to branch out, but some of the things that we do is like we do offer a yoga in the park class every Saturday mornings in the summer and it's just so nice Like there's like 200 people that show up and we're just outside, moving and breathing in the sunshine, just enjoying being outdoors and just with each other. For this upcoming year, I'm working with the Somerville Teen Recreation Center because I also think that's a really important demographic. Like kids have so much going on if they can find space where again, the same thing that I had just coming to your mat where you feel good and comfortable, like you know what I mean. So we're working with them. We're going to be doing some teen classes for them, just to kind of get them on the mat and things like that, so that'll be fun too.
Speaker 1:I love that man, yeah, and I love everything, like you could tell Kim, like you know, like that you're in a good space, like there's. Like I know there's lighting in this room. There's like a light coming off of you. Oh, you're so a good space, like there's, like I know there's lighting in this room. There's like a light coming off of you. Oh, you're so sweet. You know what I mean. Like I, I don't know you feel it. Do you feel like I? You?
Speaker 2:know what I I when I talk about yoga and I talk about the studio, I do feel a little radiant because it just feels good, I mean, and that's what it's doing. And when it comes back to like owning your own business and doing things, it's a grind like so don't get me wrong like I'm still there scrubbing the toilets and worrying about the heat and you know doing all those kinds of things. But the fact that I can go to my yoga studio and feel like I'm changing somebody's life, even if it's just for 60 minutes, it feels really good.
Speaker 2:It was really really good and that's what I love being about a teacher like. At the end of the day, I feel like I'm a teacher first and maybe, I hope that's what differentiates like my studio against like others in the area, because I mean, there's tons of different places where you can, you know, practice yoga or, work out or, you know, do anything. Um, so, like, what I truly like to do is be authentic and be who I am on the mat, off the mat, you know it's, it's whatever it is so, and sometimes that's good, sometimes not so good, but it's it's who you are, and the fact that you can create a space for people to allow themselves to show up any way they are. It's really fun and really cool man kim, that like that.
Speaker 1:I mean I don't have anything else to say after that. That was amazing. Like you, I I cannot wait for you to see this and look back on this, because there's a, like you said, there's a radiant coming off of you, there's a, there's an energy and I'm just super happy for you thank you so listen, we have people waiting on us, so let's get some food and hang out a little bit more, get some food, hang out and catch up some more.
Speaker 2:Thank you, kim, awesome, always good to see you.
Speaker 1:Thank you, you too, honey, bye stay sparked much spark in stride, don't forget about it. Kim fallon in the easy. You saw her here. I knew her when, oh please later.