Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Abbe Ciulla. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Abbe, thanks for joining us today. What do you think Corporate America gets wrong in your industry? Any stories or anecdotes that illustrate why this matters?

When I first stepped into the world of yoga, I felt both captivated and confined.

Captivated by the power of community, movement, and the vibrant teachings of dharma—but confined by the corporate, cookie-cutter version of yoga that seemed to strip it of its soul.

I never felt at home in those kinds of yoga spaces. And if I didn’t, I knew others didn’t either.

So I set out to create something different.

Corporate America has taken something wild, spiritual, and deeply human and attempted to package it into a sterile, predictable wellness product.

Too often, yoga is stripped down to its most marketable elements—smooth branding, perfectly curated spaces, and classes that are designed to be safe, mild, and non-confrontational. The deeper, transformative layers of the practice—dharma, history, philosophy, mindfulness—are often watered down or removed altogether because they don’t fit neatly into a consumer-friendly model.

But yoga is not a one-size-fits-all experience.

I’ve had countless students walk into my studios after trying corporate yoga spaces and tell me, “I felt like I was going through the motions, but I wasn’t actually connecting to anything.” They were given scripted sequences, stripped of any meaning beyond the physical, and left without the soulful depth that makes yoga life-changing.

One student in particular stands out. She had been attending a chain studio for years, practicing the physical postures but feeling disconnected, stagnant, and uninspired. When she came to our studio, she realized what had been missing: color, context, intention, and the permission to explore yoga as a deeply personal, playful, and shared spiritual experience. She didn’t just refine her movements—she found a connection to herself and to a community that had been absent in her previous practice.

This is what corporate yoga gets wrong: it focuses so much on being palatable and commercial that it forgets what yoga is actually about—transformation and community.

At Troy City Yoga and Wonderland Yoga, we relish in the full experience of yoga. Our classes don’t just guide students through movement; they integrate history, dharma, philosophy, mindfulness and togetherness, creating a multi-dimensional experience that empowers students far beyond the mat. Our teachers aren’t here to follow a script—they are here to lead, inspire, and create classes that are as unique as they are.

And that’s why students keep coming back—not just for a workout, but for something real.
Yoga is meant to challenge, awaken, and transform—not just entertain. It is not a product to be consumed, but a path to be explored. And that’s what we do differently.

Abbe, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I never set out to open a yoga studio—let alone two. But looking back, it makes perfect sense that I did.

All my life, I’ve wanted one thing: to belong.

As a kid, I often felt like an outsider, searching for a space where I could fully be myself—where creativity, movement, and self-expression weren’t just tolerated but celebrated.

I never found it.

So I built it.

Troy City Yoga in Fall River and Wonderland Yoga in Providence were created for the misfits, the seekers, the creatives, and the endlessly curious—those who crave something deeper than just another workout. These studios are a response to the corporatization of yoga, where individuality is diluted, teachers follow scripts, and spaces feel sterile and uninspired. Too often, yoga’s transformative power is reduced to empty platitudes, stripping it of its depth and magic.

Here, we do things differently.

While corporate yoga has drifted away from the vibrant spiritual teachings of yoga, we relish in them. Our classes are full-spectrum experiences—weaving together movement, dharma, history, mindfulness, and philosophy in a way that honors yoga’s roots while making them deeply relevant and alive for modern practitioners. Our teachers don’t just guide students through postures; they create immersive journeys that challenge the body, expand the mind, and awaken a deeper sense of connection.

At my studios, yoga isn’t about fitting into a mold—it’s about breaking free from one.

From the moment you walk in, you feel the shift. The vibrant walls, plant life, overflowing bookshelves, and artwork create a space that sparks curiosity and ignites playfulness. It’s a place where stagnation dissolves and motivation is rekindled.
But beyond the space itself, we’ve redefined how yoga is taught. Instead of following a formula, each teacher designs their own unique class experience, ensuring their passion and personality shine through. When teachers are free to teach from their creativity, students feel that authenticity. That’s what builds real connection—the spark that turns students into a thriving community.

More than just a studio, we are a hub for transformation, learning, and self-discovery.

We offer a wide range of classes designed to awaken strength, deepen awareness, and challenge both body and mind—from fluid vinyasa and strength-based mobility to arm balance workshops and Inside Flow. Our teacher trainings, retreats, and advanced workshops provide opportunities for students to expand their movement vocabulary and refine their practice, whether they’re beginners or seasoned practitioners.

For many, yoga studios can feel intimidating or unwelcoming. We solve this by creating a space where everyone feels at home—regardless of background, body type, or experience level. Whether someone is stepping onto the mat for the first time or refining their practice after years, they feel seen, supported, and inspired to grow beyond what they thought was possible.

This is what I’m most proud of—not just the studios themselves, but the community we’ve built inside them.

Yoga has always been my passion, but my journey has never been confined to the mat. My academic background in design and philosophy at UMass shaped my creative approach, and my studies in Eastern philosophy, movement, and bodywork have allowed me to bring a deeply integrated, multidimensional experience to my teaching.

