Today we’d like to introduce you to Lela Beem.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Lela. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I first found yoga when I was in high school and it helped me cope with back pain from scoliosis and viola playing, as well as stress and anxiety. I continued sporadically through college. In 2002, I met my first teacher, Tom Gillette, in Providence, RI. He was the first person to light the spark of yoga in my heart and mind.
I met my now-husband Nick around that same time and we embarked on a long trip to India, during which we studied, taught English, explored and learned about the history of yoga. When we returned in 2005, we landed in Evanston, where Nick had grown up. Even though we both had four-year degrees that could have led us into other professions, we came to the mutual decision to embark on yoga teacher training.
We completed our 200-hour training at the Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health in Lenox, MA. I’m so glad we did! Kripalu prepared me to work with all kinds of people and body types.
It was at one of my first studio jobs on the North Shore when the owner told me I might be a good fit for prenatal classes since I used so many props and tended to pace my sequences slowly. She mentored me as I developed a passion for offering yoga to prenatal and postpartum women. I also offer yoga classes for the general population and emphasize mindfulness, breathing and self-exploration rather than acrobatic feats.
My students are my constant inspiration because of their commitment to self-discovery. In 2010, Nick and I opened our own yoga studio in downtown Evanston. Along the way, we both gathered more advanced training in yoga therapy through Phoenix Rising and ParaYoga. This enables us to offer yoga for therapeutic populations and individuals looking for a more tailored experience.
In 2014, I co-founded the Amala School of Yoga with my business partner Cassie Rodgers. We offer an advanced pre/postnatal yoga teacher training, yoga retreats, and CE workshops in for women’s health professionals and yoga teachers in the South Loop, as well as in other locations in Chicagoland.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It was difficult in the early years to make a living teaching yoga. I spent many, many hours teaching to just a few people who would show up to class. Cold winter nights waiting to see who would drop-in. Walking away with just $25 for two hours of my time.
Once we opened our own studio and I stopped having to drive all over Cook County for my classes and private sessions, things became a lot simpler. However, then I was also a studio manager!
After my husband and I had kids, we had to re-evaluate our priorities around the business/household balance. I am not able to teach as much as I used to, so now I do more managerial tasks and we have hired more teachers. That has its challenges! It’s a trade-off to not have to teach quite so often but instead, rely on others to keep the studio thriving.
My yoga training school has had a lot of time to evolve. We are finishing up our fifth year and I just finally feel like our curriculum is where I want it to be. My business partner and I are both perfectionists, so we are constantly challenging each other to grow and expand!
Grateful Yoga of Evanston and Amala School of Yoga – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Our studio, Grateful Yoga, is an intimate, clean space in the heart of downtown Evanston. We stand out as being the sole studio in our community that has a teaching staff primarily composed of yoga therapists. Many of our classes are attended by individuals ranging in age from 20-75. We are non-competitive, not hot, focused on mental as well as physical wellness and we are just really welcoming to everyone! You will never come to our studio and be worried that we will ask you to put your leg behind your head. You can wear a t-shirt. You can use a chair or any of our other props.
I am so proud that we are an accessible space for so many to enjoy the multitude of benefits that yoga has to offer. We have a thriving community of pregnant and postpartum women, as well as specialty classes like Yoga for Osteoporosis or stress-relief groups that attracts a wider range of people. We’ve also been offering more continuing education workshops and trainings for yoga teachers, as well as attracting more internationally known teachers to lead events in our space.
We offer scholarships to those in financial need. As well, we pay our teachers close to twice the going rate of other studios because we value them, their expertise, commitment and level of training.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
My definition of success is based around a feeling of balance. Am I able to get the rest I need? Do I have time to cook my own food? Do I have the energy to keep up with my own yoga practice? Am I spending quality time with my husband and kids?
I feel successful when I can run my two companies but have these other things in equal measure. I particularly value being able to do yoga nidra in the middle of the day, no matter how busy things are. Thirty minutes of lying down in stillness under a blanket makes everything easier.
Pricing:
- $18/drop-in for a class
- $105/month to become a member of Grateful Yoga
Contact Info:
- Address: 1108 Davis Street, Evanston, IL 60201
- Website: www.gratefulyoga.com, www.amalaprenatalyoga.com
- Phone: 847-849-1810
- Email: lela@gratefulyoga.com
- Instagram: @amalaschoolofyoga
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gratefulyoga and https://www.facebook.com/amalaprenatalyoga/
- Twitter: @grateful_yoga @amalaprenatal
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/grateful-yoga-evanston?osq=grateful+yoga
Image Credit:
Cassie Rodgers
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