We were lucky to catch up with Isabella and Laura of Heart N Soul Yoga Studio recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Isabella and Laura thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – walk us through the story?

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

Heart N Soul Yoga Studio is a bespoke and intimate yoga studio in Fairfax, VA. Our physical space is very colorful, a true sanctuary from the hustle and bustle of daily life. We feature small group classes, teacher training, and lots of individual attention. Our students are very devoted to their yoga practices. Our lead Yoga Instructor Isabella (ERYT-200, YACEP, Certified Rocket & Ashtanga Yoga Instructor) has been teaching yoga since 2003.

We have been serving the Northern Virginia Yoga Community since 2004. Our vibrant and colorful yoga shala (“hOMe” for yogis) can also be accessed via Livestream — where you can take a class from us anywhere in the world! In addition to daily classes, we also offer Yoga Alliance-certified continuing education workshops, sound healing, belly dancing workshops, monthly Satsang, pop-up classes, and international yoga retreats (we have one featuring World-Renown Ashtanga Yoga Teacher John Scott in the Dominican Republic from April 20-25, 2023!).

Heart N Soul Yoga believes that it’s never too late to start a yoga practice. Many people come to us to say that they are too ________ (fill in the blank: old, out of shape, overweight, not flexible, etc.) to do yoga. Our mission here is to move BEYOND LIMITATIONS and rediscover the Self of who you truly are. Once you recognize the power within, you can do just about anything! Body positivity is also a core belief in our studio and we teach an accessible, adaptive yoga practice to students from all walks of life. Modifications are always possible!

The students are our Shala range from 7 – 80 years of age. Consistent yoga practice is key and our students have experienced both physical growth and mental release through this life-changing journey, The practice gives us the clarity and energy to face all of life’s challenges. Your practice might begin on a yoga mat but undoubtedly will ripple into every other aspect of your life. This journey prepares you for “the battlefield of the Mind”, where we are faced with circumstances that we cannot control and our reactions to those situations will be a true Testament to our yoga practice.

Our deepest intention is to bring Realization into the lives of passionate yoga practitioners (from all walks of life), who are excited about their practice and devoted to nurturing their minds, body, and spirit. We offer a unique wellness experience based on Ashtanga Style Yoga — a dynamic and athletic form of Hatha yoga that is made up of 6 series, with a set sequence of asanas. This practice is rooted in Vinyasa (the flowing movements between postures), with a focus on energy, gaze (Drishti), and breath. We encourage our students not to take themselves seriously and to have fun with the practice — to go with the flow and be grateful for every movement, every breath.

With this practice, we also teach Vinyasa, Rocket, Mysore Style, and Restorative styles of yoga — and host a Saturday donation-based Community Yoga Class. All of our teachers are certified by Yoga Alliance (RYT-200), have studied Anatomy + Body Mechanics in-depth, and are trained to give hands-on adjustments to our students.

We’ve had many ups and downs during the past two decades of running a Studio, yet many highlights as well. Here are some of our recent favorites:

– Reopening after the lockdowns and celebrating our 3 year anniversary in our current space (June 2023) – Raising over $1500 for Covid Relief in India through Pop-Up Yoga classes – Hosting world-renown Ashtanga teacher Laruga Glasser for a Zoom Workshop – Graduating our first Yoga Alliance Certified 200 Hr. Yoga Teacher Training C0-Hort in August 2021 – Completing the 1 Year Vedic Chanting Course – Śrī Rudrapraśnaḥ – with our teacher Shantala Sriramaiah (Veda Studies) – Completing our Spiritual Pilgrimage to India in 2022 and studying with our Ashtanga teachers, John & Julia Scott

and finally…

– Hosting our Yoga Teacher John Scott in the Dominican Republic for a Transcendental Ashtanga Yoga Retreat in April 2023!

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

Thanks to our favorite CRM software Arketa.co and Flodesk, we are able to send automatic emails to our clients, reminding them of their class reservations and any updates to their accounts,

We send a weekly email with the latest on studio classes, workshops, and events — so that our members are kept up-to-date on the latest happenings. Our favorite social media platform is Instagram, and we love using Reels and Stories to give our clients a “behind the scenes” look into our studio, and classes and give our fabulous, hard-working yoga students a shoutout!

And finally, we would like to share this quote with our readers about the beauty of a consistent yoga practice:

We’d love to hear about you met your business partner.

Laura (Co-Founder/Isabella’s Business Partner) had been practicing yoga for almost a decade before she met Isabella. First as her yoga teacher and now as business partners, travel buddies (and best friends), the Dynamic Duo is full of creative ideas and endless adventures!

Laura had recently attended an Ashtanga Workshop with Saraswati Jois (the daughter of Sri K. Pattabhi Jois) and was looking for an Ashtanga Shala. She walked into Isabella’s Led Primary class and instantly knew that this was the path for her.

Through a series of life changes and as a way to improve her mental health, Laura found our studio’s Mysore Program and started committing herself to a regular yoga practice under the guidance of her teacher, Isabella Gutfreund. The journey has been life-changing and improved her overall quality of life. She studied Sanskrit and got certified as a yoga teacher during the pandemic. When not in front of her Macbook Air, Laura can be found assisting Isabella in the Mysore classroom, teaching Led Primary and Restorative yoga classes, and documenting our studio’s special events. Best of all, she had the honor of joining Isabella on a memorable spiritual pilgrimage to South and North India in October 2019 and 2022, respectively.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.heartnsoulyogastudio.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/heartnsoulstudio
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/heartnsoulyoga
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/isabella-gutfreund-0282851ab
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1zTEbZGBF1t9ecoJ7TPisA
• Other: https://sutrapro.com/heartnsoul-yoga-studio-ashtanga-mysore-dc-fairfax

Image Credits
All photos were taken by Laura M. Kuah (Laurentina Photography)