Meet Julie Turner | Yoga Instructor

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

Hi Julie, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?

Starting my own business was more of a necessary step forward rather than a “dream.” After moving from the Washington, DC area to Maryland in 2003, it was necessary to become an independent consultant to remain in my previous occupation (communications and marketing). Being an independent consultant made commuting and setting my own hours much easier for running my own business.

However, as a consultant I was the first to be let go when the recession began in late 2008.

After the recession set back, I was inspired to change careers and became a certified yoga teacher leaving the communications and marketing industry behind.

Yoga was something that I had been practicing for almost 20 years prior to 2008, and had brought me calmness and focus when I had needed it the most in the challenging year of 2008.

Having previously been an independent business owner made the transition to my new business, Chesapeake Yoga & Wellness, a natural step for moving forward in a new industry.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.

When I completed my teacher training in 2009, my (over) ambition led me to open a small yoga studio – rather than to seek to work for an established location that would hire a new teacher. While I enjoyed the thrill of running a business with 4 walls, I found myself also teaching private group classes, running day retreats and events outside of the studio just to pay the rent.

After six months of running the studio, I realized that teaching in other locations without the overhead of rental fees and other responsibilities, was a much better business model and decided to close the 4-walls model and turn Chesapeake Yoga and Wellness into a mobile studio giving me more flexibility in location, teaching schedule, students and types of classes that could be offered.

The biggest challenge of being a mobile studio is finding the right locations that could accommodate students appropriately – whether indoor or outdoor.

While I had committed students from previous studio classes, finding my niche of who and where to focus the mobile business was the next question for moving my business forward.

While I had my own strong, advanced practice, what I was seeing in my clientele was mainly women, 60+ who were looking for a practice that would be appropriate for their level. So, just by noticing who was showing up to my classes (billed as All Levels and Gentle) I read the room and taught to who was in front of me — not always the class I had written down.

These students became my teachers as I learned about challenges from surgeries, injuries, pains, etc., which also inspired me to grow my certifications in topics such as yoga for osteoporosis, arthritis, cancer, restorative techniques and even Ayurveda. Understanding more valuable benefits for different physical needs and health conditions could allow me to assist my clients in staying comfortable and confident in their yoga practice.

While I might not be the owner of a huge branded studio or travel the world teaching, my students know that I will guide them to practice in a safe atmosphere so they may continue to feel the physical and mental benefits that yoga brings.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
While I’m from Florida, I spend most of my time when I visit Colorado in Vail. As a skier, Vail is a dream – no need for a car, you can walk everywhere to restaurants, fitness facilities, shops as well as ski-in and ski-out hotels. Boulder is also a wonderful town with a lot of activities and a fun vibe as well.

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?
My inspiration for teaching not only came from my teachers, but especially my students. Each individual is unique and it is through each of them – their injuries, misalignments, struggles – and the list goes on – that my inspiration to be the best teacher I can be continues.

Website: https://www.chesapeakeyoga.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chesapeakeyogaandwellness/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChesapeakeYogaandWellness

Image Credits
All images were either taken by me or my husband Michael Turner.