Today we’d like to introduce you to Kimberly Wilson
Hi Kimberly, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Have you ever realized that what you’ve spent your life creating no longer fits? Like a pair of too tight leggings that you keep tugging at to try to make them more tolerable.
At the “wise” age of 26 (25 years ago), I hung fliers about yoga around my neighborhood and invited strangers into my living room in Washington, DC. This launched my entrepreneurial journey in 1999! Since then I’ve created:
* feminine yoga studios filled with chandeliers, a nourishing practice, and a loving community
* global retreats and offerings with a nurturing, luxe vibe
* lifestyle books and a blog on finding tranquility in the every day
* a podcast, Tranquility du Jour, featuring authors, artists and activists that I admire
* a cozy and chic eco-fashion line, TDJ, that transitions from day to night
* a non-profit focused on pigs and pugs, Pigs & Pugs Project
* a boutique psychotherapy space with soothing colors, faux fur accents, tea, and aromatherapy.
For 18 years I built and ran two yoga studios, Tranquil Space, that were named among the top 25 yoga studios in the world by Travel & Leisure. I thought I had the whole mind-body-spirit thing figured out until I finally admitted to myself that I couldn’t do it anymore. That’s a tough realization, especially when it affects a large team, commercial leases, and an identity.
However, I was broken and exhausted from years of juggling all the things. I also lost loved ones which forced me to reevaluate what was most important and had to navigate an aging, injured body that demanded a slower pace.
After an arduous path to selling the yoga studios, I transitioned to a quieter life as a psychotherapist in private practice and kept the other creative projects listed above which aligned with my brand, Tranquility du Jour.
Since turning 50 last year, I’ve been doing even more reflection—as one does in midlife—and I paused my longtime podcast and clothing line plus stopped leading global retreats. I wanted be more present for our senior rescue pugs, my ballet practice, my writing, and, well, myself.
Currently I’m working on a book about the beauty (and challenges) of midlife, writing a Substack called Midlife Musings, collaborating with my psychotherapy and coaching clients, and hosting online Tranquility du Jour offerings such as a yearlong Coterie.
I view life as a circuitous journey of self-expression, building connections, and, ideally, making a difference in the lives of all beings. May we leave the world a little brighter through our contributions while also listening deep within to identify what IS working!
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It definitely hasn’t been a smooth road. It’s been enjoyable, filled with lessons and deep connections, lots of laughs and plenty of tears!
For years I managed a large team, taught weekly yoga classes, and hosted workshops and retreats while navigating my introvert and HSP (highly sensitive person) personality. I can be “on,” but it takes a lot of effort and I end up quite depleted if I’m not balancing it with down time. It’s a delicate dance that I’ve gotten better at with age.
Also, coming to terms with the need to let my studio/identity go was incredibly painful and took years to unravel. The book Transitions by William Bridges was a huge help, so was privately sharing with a small, but mighty kind and understanding support system. We all need to feel seen.
There’s always more projects that I want to do than I have time for and now energy is also a dominant factor in what I’m willing or able to take on.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
After making a few shifts to simplify over the past six months, my days are mostly filled with practicing ballet (working on a solo to La Vie en Rose which makes me swoon), collaborating with clients, cuddling up at home with my partner and pug, and creating for Tranquility du Jour through Substack and digital offerings.
Online I specialize in working with midlife women seeking more beauty and balance in their days. In my work as a psychotherapist, I help professional women in their 20s-50s feel seen, deepen self-understanding, and develop coping skills for navigating life’s many ups and downs. It’s an honor to do this work and I’m grateful every day for my clients.
I’m most proud of building a special yoga community that I was able to transition out of when it no longer felt in alignment. I often hear how “there’s no other place like it” and “I wish I could bottle it up”—Tranquil Space was a home for many stressed out Washingtonians and I think we all still feel the void (the new owners closed all their studios in 2020).
I love hosting special events virtually and in person for women to come together and connect over tea and macarons while reflecting, learning tranquility tools, and playing in their journals with ephemera (paper bits).
I think one thing that sets me apart from others is my longevity and consistency (I’ve been at this entrepreneurial thing for a long time!) and the way I show up—pink branding, feminine, encouraging, nurturing. For example, my motto is “live pink, wear noir” which means approaching life with an open heart, kindness, and a sense of adventure while maintaining a polished, chic appearance and carrying oneself with grace and poise.
I’m obsessed with Paris—the ambiance, style, pace, art—and visit at least twice each year to refill my cup. Although I used to lead retreats there, I now save the experience for myself and have hosted online mini retreats from there recently.
Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
Luck has played a big role in my life and business. From finding yoga and creating a lifestyle around it before it hit mainstream, to starting a podcast when I used to have to tell people “it’s like a radio show on the internet” because most people hadn’t heard of podcasts, to writing a yoga lifestyle book, Hip Tranquil Chick, before yoga books were everywhere, to falling in love with ballet before #balletcore became a trend—somehow I’ve been a few steps ahead of certain trends. That’s the good luck!
The heaviest piece of bad luck came when I took on my first business debt to renovate a 4,000 square foot, 3-level yoga space which cost 50% more than estimated. We moved into the stunning studio in May 2008 and we all know what happened a few months later. Somehow we got through it and paid off the debt in the required time, but that was a big hit. Now, I also see it as good luck because I wouldn’t have gotten that loan after the recession, so it was possibly my only chance to access that type of funding.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.kimberlywilson.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tranquilitydujour
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/tranquilitydujour
Image Credits
All images are by Marie Maroun except the Paris one (in front of pink building) by Teresa Ho.