We had the good fortune of connecting with Wendy Smith and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Wendy, is there something that you feel is most responsible for your success?
When I look back over the “success” of individual offerings as well as our overall brand, I’ve found three things to be integral to our success:

1. Authenticity. When we develop programs, events, and classes that reflect our values and who we are as a community, they always hit. When they come from a place of trying to do what others in the industry are doing or just trying to be profitable, they aren’t in alignment and it’s obvious. It’s essential to stay in line with who we are and to create experiences for our students from the heart. Part of this understanding that we won’t be for everyone and being ok with that.

2. Staying grounded in the practice. I own a yoga studio and so when I let my own practice go, or don’t stay connected to the greater yoga community, I don’t have enough in the tank to share my energy with others. It’s essential for me to have daily movement, breath work and spiritual study. I think if you’re a teacher, you’re never done learning. So I surround myself with people who know more than me and never assume that I can’t learn something about yoga from everyone – even new yogis. I offer our teachers free classes, do book studies with them, offer trainings and workshops, and we all take class from each other so that we stay curious, fresh, and connected to the community and our own individual yoga practices.

3. Meet our students where they’re at. I’ve been practicing yoga myself for over 25 years. I’ve been teaching for 21 years, but the studio has only been open for 4.5. We are the only yoga/boutique fitness studio in our small town, and about 80% of our students are beginners. So, only a handful of them are interested in more physically advanced practices or deeper spiritual practices. For the most part, our most popular offerings are beginner or all level classes, so we have to keep those fresh. We listen to everyone who comes through our doors and find a practice that suits their current needs. And we realize that some people will never walk through our doors, so we offer valuable online education and social medial content that will support a home practice for the yoga curious.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
When I was a kid, I always played teacher or dance teacher. I wanted to be a dance teacher and a news anchor when I grew up. (lol)

As I got older, I became very interested in nutrition and went to college to become a dietician. I quickly found that chemistry was not my favorite subject and wondered if I had made the right choice. I bounced around between majors from education to journalism and ultimately decided that I wanted to write for health magazines and eventually write books. I had always been told by teachers that I was an good writer, and I spent my small college budget on health and fitness magazines every month. So it seemed like a good fit.

Our college added a “gender and women’s studies” minor when I was a junior and I took some of those classes because they fit my schedule. I quickly became interested in women’s issues and began seeing how my two great interests at the time (women’s issues and health and wellness) were so deeply intertwined. At that age, I struggled with body image issues myself, and understanding the history of women’s beauty standards fascinated me. I began seeking out more holistic and positive texts and environments and wondered what wellness actually looked like in terms of taking care of the body for vitality rather than aesthetics.

My senior year, I interned at a fitness and wellness spa in Southern California called The Oaks at Ojai. While there, I taught classes, led hikes and did some writing/marketing for the company. I also wrote my senior paper on women and body image. I interviewed many of the guests (men and women) for the paper and began to understand how women had been socialized in terms of body image. I saw their association of movement and healthy habits only to their physical appearance and worth and so they resented the ideas of nutrition and exercise. Movement to me was always about feeling alive and for the first time, I saw the need for bringing joy and pleasure into movement practices. I guess ever since then, I’ve been teaching movement, health and wellness in some capacity – and pointing people back to the feelings of embodiment and a regulated nervous system as the goal of their movement practice.

I’ve taught yoga ever since that internship and have also taught dance, tumbling, Pilates, kids’ running programs, and have worked in public health and as a doula and lactation counselor. I currently lead our 200 hour yoga teacher trainings and retreats, as well. I never imagined being an entrepreneur, but I truly love the opportunity to create spaces and experiences to bring people into better connection with their minds and bodies. I started writing that book this year too.

Ever curious, in the last year I also took courses in astrology and Thai yoga massage and I’m currently enrolled in a somatic healing training.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Oh! Fun!

We would definitely go for a morning hike. My favorite spots are in neighboring Pike county. Then we would grab a coffee of matcha at Elm City, and take a yoga class at Jax. We’d stroll around shopping at all of the cute downtown shops (definitely hitting Green Haven, Rad and Thrift, and Our TownBook Store). We would treat ourselves to a massage with Chanel at Jax and then after a shower, hit The Little Stove for an appetizer and drink (n/a De Soi for me) and then head to Proud Richards for dinner.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I would like to shout out the Jax Yoga Community and our incredible staff! Our community shows up for themselves, and for each other, and our staff is committed to bringing healing, knowledge and empowerment every day. They are the real magic makers.

Website: www.jaxyogasquad.com

Instagram: @jaxyogastudio

Linkedin: Wendy-smith-60963b1b7

Facebook: Jax yoga

Other: We will have an online learning platform up and running in August – check back for that if this runs after that!

Image Credits
All image credits go to my photographer, Erin Brown.

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutAtlanta is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.