Today we’d like to introduce you to Kelly Merydith.
Kelly, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I started practicing yoga in High School at the Tennis and Fitness Centre and at Oak Park Yoga. In college, I practice yoga at Akal Yoga in the board of trade building where I had to do 2 internships a year apart at a financial trading company. The job was really stressful and gave me bad anxiety. Yoga helped me relax and de-stress, and also helped me realize that I didn’t want to spend my life doing something I didn’t like.
I realized I wanted to open a yoga studio in my hometown after practicing yoga at Back Bay Yoga in Boston. The studio had great teachers, a cool atmosphere, and had a lot of classes on the schedule. I felt as though Oak Park could use the same kind of studio. The idea came into my head and I couldn’t give up on it. A year later I was opening Ahimsa Yoga Studio in Oak Park. My dad, Chuck Merydith, fell in yoga shortly after and went to Los Angeles to get certified. He’s now a manager and loves teaching Beginners Yoga. A few years later my childhood friend, Masin Ouksel, wanted to leave his engineering job at People’s Gas to open another Ahimsa with me. We opened the first yoga studio in Berwyn in September of 2015. Less than a year later we acquired Blissed Out Yoga in Elmhurst on June 1, 2016, and in June of this year we will have a 4th Ahimsa Yoga Studio in La Grange, IL.
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?
The road has not been smooth. In the beginning, I taught most of the classes on the schedule to save money. Since I started on such a small budget, our business didn’t look as good as other businesses. We didn’t have great signage or marketing materials. Since I had no clue what I was doing, everything is still a work in progress and is constantly improving.
The people are the best part of this business. It’s rare that someone comes out of a yoga class feeling bad or disappointed. The teachers at Ahimsa and people who work at the desk are incredibly kind. The yoga world is full of nice people who are working on themselves and working on being the best versions of themselves. One of the things I learned from opening a business is to treat everyone with kindness. You can’t treat people like robots or computers.
Right now, juggling all of the parts of the business is the hardest part. There’s so much to do and so many ways I want the business to improve, it’s hard to do it all with my team.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Ahimsa Yoga Studio – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
We’re a yoga studio focused on alignment and the more traditional aspects of yoga – meditation, pranayama, and philosophy. We have a variety of yoga classes – vinyasa flow, hatha, restorative, yin, beginners, and more. We have yoga kids classes, teen classes, and specialty workshops.
I’m most proud of our inclusivity. When you come to Ahimsa, you don’t feel out of place. You’re greeted warmly and treated as though you matter. Our teachers care about their students and their well-being. Management listens to students and teachers and make changes based on what’s best for them.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
We’re opening another location June 1, 2017 in La Grange, IL. We’re hosting our 2nd yoga teacher training this August 2017-Feb 2018. If a community has a need for Ahimsa and we feel we’re ready, we will open more locations, but for now we are focused on supporting our communities by providing excellent yoga classes.
We are going to begin hosting Community Events at our locations very soon. We want to host events like a mindful movie night, ecstatic dance night, concerts, or other events to provide a chance for our community to connect and do something fun and healthy on the weekends.
Pricing:
- 1st Month Unlimited $49 (plus 15% off retail)
- Monthly Unlimited $108 (plus 15% off retail and member discounts on events)
- Membership LITE (5 classes/month, 15% off retail, member discounts on events)
- 10 Class Package $140
- Single Class $18
Contact Info:
- Address: 441 South Blvd., Oak Park
3120 S. Oak Park Ave., Berwyn
381 N. York St., Elmhurst
14 W. Burlington, La Grange - Website: www.ahimsayogastudios.com
- Phone: 207 805 7837
- Email: ahimsadesk@gmail.com
- Instagram: ahimsayogastudio
- Facebook: facebook.com/ahimsaoakpark
- Twitter: ahimsaoakpark
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/ahimsa-yoga-studio-oak-park
Image Credit:
Justin Breaux
Jennifer Quezada
Getting in touch: VoyageChicago 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.
