Today we’d like to introduce you to Annavy N. and Bobby Phelan.
Annavy and Bobby, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
Bobby and I actually met in Yoga Teacher Training. We share a deep love and passion for yoga and fitness. Bobby at the time was a full-time yoga instructor at a local Houston Yoga Studio, where he taught for over six years. All together, Bobby and I have practiced yoga for over 15 years. They greatly complement each other, creating strength, flexibility, beauty, and grace.
When we first got together about the idea of a yoga studio in Houston, we quickly pushed it aside. It seemed too overwhelming and too overbearing. We knew we’d need to find funding, find a space, and do marketing, human resources, taxes, etc., basically by ourselves. So for about two years, we set aside that idea and kept living our normal lives, Bobby as a full-time yoga teacher and I, a co-owner at a Free-Standing Ambulatory Surgical Center.
It was until one night where I was actually fed up with my job. I felt as though I had been working to the bones and getting nowhere. Have you ever had that feeling with your job? You know the one I am talking about. The one where you work your tail off and you get no acknowledgment from your peers or co-workers, or seems as though the work you do does not change the world to be a better place nor does it make you happy doing it? That terrible feeling in my gut where I would wake up in the morning and DREAD coming to work came creeping in.
Bobby knew that from the frustration of work, he asked if this line of work was something I wanted to do for the rest of my life and will it fulfill me. I knew he was getting onto something. I finally took one final gut check and I knew he was right. I had to quit.
Bobby was also fighting this issue of being unhappy at work. He still loved teaching yoga, however, he was deeply unsatisfying with how the work environment and culture in his old company had shifted over the years. This is when the idea of Loveland Yoga Studio actually came into play. He wanted to better realize the fruits of his labor as a yoga teacher and so he took the plunge to open Loveland Yoga with me.
In short, we both quit our jobs, got married somewhere there in the middle, and started to open Loveland Yoga Studio.
We are still in the middle of taking a huge risk but we wouldn’t have it any other way. We came up with the name for Loveland Yoga Studio because of Bobby’s Grandfather. Every year, around February (Valentine’s Day) we fly up to Colorado and go snowboarding with Bobby’s grandfather at a small ski area named Loveland. It is a very precious time we share with the family and Loveland Colorado gives us a feeling of love, peace, and joy. We wanted to reflect these same feelings into a new clean yoga studio in Houston.
Our dream with Loveland Yoga Studio is to provide a clean, strong, happy, community-driven studio for those who what to practice yoga. We want everyone to feel welcomed and cared about, not just a number.
Has it been a smooth road?
Our road has been smooth as any other road in Houston, not terrible but still very bumpy. For starters, there’s no manual on how to ‘Open a Great Business’. No one is holding our hands and we mostly have to figure out it on our own.
Sure, lots of people will offer bits of advice, but all of them contradict each other. It’s quite strange. The initial struggle of finding a great location and setting a foundation in funding was a feat in itself. We spent months trying to find a great place to start our foundation strong. It wasn’t until we were just randomly driving to find a restaurant to eat did we stumble upon the location.
The other obstacle we are trying to overcome is finding the fine line between work and life balance. We find ourselves working at odd hours of the day, every day, no days off. At first, when we first came up with the idea no one really took us seriously, some people even laughed at the idea. While it was nearly impossible to find help in the initial state, once we get further down the road people start to take you more seriously. Now we have more offers of help than we know what to do with. While this is a good problem to have the challenge comes from having to sort out who genuinely cares and wants to offer real help vs. people who want to make a quick buck off of you. All in all, a better problem to have than being totally lost. Our biggest challenge comes from the enormous amount of decisions you have to make. As inherently shy, people we second guess every decision we make and question if it’s good enough or not. We are learning to trust our gut decision with confidence. It has been the toughest yet most important lesson of all.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Loveland Yoga Studio – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
Loveland Yoga Studio is a locally owned and operated Houston based yoga studio. Our vision for the studio is to create a space to share our passions with genuine heart, so our students feel cared about, appreciated, and are treated like real people, instead of just a number.
We specialize in Vinyasa Flow, Hatha, Inversions, Meditation, and Stretch yoga. It’s hard to say what we specialize in because every yoga teacher’s personality brings something unique to the business. Bobby is known for teaching a more calming class while I am the more comical, upbeat one. Together we bring a sense of Yin and Yang to yoga, providing variety to all yogis of Houston.
The yoga community is what we are most proud of, collectively. If it was not for the yogis of Houston, we would not understand nor appreciate the love and commitment the yoga community in Houston has to yoga. I am also personally proud of my husband, Bobby. I have seen him grow in these past three years into someone wise, intelligent, strong, brave, and confident. He amazes me every day with his tactical way of thinking. For him, I am most proud and thankful for.
Strange as it may sound, I believe what makes us unique is that we are two ordinary people, who just happened to enjoy practicing yoga. We look around the city and see a lot of high energy, highly inspiring yoga teachers and yoga studios, and we think that’s amazing. However, we are just your average Janes and Joes just trying to find our way through life and finding peace with ourselves trying to live happy, healthy, strong, flexible lives.
We have no doubt that teaching yoga is our path in life, and we are fully committed to following that path, no matter where it takes us. I look forward to seeing yogis in class and getting to know their story as well. Every day brings a new practice and every season brings a new lesson. We are a small studio with a lot of heart, grit, and appreciation. We hope you enjoy and love the space just as much as we love it.
Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
I may be a little bias since I was born and raised here but Houston is by far the best city to live, play, and work in. Why I love this city so incredibly much is the people. The people of Houston are smart, humble, wise, with a quaint southern charm.
If you’re hungry and need something to eat, Houston will share. If you’re lost and alone, Houston will invite you in with arms wide open. If we are in a flood, we will pull together and be #HoustonStrong. The culture of Houston is unique in the sense that it embraces all cultures and all walks of life.
The spirit of Houston is not one to take lightly. We are full of life and love. The diversity of people in Houston shows how Houston has this unspoken acceptance of everyone, no matter who you are, what age or race, or sex. It’s quite amazing how beautiful Houston’s people are.
The only negative about Houston that I will say is the roads. Why Houston? Can we get some better roads, please? Hah.
Pricing:
- Single Drop In – $15
- 10 Class Pack (No Expiration) – $140
- 2 Weeks Unlimited (Without AutoPay) – $60
- Monthly Unlimited (Without AutoPay) – $110
- Monthly Unlimited (With AutoPay) – $110
- Yearly Unlimited Membership – $960
Contact Info:
- Address: 1717 W. 34th St. #1100 Houston, TX 77018
- Website: www.lovelandyoga.com
- Phone: 281.901.1771
- Email: Heart@LovelandYoga.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lovelandyoga/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lovelandyoga
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/loveland-yoga-studio-houston
Image Credit:
DJ Brooks, Bobby Phelan, Annavy Phelan, Christiane Coste, Kevin Burkart
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