We were lucky to catch up with Janice Pratt recently and have shared our conversation below.

Janice, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?

Both of my businesses have been a journey born from my passion for helping children by providing the tools they need to become their best selves. What feels like years ago in 2005, I moved to Colorado and worked in Manitou Springs at the public library. I had been attending yoga classes for a while by this time and found a lovely studio in Manitou and went 2 or 3 times a week. Here, the teacher Joy, really focused on the meat of yoga. Each class delved into some element of the philosophy so when she mentioned that they were doing a teacher training that would dive even deeper into this topic I was all in. This first training was the initial step into yoga learning. From this moment forward, I have delved into yoga for pain management, yoga therapy, prenatal yoga, yoga for children, yoga for disabilities, chair yoga, and a few more.

All of this background and self-discovery led to the creation of Omtastic Yoga- specific yoga programs for children, in addition to training for adults who want to teach yoga to children, the development of a yoga curriculum that helps provide tools for yoga programs in schools, and eventually to my “Amaleigha” book series.

Children have been an anchor in my life and I have worked with them in many different capacities. My first job at the age of 14 was teaching tumbling to preschool kids. Since then I have worked in schools, in libraries, in yoga studios, and with my own kids always striving to provide opportunities that help them to step into their power as human beings. Today more than ever children need tools that empower them to make brave choices. The world is growing and changing and children face these challenges just like adults do but often lack the tools that they need to navigate these situations in healthy ways.

I hope that the books I write, and the yoga I teach support kids- that they can connect with themselves and others and realize that they are an important part of the world.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Omtastic Yoga started as a yoga studio just for kids and families in the Colorado Springs area. We offered weekly classes that were fun and engaging teaching about the breath, the connection to the body, and how to manage strong emotions in healthy ways. My partner, Robin Birranger and I loved to be creative in planning games and activities for all age groups that engaged children in constructive ways and provided opportunities to connect with each other.

From this beginning, Omtastic Yoga joined with Lenora Degen and created Healthy Me which had a focus on providing yoga programs to schools. We have offered after-school yoga programs to several school districts in the Colorado Springs area in addition to special events at nature centers and community centers.

Now, Omtastic Yoga also offers training for adults who would like to teach yoga to children. We encourage teachers, homeschool parents, and preschool staff to join us at one of our trainings and learn how to play yoga!

From this love of yoga and children, I am also writing a series of books that bring the strength and power of children to light. It is my hope that through these books children come up with their own ideas of how they can change the world in positive ways. This month the 3rd book in the services will be released on August 22nd- “Amaleigha Makes a New Friend”. This book highlights some of the struggles of families living in Ukraine and offers ways that Amaliegha could make a difference for her new friend. Check it out on Amazon and know that a portion of the profits will go to support Ukrainian families.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Our round as a company has been a journey of change. While I beleive strongly that what Omtastic Yoga and my books provide is a great benefit to parents and students, that has not been the case in the financial market.

Our first studio was open for a year at its first location and we were struggling. Not enough students and not enough income to keep the location open. What should we do? We just couldn’t bear to close the doors so we looked for a new in-person location in an up-and-coming area. We repainted, redecorated, and opened our doors at this new location.

And guess what…… too few students and too many bills. After 3 years of struggle, we had to face the fact that a permanent location maybe wasn’t the answer.

But we still believed in our mission.

So our next model was to travel. We offered classes at other studios, in after-school programs, and at other venues and this seemed to be the model that worked! Here we were able to reach children in their spaces instead of them coming to us! Today we still offer many of these programs through the non-profit “Peaceful Warriors” .

I feel that in any business you need to be creative and at the same time find the right market for your services. Flexibility and intenutiy are key to success!

Any thoughts, advice, or strategies you can share for fostering brand loyalty?

For us, loyalty comes from results. We try to provide opportunities for children and parents to learn life-long tools that will support them their whole lives.

One story that made my life is this: I was teaching yoga at a local elementary school and seeing classes every couple of days for yoga. The classes were big and I often wondered after a group left whether I’d made a difference or not.

On this particular day, the first-grade class across the hall from my room was in an uproar. And the teacher was struggling to get control. I heard redirection after redirection throughout the day and still, the noise level was off the charts.

The final bell rang, the kids charged out of the building and I cleaned up and was heading out the door when the teacher across the hall flagged me down.

” I just have to tell you this story”, she said. “I am sure you heard all the commotion today. With field day coming up the excitement was over the top. I raised my voice more than once today just to get their attention. Well, it was time to clean up and I once again was raising my voice when sweet little Suzie came up to me and said “Ms. Smith, I think you just need to take 3 deep breaths and you’ll feel a whole lot better”. Can you believe it? I think you are really making a difference with the yoga you are teaching!”

I left school that day knowing that I was making a difference. And that is what counts.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.omtastic-yoga.com and www.janpratt.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/janprattauthor and https://www.facebook.com/OmtasticYogaStudio/