Today we’d like to introduce you to Mona Luan.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
It all started with yoga.
In 2014, I disliked my job. I was in an unhealthy relationship, but couldn’t see it at the time. I had no confidence in my body, my skills, or my talents. Even though I’ve always been a dreamer, I had no idea how good life could be, nor did I believe that I deserved it.
I started practicing Ashtanga yoga a few days a week as a way of staying physically fit and to manage uncontrollable anger and rage always brewing inside me. After a few weeks of this practice, I had a moment of clarity: I had to become a yoga teacher. I didn’t care how much it made. I just knew, without a single ounce of doubt, that I had to follow this dream.
Deciding to follow that voice of intuition was the beginning of a new life. Yoga showed me how to become more peaceful and accepting. Walking this path attracted the right people and opportunities to help me heal, teach me lessons in how to trust and love, and bring me out of darkness.
I participated in yoga challenges on Instagram that helped develop my confidence in my body and my writing. In 2016, I completed a 200-hour yoga teacher training that completely transformed my life. I met women in that training that are still my best friends today. For the first time, I found myself in a room of people that I could divulge my deepest darkest secrets and release me from the pain and shame that I’ve carried through my life. I learned how to be vulnerable. I woke up to the realization that there were parts of my childhood that had never been addressed and were causing me tremendous amounts of pain. It was as if my leg was broken and I just kept walking around on it because I didn’t know any better.
I met a woman named Lelia Christine, who started as my business coach but very quickly became my life coach, as she asked me questions that I had never given time to think about. Who am I? What are my core values? What is my ideal life? Lelia was my biggest cheerleader. She helped me see my worth, guided me to listen to my intuition and trust in myself, and she empowered me to create a life that I am worthy of and the life that I desire.
I started going to therapy. I learned about boundaries, trauma, and codependency. I left that unhealthy relationship. I co-taught my very first workshop with Lelia. I participated in a course called The Freedom Tribe that helped me heal my past and awaken my inner child. I learned how to rest, explore, play, and to look at the world with child-like wonder and awe. I started making online yoga videos with a start-up app, Zenevate.
After years of healing, I decided that my intention for 2018 was to use my voice and SHINE. I went to Costa Rica on a retreat and dove even deeper into this spiritual path, healing more, and waking up to even more realizations about myself. I read my writing in front of a huge room of people for the first time. I had another moment of unshakable knowing and decided that now was the time to start hosting New Moon Women’s Circles.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
It has absolutely not been a smooth road. After my yoga teacher training ended, I thought I would jump right into becoming a full-time teacher. But life had other plans. I had to release so many unhealthy ways of thinking. At the time, my emotions controlled my life, especially anger. I had no idea what boundaries were. I let people walk all over me and I always overextended myself. I was constantly pouring from an empty cup. I had to grieve and accept how trauma affected me throughout my life. I had been squashing down all that pain and emotion for years. I didn’t realize it at the time, but I was struggling with anxiety, depression, and a shopping addiction. Those are still things that I struggle with today, but with awareness I can catch my thinking patterns much sooner and find a way back to centeredness.
My advice for anyone at any point of their journey:
Create a toolkit for wellness and write it down somewhere that is can be easily found when you need it the most. I suffer from seasonal affective disorder and in the winter, when I’m feeling down, I come to this list: yoga, meditation, journaling, oracle cards, talk to a friend, dance, move my body, write down what I’m grateful for, go into nature, see the lake, food prep and eat what feels best for my body, be in the sun, get lots of sleep.
Ask yourself: how do you want to feel? In every part of your life: body, environment, relationships, work, mentally, and spiritually. With every action you take, you can always ask yourself if it aligns with how you want to feel.
It’s okay to say no to people and things that don’t sit right with you. It’s impossible to please everyone all the time.
Fear will never go away. The goal is not to become void of fear, or fearless. It’s to courageously take action despite the fear.
Take time for quiet and to be alone. Listen to your heart’s whisper before it becomes a yell.
Action + Trust. We have free-will and can change our lives through action. But at a certain point, after we’ve done all that we can, we have to sit back and trust that changes will happen.
Yoga (and life) is 1% theory and 99% practice.
After all of this, we won’t get it right every time. Each challenge that shows up is an opportunity to practice and grow.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
I am a yoga teacher, a UX/UI designer, photographer, writer, and I host New Moon Women’s Circles. I have a 9-5 job that supports me financially and allows me space and freedom to do more of what I love. At work, I’m surrounded by inspiring, supportive, and uplifting people, so I still have the energy to create when I’m not in the office. I am a living example that you can have your cake and eat it too. I’ve always been guided by passion, so any time I lose my fire for life, I find it in another way.
In the summer, I teach yoga for Beach Yoga Chicago at Montrose Beach. The money from Beach Yoga funds Yoga Gardens, which is a not-for-profit community space on the west side of Chicago. It’s a safe haven for the kids in Lawndale to learn about peace, yoga, and have access to healthy, nutritious food.
During the school year, I teach yoga at SAIC, my alma mater. It’s heartwarming to teach yoga to students that are in the same place that I once was.
In addition to my 9-5 design job, I do freelance UX design for Zenevate, an app that allows people to practice yoga online with their favorite yoga instructors. Zenevate is based in Chicago and we are a start-up company that believes yoga can be for anyone, anytime, anywhere. It’s a way for students to find balance, happiness, and connection through yoga even when they’re not in the studio. I am also one of the instructors on the app so you can practice with me!
Once a month, around the New Moon, I host a women’s circle. It’s a gathering for women to speak openly, connect with each other, and be inspired. I started these because there are so many inspiring women in my life and I wanted a way to bring everyone together. I’ve experienced the power of sharing in a circle and how freeing and eye-opening it can be to hear other women’s stories, to recognize how similar we are and learn from our differences.
What sets me apart from others is that I am me. There is literally no one else that has had my exact combination of experiences and skills. There are plenty of other yoga teachers and creatives, but with each class I teach, each women’s circle that I lead, each design, photo, and piece of writing that I create, I bring my own unique flavor to those experiences. I do not have to reinvent the wheel with each thing I do (even though I sometimes still try), I just have to be myself.
Which women have inspired you in your life?
Lelia Christine has been the most life-changing, woman in my life. She has guided me to figure out who I am, helped me release what was no longer serving me, and gave me the tools to learn how to trust my intuition. Every day, she inspires me to look at things from a different perspective and empowers me to live my truth.
When I first started on this path, I was pretty addicted to Instagram, but it had a positive outcome. I followed a lot of celebrity yoga teachers and two, in particular, stood out to me because of their writing on this platform. Rachel Brathen and Kino MacGregor both shared vulnerably and authentically about their day to day experiences and what it was like to walk the path of yoga. Their words sparked so many realizations for me during that time when I was just starting to learn about myself.
I’m also inspired by my friend, Leigh Loftus. When she speaks, you can feel the passion and energy behind her words. It lights up a room and inspires me to go after my dreams. She’s been a mentor to me in both business and life.
Some of my best friends have inspired me to become more vulnerable and open, which in turn releases shame and creates freedom.
I’m also inspired by my mom. She has been through so much in her life but is strong, resilient, generous, and kind. She is always willing to help, has always put me first, and will go to any lengths for the people that she loves.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.monalovesyoga.com
- Email: hello@monaluan.com
- Instagram: @monalovesyoga
- Other: http://www.monaluan.com
Image Credit:
Leigh Loftus, Lelia Christine, Ashley Cova, Zenevate
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