Today we’d like to introduce you to Chelsea Ellisor.
Hi Chelsea, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I started taking yoga classes at a gym as a form of a workout, and it didn’t take long for me to understand that there is a lot more to yoga! After having three kids in three years, yoga became a way for me to have some personal time and find presence and community. When the COVID lockdown happened, I had a 5 year old, 4 year old, and 2.5 year old, and yoga became something we all started doing together…we could be silly, we could move our bodies, and we could have little contests on who could do certain poses. It was such a fun time!
Fast forward, and after many years of continuing to practice yoga, I decided to take my personal practice further by enrolling in a 200 hr teacher training certification course. Quickly into this course, I realized I had to share what I was learning with my community. Because that is the thing about yoga, it’s not just the asanas (physical movement), it also is about the pranayamas (breathwork), yamas (ethical principles), niyamas (how we care for ourselves), and more! And as a busy mom of three kids, this became a beautiful way for me to find calmness, gratitude, self-compassion, in the middle of very busy days.
So JOYFULL YOGA began as a way to teach and bring mindfulness, movement, and breath to our community. We live in an incredibly fast-paced world (which is FUN!), but we have to find the balance and tools to slow life down in order to create the healthiest and happiest “us” we can be.
Currently, I hold yoga events around Cypress, kid-friendly classes when school is out, pop-up workshops, and I help sports teams with breathwork and stretching before practices.
I have written a mindfulness and yoga workbook for youth and teens that is currently being edited and published by Indigo River Publishing and will launch in the spring! I can’t wait to introduce this to our youth!
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Definite struggles! It is hard to take an idea and introduce it to your friends and family and hope for it to be successful. Creating events that you think are meaningful and awesome and feeling insecure about “will people sign up?” I’ve even held events or classes and no one signs up…and doubt creeps in. But you have to keep going, knowing that helping just one person is the goal of this mindfulness and yoga movement.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I think JOYFULL YOGA is very unique because I try and make each class or event more than just a yoga workout. We start with breathwork, we often create affirmations or intentions, of course we do yoga, but we also notice the breeze on our skin, the warmth from the sun, and the way we feel when we are on our mats. The goal is to take the peace and joy we feel and take it off the mat and out into the world. I am known for making my own herbal tea when the weather is cooler and serving tea at each student’s mat during Savasana (the final resting pose of class) – it’s a really nice touch and everyone seems to enjoy the community we have at the end of class while we sip our tea.
Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?
I would say not to be afraid to dive into your industry and make all the connections you can. I attend yoga classes at many different yoga studios to meet other teachers, learn from them, and enjoy my own personal practice. Doubt or imposter syndrome may occur, but there’s a reason that you are doing what you are doing…so keep going! You never know where it will take you.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.joyfullyoga-cypress.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joyfull_yoga_cypress?utm_source=qr
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@joyfullyoga?si=v_OHHX8CHqvdOfIc
