Today we’d like to introduce you to Wade Gotwals.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
Growing up in a family that moved around a lot gave me a real sense of wanderlust at an early age. I tried the traditional college experience for 2 years, but I didn’t feel like I knew myself well enough to pick a career path that I would be able stick with. Instead, I packed 2 bags and went out to explore the world and myself in the process. I thought it would be a year off and it turned into 15! As I was traveling, I was studying different languages and trying new alternative healing methods and I really resonated with Thai Massage. This became my main focus, along with body work, teaching English lessons and advertising gigs, which were also helping me fund my travels. Over those years abroad, I was always drawn back to Southeast Asia — there was something about the culture and Eastern philosophy that intrigued me. During this time, I was developing a steady yoga practice and really liked the way I felt while practicing but I wasn’t hooked until I took a class that really resonated with me. Somehow the teacher’s humor and depth of spiritual teachings kept me fully engaged and fully present which was such a gift for my busy mind! I kept coming back to yoga because I noticed that as I was practicing more, I was learning more about who I really was. This was about the time I became really interested in my spiritual path.
I wanted to reexamine my belief systems and what I thought my purpose was. Of course, only when you are ready is when the great teachers come along to help guide the way. I was able to study one on one with a really gifted Thai Massage master and his intuitive nature pointed me in the direction of yoga and teaching. He had a real strong sense that it was a piece of the puzzle that was missing for me and that, along with Thai Massage and my other practices, it was going to be the right fit for me. He was right and circumstances led me to teaching my first yoga class before I was even looking or entertaining the idea. As I studied with more gifted teachers, I noticed that yoga was becoming a major part of my life and wasn’t just a hobby anymore. In 2001, I started teaching regularly before there was a “yoga scene” or yoga teacher trainings were a common thing. Fast forward 18 years, I’ve been fortunate enough to combine a lot of my passions in life to fulfill part of what feels like my purpose: sharing the teachings of yoga, my adventure travels and healing through touch in a way that feels like it’s bringing people together to experience deeper connection. Now I am traveling 1/3 of the year and still keep my roots in Chicago 2/3 of the year where I feel grounded and a strong sense of community. If I’m in town, you can find me cycling on an old Schwinn, at a yoga studio, park or playing beach volleyball.
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?
I would love to say it’s been a smooth road but that wouldn’t be true! I think in hindsight, the bumps and potholes along the way are what really help shape your character.
I think one of the biggest challenges for me was coming back to the US and seeing yoga develop into a business, as it went against all the things I was studying. When I initially taught yoga overseas, it was in exchange for something, i.e. a place to stay at an eco-village or as a barter and someone gifted me something in return. It was a very utopian concept. For thousands of years this system of donation was common place in the yoga world but in modern times this system just doesn’t work. We need to put food on the table, have a roof over our heads, pay for our own health insurance and fund our own retirements. Finding a way to honor the essence of yoga and meld with the modern expression of it is always a juggling act. People see the yoga business exploding and think it must be very lucrative. If you are going into it with those expectations as a teacher, keep your day job! One of the biggest challenges is doing what you love but supporting yourself at the same time. Along the same lines, another challenge in general has been to watch the commercialism of yoga happen and still try to flow with these changes without losing the message of yoga – to unite us with the deepest essence of self.
Because yoga teachers work for themselves, there tends to be a lack of a support system for teachers. Most teachers are paving their own way through the trial and error system. This, mixed with the competitive nature of being in a field that is very saturated, creates a feeling of competition. The competition creates a space where there is a sense of having a lack of opportunity and that’s when people starting putting others down, becoming envious or downright ruthless. Things can get ugly even in this supposed yogic sacred space. I, like all teachers I know, have their share of stories, run-ins and bruises from the experiences. I’ve learned the hard way that fighting back usually makes things worse and adds fuel to the fear of not having enough. On the other hand, creating the opposite experience and collaborating with other teachers to share the challenges so we can support each other in our community has been a winning approach for all involved.
Other struggles? A body that does too much yoga and doesn’t want to cooperate with the needs of the job sometimes!
Please tell us about Wade Yoga.
I have been teaching for about 18 years now and the path keeps expanding and evolving. I have a regular schedule of teaching classes in Chicago at Nature Yoga and Equinox and this community feels like home.
I lead workshops and yoga teacher trainings in the Chicago area, throughout the US and overseas, and love sharing new ideas, concepts and collaborating with other studios and teachers. I’m guiding groups on adventure yoga retreats 2 or 3 times a year. Lately, I’ve been working on some new challenges: yoga videos and mentorship programs.
I guess people would say one of my specialties is creating an inclusive space where people can feel comfortable to be themselves and let the walls down. Some of the specific aspects of the class, workshop or retreat experience that make it special would be the creative sequencing, Thai Massage, chanting and allowing your inner goofball self to shine through.
I think what I’m most proud of is trying to show through example that we can positively affect our communities through whatever work we choose to do. For me, it’s doing business ethically, creating an inclusive space for people to connect, hosting charitable events to give back and mentoring and uplifting others. I feel we all have the opportunity to do this and even though it doesn’t feel like an accomplishment in the traditional sense, it just feels right and I’m proud of that.
I’m not really sure what sets me apart – I guess that would be a good question for others to answer!
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
Waiting for my father to get home from work and my brothers’ and I hiding in ambush. He would come home expecting the attack, followed by my mother yelling for us to take it outside, where we would wrestle with my Dad on the front lawn for about an hour or so it seemed. Each of us assuming a WWF wrestler persona, it must have been really amusing for the neighbors.
Pricing:
- Private sessions start at $120
- Classes at Studios start at $17
- Yoga Retreats start at $1200
Contact Info:
- Website: www.wadeyoga.com
- Email: wade@wadeyoga.com
- Instagram: wadeyoga
- Facebook: wadegotwals and wadeyoga
- Twitter: wadeyoga
Image Credit:
Scott Shigley, Miriam Gaeta, Yoga Anytime
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.