I’ve trained in Vinyasa, Fluidus, Budokon, Animal Flow, Free Wave Movement, Thai Bodywork, and Deep Tissue Bodywork, studying with renowned teachers all over the world.

But more than any certification or training, my greatest lessons have come from my students, fellow teachers and community.

Troy City Yoga and Wonderland Yoga are more than studios. They are homes—places where people walk in as strangers and leave as family. The greatest gift I’ve received isn’t just the friendships I’ve built within these walls, but watching others find their own strength, confidence, and sense of belonging here too.

If you’re looking for a studio where yoga isn’t just about movement, but about becoming the strongest, most empowered, most connected version of yourself—this is your place.

If you’re looking for a community that will lift you up, challenge you, inspire you, and hold space for you exactly as you are—your mat is waiting.

Because when we surround ourselves with the right people, in the right place, at the right time—we don’t just grow. We transform.

Have you ever had to pivot?

If my journey has taught me anything, it’s that every setback is an invitation to evolve.

In 2019, I opened my first yoga studio—a small, 600-square-foot space with a maximum capacity of 20 people. Truthfully, I didn’t think I could fill anything bigger. I lacked the confidence to dream beyond those walls. But just five months later, the pandemic hit, and we had to shut our doors for good.

I felt lost. There were mornings I couldn’t think of a single reason to get out of bed. I had poured my heart into that space, and suddenly, it was gone. But the thing is, when you’ve found your purpose—the thing that fuels your passion—you can’t just walk away from it. You find a way. You have to.

So, I pivoted.

I knew people still needed movement, community, and something to hold onto, even in isolation. So I built Summer School, a magical outdoor yoga shala filled with lush plants and dreamy ambiance where every student had their own 3×8 ft platform—offering the structure of a real studio while allowing for fresh air and safety. It was temporary, but it gave people a special place to feel connected in a time when connection was scarce.

Then winter came, and once again, we had to pivot.

Since lockdown was still in effect but people desperately needed something positive to focus on, I launched the Titan Yoga Courses—an in-depth training experience with weekly cohort meetups inside a massive music hall. The courses didn’t just keep people engaged—they leveled up their practice and created a tight-knit community that was unstoppable.

That momentum became the foundation for something much bigger.

When the time came to open a new studio, I didn’t hold back. I took every risk I was too afraid to take the first time. We went bigger, bolder, and unapologetically ourselves—because by then, we had a badass crew of dedicated students who had followed us through Summer School, Titan Courses, and the uncertainty of a pandemic.

And that’s how Troy City Yoga was born.

It was no longer about playing small—it was about creating something extraordinary. And when students started traveling from other cities just to practice with us, I knew it was time to expand our reach even further.

That’s when we ventured into Providence and opened Wonderland Yoga.

Every single pivot—every challenge, every forced reinvention—led me to something stronger, wilder, and more aligned than I ever could have imagined when I started with that tiny, 600-square-foot studio.

The lesson? Even when everything falls apart, if you’re truly living your purpose, you will find a way. You will create, you will adapt, and you will rise—because when something lights you up from the inside, you simply can’t walk away from it.

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

If there’s one thing I’ve learned through all of my pivots—closing my first studio, building an outdoor sanctuary, launching Titan Courses, and finally opening Troy City Yoga and Wonderland Yoga—it’s that community is everything.

I could have had the best sequences, the most innovative class structures, and the most beautifully designed studios, but without a strong, connected community, none of it would have mattered. It was the people—their support, their belief in this vision—that kept my dream alive through every challenge. Learning how to foster community and nurture fellowship didn’t just shape my business—it shaped every aspect of what I offer, how I lead, and even how the studios look and feel.

Two books that deeply influenced this philosophy are “Belong” by Radha Agrawal and “Find Your Why” by Simon Sinek.

In Belong, Agrawal breaks down what it truly means to build meaningful, lasting community—how the spaces we create determine who we attract, how people connect, and how we cultivate a sense of belonging. Her book made me rethink not just what I was offering, but how I was shaping environments that made people feel seen, supported, and inspired to return, again and again. I wasn’t just opening yoga studios; I was creating homes for transformation, where students would find friendships, encouragement, and shared purpose.

Simon Sinek’s Find Your Why pushed me to continuously ask myself: Why am I doing this? What is the deeper purpose behind every decision I make? I didn’t want to build just another yoga studio. I wanted to create something that people felt connected to on a soul level. Sinek’s philosophy helped me clarify that my “why” wasn’t just about yoga—it was about fostering connection, empowerment, and growth through movement, philosophy, and community.

These books solidified what I had already felt through my own journey—business is never just about the service you provide. It’s about the people you serve and the experience you cultivate for them.

That’s why everything at my studios—from the color on the walls to the way classes are designed—is intentional. It’s about attracting the right people, giving them a place where they feel at home, and creating an environment where they can grow into the best version of themselves.

At the end of the day, my studios exist because of the incredible community that has stood by me, pivot after pivot. And I’ve learned that when you build with people in mind first, success naturally follows.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.troycityyoga.com www.wonderlandyogastudio.com www.abbeciulla.com
• Instagram: @mightymover @troycityyoga @wonderlandyogastudio