Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jerrah Henson. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Jerrah, 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?
Create the Things You Wish Existed. This is what you read when you walk into our studio. This message simply stated embodies it all. We wished we lived in an area that provided a space for people to come and sweat it all out. So, we set out to make that a reality for all. Believing that because we were a small rural down, that fact did not hold any barriers of what we were capable of creating and building. So, as Buster Moon says on Sing…Dream Big Dreams! And, we did just that. Through the ups and down and one big pandemic…Still We Rise
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers
The Genesis of the Journey
As an avid athlete who devoted numerous hours in the gym or field, yoga always sounded intriguing, but was never accessible growing up in a rural community at the time. Yoga held all the components of fitness that I enjoyed: balance and strength. It wasn’t until the summer of 2014 that I stepped into a yoga studio for the first time. I remember thinking there is no way I can do hot yoga, but I went along with my friends and tried it out. After the first class I was hooked! I knew I wanted to learn more and mastering that tricky looking crow pose was first on my to do list!
When the Practice Transforms into Teaching
After a couple of years of practicing yoga in different studios, I started thinking about teaching and looking into different trainings in the region. I thought I would start teaching were I knew I wanted to build a strong community, so I began teaching a vinyasa flow class after school with the teachers I worked with. Finally during the fall of 2018, I decided to take the time and complete the yoga teacher training course. Upon completion of the course, I have enjoyed sharing my journey and love for hot yoga with all that practice alongside me.
Life Changes…
The opportunity to open Aspire Yoga manifested late November of 2017 and we started to pursue the dream of offering hot yoga classes in Southern Illinois. About one week after signing documents for Aspire, I found out that I was pregnant with our first baby! To say that I had no idea how I was going to move forward with my yoga practice during this time and in conjunction with opening a new studio was an understatement! As Thomas Rhett says in the song Life Changes, I made plans, but you hear God laughing.
Overall with the help of great friends and family, the studio opened in March of 2018 and Baby Milianah, healthy and beautiful, was welcomed into the world in August. Now back on the mat, but this time with a mini practicing beside me, I’m learning more about life and myself on and off the mat.
Life changes, but I wouldn’t change it for the world!
Our Story
What started, as a dreamy vision between friends manifested late in 2017. After several hot yoga practices spanning the Midwest, it was decided the time was now to turn a dream into a reality, by bringing an upscale fitness boutique to Marion, Illinois.
For the first time in 2018 and after expanding in 2021, Aspire opened its doors welcoming a community filled with positive uplifting vibes, grateful souls, and lots of laughter. .
Our Mission
Aspire believes health and wellness should be accessible to everyone and that everyBODY is encouraged to join and embrace a healthy lifestyle. Our mission is to create a sweaty, at times, yet tranquil inclusive space that draws people together and uplifts and encourages each other along the way.
Our Promise
Whether you are an experienced practitioner or a first time yoga student, we want your experience to be the best possible. Not flexible? No problem. Yoga is an amazing way for EVERYBODY to strengthen, stretch and de-stress the body while gaining flexibility, mobility and ultimately decompressing the mind and body. At aspire, we believe we are all students and we PROMISE to grow and learn alongside of you.
Have you ever had to pivot?
My pivot in life came with the birth of our daughter, which happened later in my career as an educational leader. Till her birth I devoted all my time to education, both the practice and research of evidence based practices in the field. After graduating with a Bachelor’s in 2003, I started by career as a special educator in an urban school district. While teaching, I continued by education in educational leadership earning by masters and specialist in school leadership. In 2009, I moved out of the classroom and into the role as the Director of Education continuing the work in urban education and began Doctoral Studies in Educational Leadership. Years later, I moved to an early childhood/elementary building as the Principal. During this time as an administrator, I happened on my first hot yoga class while on a weekend trip with a friend. It was a challenge that I had never experienced before and I found it very intriguing how the body could move with every breath. Upon returning from our trip, we found a few yoga classes near us, but hot yoga was not anywhere around us. In fact, the nearest hot yoga studio was about an hour and half away.
