Today we’d like to introduce you to Sara Turk.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Sara. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
Cherry Blossom Yoga was inspired by a desire for personal change. My sister (co-owner) and I are both scientists, and towards the end of grad school we set a future goal of opening a studio when we tired of the scientific life. My exhaustion came sooner than expected. I left grad school [in October 2009] and we opened the studio in March 2010.
While my sister continues her path as a physicist, I run the studio and teach full-time — incorporating my background in physiology and endocrinology into my teachings. I began my practice of yoga in 1997 and intermittent teaching in roughly 2005, so opening a studio seemed a natural evolution for me. Now, the efforts of my desire for a life change allow the opportunity for others to explore their own personal changes and evolution.
Our goal has always been to provide traditional yoga practices and build a community, so together we can heal ourselves physically and emotionally. We always wanted to offer a space that allowed the students to develop their yoga practice, as well as a space that feels as though you’re at home, safe and amongst family.
Over the last 7+ years we’ve developed a stronger Ashtanga yoga presence on the north side of Houston, as well as offering complementary practices such as Restorative and Yin. We continue to offer over 25 classes each week, ranging in difficulty from true beginner to advanced. We host world renowned teachers for special workshops throughout the year, as well as complementary services such as Thai Massage and Ayurvedic consultation. We also continue to build community through non-profit work/donation, partnering with local businesses, and offer non-yogic activities in the studio such as tea parties and game nights.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Most things in life are not always easy, there are challenges. I’ve certainly learned quite a bit along the way, and have found this journey extremely rewarding. The community of people at Cherry Blossom Yoga makes the difficult times more bearable and the joyful times more pleasant.
Cherry Blossom Yoga – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
We are a family-owned and operated yoga studio focusing on traditional Ashtanga and Ashtanga-inspired flow style yoga. We focus on smaller classes to inspire more personalized attention, as we strive to be mindful of the students and their needs as they grow and evolved in their yoga practice. Ashtanga was new to the area when we opened, so I’m grateful to see the growth and shared interest in a practice that has helped me tremendously in myriad facets of my life since 2004. However, I’m most proud of the overall community we’ve built, as well as the outreach we do to support not only our local community, but our national and global community.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
It’s difficult for me to pick out individual moments of pride. The natural milestones, of course… completing our first year, graduating my first group of teacher trainees, completing 7 years this past March, and the growth of not only the yoga community, but the Ashtanga community as well. Ashtanga was relatively unheard of in our area when we opened, so to share something I love so much with this community and see it take root certainly inspires pleasure and accomplishment. However, I would have to say that the moments which swell my heart the most are relatively uneventful to an observer outside of the teacher/student relationship (or outside of the student’s direct circle of loved ones) — the moment a student makes a connection in the practice to their life, the moment a student recognizes yoga is more than just asana, when a student dedicates themselves to a regular practice because they’re seeing more than the physical benefits, when a student tells me their spouse noticed a beneficial change to their sleeping patterns when they attend class regularly, and most recently a student commented to me that since they began practicing yoga at the beginning of this year it has surprisingly helped them in strengthening relationships in their life that were struggling to survive.
This student thought yoga would just help increase flexibility in body, thus assisting other physical activities, but realized how beneficial this practice can be in other realms of life.
Pricing:
- Drop In $12
- Buy 10 classes Get 1 Free $120
- 1 month unlimited $130 (auto-pay only)
Contact Info:
- Address: 16650 Champion Forest Dr.,
Spring, TX 77379 - Website: http://www.cherryblossomyoga.com
- Phone: 281-257-4245
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cherryblossomyoga/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cherryblossomyoga/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/OMcherryblossom
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/cherry-blossom-yoga-spring
- Other: https://cherryblossomyoga.wordpress.com
Image Credit:
Casablanca Productions
Randi Montgomery Photography
Getting in touch: VoyageHouston is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
