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

Alright, JODY thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. One of our favorite things to hear about is stories around the nicest thing someone has done for someone else – what’s the nicest thing someone has ever done for you?

The kindest thing anyone has ever done me…I could not pick one single action or one specific moment. Any person who has sat down with me personally or professionally and just actively listened to me has been awesome. A lot of my growth from being socially awkward as a child to still being a little socially awkward but now as a respected community member means a lot to me. People taking chances on me and believing me, even when I didn’t believe in myself. Those are the moments that are matter and are the foundation to me. Getting more specific, SATX (San Antonio, Texas) has supported me so much to start a nonprofit and meet my wife and have a wedding with friends and family. 4 years ago, I didn’t have that at all. 2019 JODY Whiting would be like “who are all of these people?” But in summary, the kindest thing any one person has done for me was to just listen and to believe in me.

JODY , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Hello, I’m Jonathan “JODY” Whiting” and I am a husband, science teacher, registered yoga instructor, and started Cornbread Yoga in January 2023. Currently me and my wife Briana work with other nonprofits and local organizations to provide yoga and other wellness services through pop ups, markets, and workshops in San Antonio, Texas, mostly in underrepresented areas.

As we don’t have a physical space, we tend to travel around the 210 area and typically provide free, donation based, or low cost classes for the public a few times a month. Trying to cut out ANY reason yoga has been inaccessible for someone and break down those barriers as low as possible.

The idea of Cornbread Yoga started when I didn’t like how certain spaces like yoga studios didn’t allow me to be myself. I thought that maybe the symbolism of “cornbread” would remind someone of all the simple yet complexities yoga may represent.

Since my wife and I are both teachers, we typically hold space for yoga events during the weekday evenings and on the weekends. Since it is a 2-person team, we are proud of our progress as we navigate our energy and time between both occupations.

And sometimes, cornbread is provided.

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

A lesson I learned from leading and guiding yoga classes is to not be afraid to talk about the numbers, also known as money. Especially with yoga, people who teaches classes don’t always want to have a conversation about payment or making a profit. But at the same time, not wanting people to shy away from taking a class. So working with big and small businesses on how to bridge that gap to make sure I get paid fairly and that clients can afford these classes has been a big push. Knowing that we are an official nonprofit and SATX has been lovely in helping us receive grants and offer more of a sliding scale has been one of our best options so far.

Other than training/knowledge, what do you think is most helpful for succeeding in your field?

The most helpful for our line of work has been finding spaces and a support system(s) within that city to help promote our values and work with our schedule. Using social media for fun all of these years since I was a kid has paid off. It’s been easy to connect with local businesses and look over their portfolio quickly and easy and communicate effectively. It’s like a virtual lifeline.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/gentrifiedcornbread
• Instagram: https://tr.ee/B8t5HrOv2i
• Linkedin: https://tr.ee/lf5ADi68i0

Image Credits
Lamarcus Feggins @differentworld images Sienna Benjamin @siennajpg