Today we’d like to introduce you to Cindy Masri.
Cindy, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I had a complete couch potato lifestyle growing up, spending my time mostly reading, or watching TV. I never participated in any sports or activities. During my first year of college, I was looking for a part-time job and started working in the smoothie bar of the local big gym in Sugar Land: Lifetime Fitness. I worked here for over two years, and during that time, I always made the smoothies for the yoga teachers after they were done teaching their classes. Something about them seemed different than the other athletes or employees at the gym, they had a certain vibe and inner glow almost at all times. I started to socialize with them and they really encouraged me to try one of their yoga classes, after all I had a completely free membership to the gym because I was an employee. I took them up on their offer eventually and tried my first yoga class. It was a lot more difficult than I had imagined, I thought yoga would not be such a workout!
Over time, I participated in more classes, filling up my free time with learning the breath, poses and structure of the different types of yoga. About three years into that journey, the coordinator of the yoga program at Lifetime Fitness told me about a Yoga Teacher Training Certification that they were hosting that year, and encouraged me to think about it. I thought about it so so so hard: did I want to be a yoga teacher? I felt like I did not have the self-confidence or knowledge level to put myself out there and teach people yoga, especially to beginners just as I had been not long before. Finally after a lot of back and forth, I decided to dive into the unknown and begin the journey. It was a great few months during the certification, 200 hours of learning the background and history of yoga, and how to make it accessible to all body types and advancement levels. After becoming certified, I applied to start teaching at Lifetime so that I could start teaching as soon as possible and use my new learned skills.
Flash forward two years and it’s been such a blast playing the role of the teacher in the studio. Teaching yoga has helped me develop a lot of self-confidence and self-awareness, as well as skills of empathy and light-heartedness. To say that becoming a yoga teacher has changed my life would be such an understatement!
Has it been a smooth road?
The main struggle for me has been balancing the yoga teacher life with my other job: Technology and Design. I work a corporate job 9-5 M-F, and it has been a little difficult figuring out how to split my time between both roles and lifestyles. After work at the office most days I leave at 5:00 and rush to the studio to start my evening class. While I don’t think of it as a task or a chore, it is a process of getting my mind and intentions ready to switch gears.
We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
I am a yoga teacher in the Sugar Land community, teaching both at a big gym and a small boutique studio. I love to provide flows and stretches accessible to many body types and lifestyles, from athletes to the elderly. I use my design skills from my technology job to brand myself and with yoga photography for my Instagram page @yogawithcindy. It is really fun to use my design skills to turn the topic of yoga into something tangible and aesthetically pleasing, with flyers, social media posts, and photography/videography. I also help other studios in the area by designing their flyers and announcements for their Instagram pages or websites.
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
Houston is a great place for fitness and wellness. There is a large audience for health and wellness in the city as well as the suburbs like Sugar Land. Especially when the marketing style is unique and artistic, I think that there is plenty of opportunity for positive attention and participation.
If someone was just starting out in the yoga studio or fitness studio market niche in Houston, I would suggest making a very inclusive space for not only exercising, but socializing, and learning. Make it a community space where people feel welcome and would want to spend their time there.
Contact Info:
- Email: cmasri95@gmail.com
- Instagram: @yogawithcindy
- Facebook: @yogawithcindym
Image Credit:
Joshue Espinoza, Daniel Chee
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