Back in 2013, my mom and I opened Breathe Yoga Atlanta with one very simple intention: to share the gift of yoga with others. Years before, I had watched yoga become such a crucial part of my mom’s healing journey through cancer. I want to be really clear that I’m not saying yoga healed her. She did all the traditional things. But what we witnessed was that living in a calmer body, reducing stress, and creating space through breath and movement mattered deeply. By the time we opened the studio together, she was five years clear of cancer and we both wanted to share that gift with others. Science continues to affirm what we already knew: a body that isn’t drowning in stress is a body where healthy cells want to thrive.
So we opened the doors to share that.
Over time, something started to shift in me. The more I studied anatomy, kinesiology, and human movement, the more I realized that yoga, while absolutely essential, is not the complete picture of a healthy movement diet. A truly balanced movement diet needs recovery. It needs cardiovascular work. It needs strength training. And I knew my members needed all of it.
So I did what felt like the responsible thing at the time. I made yoga classes harder. I added core strength formats. I pushed in ways that weren’t always true to what yoga is actually meant to be, because I felt an obligation to the people trusting me to guide their wellness journey. And honestly? I don’t regret that season. It came from love.
But when John and I were finally able to bring everything together under one roof at MOVE+breathe, something clicked into place for me.
Now our Core, Burn, and MOVE strength classes are specifically designed to do the things a gym is supposed to do: build strength, increase bone density, improve VO2 max, add load. Science is clear on this. You are not going to increase bone density in a yoga class. It’s not a criticism of yoga. It’s just the truth of what yoga is and isn’t designed to do.
And that means yoga gets to be what yoga was always intended to be.
Movement so you can create stillness. Connection with your body. Connection with your mind. A place to slow down in a world that desperately needs more of that. The word yoga literally means union. It means connection. And that is what I want to protect and honor every single time I step on that mat with you.
I know some of you have noticed that my classes feel different than they used to. Some of you have even said it out loud to me. I hear you, and I want you to know: you’re right. They have changed. Not because I stopped caring, but because I care more deeply than ever about bringing yoga back to its true purpose and giving your body everything it actually needs, not just one piece of it.
When you walk through the doors at MOVE+breathe and I say “welcome to my dream come true,” I mean it from the very bottom of my heart. This place, and the way it’s designed, is the most honest expression of everything I believe about movement, health, and the human body.
Thank you for being part of this journey with me. Some of you have been here since the very beginning, and I don’t take that lightly for even one second.
