We recently connected with Rosa Santana and have shared our conversation below.

Rosa, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. How’s you first get into your field – what was your first job in this field?

I fell into my career by accident. I was a gym buff, and taking aerobics classes at my local gym. One day, the aerobics teacher was in a car accident and didn’t show up. The gym owner invited us to take a yoga class instead. I was the only one who went to try it. Instantly I became a regular in the weekly class.

After a few months, once day the yoga teacher didn’t show up. We later learned one of her parents had passed away. Since I had been subbing aerobics classes, the students looked at me and asked me to teach the class. I told them that I was not a yoga teacher, and aerobics was different. They convinced me.

I was nervous because I knew that I didn’t know what I was doing. So I basically copied what I could remember from my teacher’s classes. The students loved the class so much they convinced the gym owner to add another class with me teaching it. And that’s how my yoga career was born….. by accident.

Rosa, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My name is Rosa Santana, and my mission in life is to make people uncomfortable. I help guide my students to be the healthiest version of themselves through the practice of Iyengar Yoga. Iyengar Yoga has improved my life by helping me understand why I had back and neck pain, in order to eradicate it.

I share my experience of hope, strength, and concentration after numerous health difficulties, including long covid. My gift is to be able to design a yoga program for anyone who is suffering. As a mother of three, my compassionate nature wants to help alleviate pain and suffering in this world. I do it once person at a time.

In 1995, I began sharing yoga with others, and in 2001 I opened the hub of Iyengar Yoga in the Miami area. Yogarosa became an internationally recognized center for learning classical yoga, and where many teachers were trained, and became certified. Some opened up studios of their own, which help me to be able to spread the light of yoga exponentially.

Yogarosa went online due to its closure due to covid, and has been continuing to serve its students, which was a bonus for our international students. We now offer Live-streamed, On Demand classes, as well as specialty workshops. Yoga Retreats and vacations will resume when it’s safe to travel again.

Rosa continues to teach privately, and mentors teachers and aspiring teachers to help in her mission of helping humanity find peace of mind.

How’d you meet your business partner?

I met my business partner at a condo where I was teaching yoga. She was scheduled to have surgery for a herniated disc in less than a month. Once of her neighbors told her to take my class because I was experienced in helping people with back issues.

She came to my class and was very scared to injure herself. By the end of the class, she was pain free. She cancelled her surgery, and became a dedicated practitioner, and never looked back.

We became friends, and I ended up moving my business into a center we built together. It ended up not working out, and I moved back on my own. But at least she was touched and left with the light of yoga.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

Slowly, over the years, we became well known for being a leader in the world of yoga in South Florida. We cultivated an impeccable reputation by showing up and being honest.

Yogarosa had over 20 weekly classes, and I hired the best and most responsible teachers in the area. Our schedule was consistent. Our teachers showed up on time, (except once when a teacher got stuck behind a broken train)— and she called another teacher to cover.

As teachers, we continue to learn and hone our skills. We know we don’t know everything. But what we know, we know it very well. We know how to adapt postures for various physical conditions, as we know yoga is not one size fits all. We understand bodies. And we understand and study yoga. Not just the physical aspects of yoga, or asana, but also the purpose of yoga for the mind and for spiritual evolution.

We never really advertised much, as we grew from word of mouth. Our students told their friends, and we all became one big family. Since our inception our studio was inclusive. Our bathrooms have always been open to anyone who needs to go.
We have always been open to meeting new people with different ideas. And we all came together in yoga.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.yogarosa.com
• Instagram: @yogarosa
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rosalsantana1/
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/yogarosa
• Twitter: @yogarosa
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/Yogarosa/videos
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/yogarosa-hallandale-beach?osq=yogarosa