Meet Alexis Comardo: Creator of Wild Hearts Yoga & Teacher

We had the good fortune of connecting with Alexis Comardo and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Alexis, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
I started Wild Hearts Yoga because I noticed an opportunity. As yogis, we work on cultivating mindfulness, awareness, and intentionality on our mats through our asana & meditation practices. I noticed that my personal application of this awareness was self-centered -not in a bad way, that’s where all of my self-awareness & growth happened – and I was ready to move beyond only application to self. I saw how cultivating consciousness and taking action as a collective could positively influence pockets of our community in Westminster and Broomfield. We are indeed stronger together. Additionally, I’m an outdoor enthusiast and love to spend time outside walking my dogs, hiking, camping and nordic skiing. I noticed the absence of mindfulness in these public open spaces quite regularly- trash on the trails, noise pollution from people hiking with speakers blasting, dog waste bags left around, amongst other things. It dawned on me that so many of us (myself included at the time) have been consumers of the beautiful places in this state and not contributors to it. I rarely saw a fellow – hiker, biker, walker, runner, fill in the blank – picking up the mess they noticed (if they even noticed it- cue the mindfulness piece). This inspired me to create a yoga company that took mindfulness off the mat and into the community. Finally, I was ready to work for myself. I wanted to orchestrate the entire ensemble- from building a schedule to hiring teachers and everything else in between. I also wanted to branch out and offer more unique class options than any of the studios I was working for or had worked for in the past. Wild Hearts Yoga offers a multitude of class options for curious, wild hearts including Powerful Flow, Vin/Yin, Yin, and ALL of the Buti Yoga class formats. In the spring, summer and fall, we host monthly Class & Clean Up to beautify our community & cultivate better habits for our environment. We also bring weekly yoga classes outside to a local park so we can feel the grass under our feet as we flow. 

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Since I was a very little girl, I’ve always been in artistic creation. Initially, the medium was music. I played the piano, the violin, and sang in choirs from elementary through high school. I applied to college with a focus on political science and took an art history seminar my first semester. I switched my major in the first week and eventually pursued a double major in art history and sociology. Creation & connection have always been deep interests of mine, and these areas of study helped me to see examples how I could make a living incorporating these into my work. Creation through movement, ironically, didn’t happen until later on in my life. Now, I often draw parallels in my classes between the body and other art forms. I love to speak to the body as a paintbrush, with the canvas being the yoga mat. The body can create beautiful shapes and those shapes are unique to each person. They are displayed on the backdrop of their space, their mat. Each practitioner’s form is unique and unparalleled. The arc of a yoga class itself can be compared to a piece of music with crescendos, decrescendos, rests and swells. I love making connections between different art forms to give students a better understanding of movement as creation. The original byline for Wild Hearts Yoga that I want the world to know is – Explore. Discover. Transform. I’m out to create a safe space – a loving community that transcends a physical location – for people to begin the journey of transformation. It starts with the exploration of mindsets, beliefs and even physical limitations and pushing those boundaries, gently each and every time we get together online or in person. Then comes discovery- the overcoming of a limiting belief or former physical limitation that opens up doors and possibilities. Finally, we get to transformation- the lasting factor that cements the discovery as a new definition of self. A complete shift in mindset, a new level of strength, upgraded habits and perspectives that improve the life of not only that individual but of the community and ultimately our planet. This is the awareness I want to foster in my community – ultimately it’s the influence of an individual’s change to transform their relationship with all living things and the planet.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I live in Westminster and typically spend most of my time supporting local businesses in my community. I would definitely take my best friend to a Wild Hearts Yoga class at RNA Dance studio in Broomfield. We would then go to grab acai bowls from Rush Bowls on 120th. For a caffeine boost, we’d snag lattes from IVibe in Westminster (bringing our own to-go cups of course!) and bring them on a walk through Westminster City Park so we could watch people fly their kites. Then we’d go to Scalzotto Italian Restaurant in Westminster for some amazing pasta and wine. This scenario would be pre-pandemic or post-vaccine of course!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
The name Wild Hearts Yoga was inspired by Brene Brown’s book Braving the Wilderness. In it, she says “The mark of a wild heart is living out the paradox of love in our lives. It’s the ability to be tough and tender, excited and scared, brave and afraid—all in the same moment. It’s showing up in our vulnerability and our courage, being both fierce and kind” and “Strong Back, Soft Front, Wild Heart”. Embracing the paradoxes in our lives is a message at the core of Wild Hearts Yoga- knowing that most things are gray, not black and white. Things are messy, growing, learning and changing is messy and we are all here to support each other through the process. Embracing this includes the paradox of being strong and soft at the same time as an opportunity to shine your individual light and embrace your authentic, unique self. Last year, I read Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer. It truly changed my perspective on the relationships we humans currently have with our planet. So many of us are gravely disconnected with our natural environment. The book shares about how Native Americans honor Mother Earth, and how they look to plants and animals as teachers. The message of reciprocity struck a particularly powerful chord with me – we rely on the Earth AND the Earth relies on us. A simple example – gardens rely on us for tending and we rely on gardens for food. We need plants- for nourishment, for protection, for medicine AND plants need us- to spread their seeds, to increase their production, etc. It’s a beautiful reminder of how we can return to what we innately know and coexist harmoniously with our natural environment yet at the same time it’s a despairing warning from about how we must change the way we see the land- not as commodity and separate from us but as a part of who we are. We have a responsibility to the Earth as it does to us. We must not only develop this awareness but also take action in our lives making better choices & cultivating better habits to sustain our planet.

Website: www.wildheartsyoga.com
Instagram: @wildheartsyogaco
Facebook: @Wild Hearts Yoga
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXgb39fcrIeRHumaGjdvODw

Image Credits
Melissa Markle Photography, Kelly Turner Photography