We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Estelle Mccluskie a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Estelle , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Risk taking is something we’re really interested in and we’d love to hear the story of a risk you’ve taken.

As the creator of Bikram Yoga Liverpool 13 years ago my story has evolved and so has my studio.

I transformed the studio over the years to offer lots of different yogas and eventually fitness, which then became Liverpool Yoga Studios.

I moved to Spain 7 years ago to work on my children’s yoga movement – YogaBears. Within that time I had my 3rd child, Lennon, and Covid hit, but thankfully after covid, my Estelle LYS Lifestyle brand of online classes and mentorship was thriving.

However, my studio at home had taken a hit – studio costs were going up and members were not rising as they should, as I could not be there, and was just not the brand or the teachers who could pull the numbers in as we needed to sustain the business.

My husband and I manifested a business partner and then 2 months later Luke from leading fitness brand ShredFast took a class from one of our amazing teachers Danielle – he loved the studio and the class!

Within one month Luke took a chance on us and after just 4 months we brought Luke on board as a business partner, to create our wellness Heall well-being, a thriving studio in the heart of Liverpool, which also hosts retreats in Spain.

By trusting the guidance of my gut and knowing my Liverpool business needed change, it is now thriving and helping so many more people than ever before with the amazing ShredFast and Yoga.

I took a leap of faith with my beliefs and aligned my business with the most amazing energy that is ShredFast.

Estelle , 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 was a mummy of two and not really looking to set up a Buisiness, but when I took a Bikram Yoga class after many years of practising yoga, my husband and myself saw an amazing opportunity to open one in Liverpool.

I had already dreamed up my concept of YogaBears – a yoga and mindfulness programme for kids, so this was the perfect opportunity to launch both 🚀

What has really set me a part on my business is I have stayed authentically me. I am not a typical yogi, mum or business woman, but I am
the absolute best version of myself! And I think by being so authentic, I attract more opportunities and students, many of which have become teachers following my YogaBears teacher training.

My oldest children are now 13 and 14 and I am most proud of them and how they have thrived throughout my business, growing up in the beautiful wellness community my husband and I created Mikey and Jas and have both thrived.

Mikey is a boxer and Jas is a dancer and their energy and attitude is amazing. My youngest son Lennon is not only inspired and motivated by me but his older siblings too.

Okay – so how did you figure out the manufacturing part? Did you have prior experience?

I started off with a studio, now I run wellness retreats and YogaBears teacher trainings.

My YogaBears use the ancient philosophy of the chakras and demonstrate them to children through super powers, each chakra has its own YogaBear and children (and their families) absolutely adore them.

I had no idea how to manufacture my teddy bears 🧸 but somehow found a way by asking other people in manufacturing how they went about it……..the best way to learn is to be inquisitive.

I sell my YogaBears through my teacher trainings as well as online and at yoga shows and festivals, there has been lots of interest recently from toy venders, which is very exciting.

Since lockdown, more and more people are aware of how about yoga and mindfulness is for children and their mental health so YogaBears is the perfect plush toy to demonstrate to children.

My aim is to eventually have the YogaBears made from totally recycled material so they are the ultimate high vibe toy; although they have been made at high safety standards, I think everything we do can be improved.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

At 29 years old I was a business owner. Becoming a buissiness owner seemed to happen overnight with the opportunity of opening a Bikram studio. My journey to becoming a boss however has been a lot more elongated and intense.

In fact becoming a goddess boss has been both soul destroying and soul enlightening, all at the same time. How could a little old me be a CEO?

How could a mum of 3 live the entrepreneur life?

How could someone who suffered from self-doubt believe in their dreams… I will tell you how! With my chakra super power tool kit

The chakras have superfuelled my business, let me explain what the chakras are.

Since I heard the word chakra, something resonated within me, it was like my soul was remembering the imprint of the chakras on my soul. I heard about chakras in a yoga class and immediately wanted to find out more. The more I researched the chakras, the more I loved them.

Once my chakra journey had started, it soon become apparent to me that children need to know sooner rather than later about the magical superpowers we all hold within.

With children the super power magic to them is second nature and the more I worked with my YogaBears and saw how chakra super power lit the children up, the more convinced I was about the power of the chakras.

The longer I taught the chakras, the more embodied I became within them, thus the more I lived them and allowed them to cross over to my goddess Boss life!

YogaBears has now become international, hosting Teacher Trainings outside the UK in Ireland, Spain, Romania and throughout Europe. The business is expanding and you are excited to bring it to America soon also. That’s the power of are innate super powers, anything is possible when you align your energy with your goals and never stop believing.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://mylyslife.com/health/how-i-became-a-goddess-boss/
• Instagram: @estellelyslife

Image Credits
Helen boast photography Kate hill styling