The practice of yoga is a transformative practice on and off the mat. I grew to love the practice and how it made me feel. For me, I knew it helped me manage anxiety while I learned to use my breath to calm the body. I also knew that I wanted to share this practice with others. So, I began teaching yoga after school to the teachers as a way to build unity and community in the school. Teachers began incorporating yoga into the classroom and the students would do yoga poses on the playground. Yoga and mediation began to be a norm in the culture of the building.
In 2017, an opportunity to open a hot yoga studio arose. With the help of my husband, dad and a lot of friends we converted a hair salon to a hot yoga studio. More importantly, in late 2017, I found out I was pregnant with our baby girl. The first hot yoga studio opened in Southern Illinois in 2018 and then later that summer Milianah was born on the first day of student attendance for the new school year. For a principal, it is unimaginable not to be in the building the first day of school. So, I was in labor, texting and emailing and still trying to lead and coordinate life in the school building.
Now, we have arrived at the pivot…the crossroads of life. The birth of Milianah definitely marked a new chapter in my life. When thinking of how one would title this chapter in life, I wanted it to be present. I had to move in a direction with purpose, but also being present in life now as a mother was the priority. I knew I could go on some different journeys. One I could continue the education path, but I knew the unintentional consequence of the journey would pull me away from my family and I would raise my daughter in a conference room. The other option was move forward with the new yoga business all while raising a Milianah. So, I chose to step away from school administration, continue growing the business, and finish the doctoral program. In 2021, I graduated with a Doctor in Education in Educational Leadership. The yoga community continued to grow and we survived the shutdown through the pandemic.
We’d love to hear the story of how you turned a side-hustle into a something much bigger.
One of the seminal texts in my doctoral studies began with Failure is Not an Option by Alan M. Blankenstein. This title sets the stage of how we have moved from the dream of hot and sweaty flows in a rural community to a reality of a thriving community in that same small town. Failure is just that..never an option for the students, teachers, or the business as a whole. The core beliefs as discussed in Failure is Not an Option and that I hold around education related to inclusiveness and diversity extend beyond the walls of classrooms and school buildings. They travel with us on and off the mat. These values are personal to me and always rise to the top whether I’m leading in an educational setting or in this case a yoga community. Our mission is to create a space for ALL to feel welcomed and enjoy a healthy lifestyle. Now we have established the foundational drivers of aspire: mission, vision, values, and goals. The mission is to make everyone feel welcomed and included in their wellness journey. The vision embraced is to bring a hot yoga studio to a rural town. Aspire values diversity. All means ALL and judgements do not exist. We all show up on the mat for different reasons. Whatever the reasons, we honor that and respect each other. We all feel different each time we step on that mat. As teachers, we will lead with encouraging students to honor their bodies at the beginning of each practice.
Our goal started out to bring hot yoga to rural Mid America, but now we have expanded upon that goal to encompass more of a wellness center. This expansion happened when we made another move to purchase the car wash next door to our first hot yoga studio. In less than six months, we converted an old car wash into a new and modern yoga studio. Our services in the new studio extend beyond hot yoga. Currently, we have 3 classrooms that accommodate hot practices, barre, slow flows, aerial, salted yoga and massage therapy. In February of this year, we were excited to announce that we added retail to our front lobby area. Aspire is now a authorized retailer of lululemon. This was a huge addition to the studio because the nearest lululemon store is 2 to 3 hours from our studio. Over the years, we have stayed true to the mission, vision, values and goals and created a welcoming positive environment for ALL to enjoy and feel comfortable in. So many friendships, memories, and milestones have been made here. We are thankful and grateful for all that have walked through the doors or flowed virtually during the pandemic.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.aspireyogastudio.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aspireyogastudio/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aspireyogastudio/
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/aspire-yoga-marion-2
Image Credits
Photo Credit: Nicole Calhoun Photo Credit: Haylee Elizabeth Photography