We recently connected with Malaika DosRemedios and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Malaika thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear about how you went about setting up your own practice and if you have any advice for professionals who might be considering starting their own?

The beginnings of my journey into entrepreneurship are filled with strong memories. At 24 years old, I ended an engagement. While working as a social work case manager in public housing and supplementing my income at a fine dining restaurant, I started teaching a few yoga classes at a local studio. After the breakup, I had just moved into a cute little studio apartment, working on getting my life back into balance. Despite the immense grief and overwhelm during this time, I had no idea what would come next. I was grieving not only the breakup but also the way it triggered much of my past pain. I was spiraling.

I knew my primary social work job would be ending soon, as it was grant-funded — and we all know how those positions go. After only five years of direct service, I was burnt out. I thought the logical next step was to go to grad school and obtain my MSW, so I applied. I waited, and in the meantime, I was deeply devoted to self-care. Therapy up to three days a week, working out at the gym, and practicing yoga and yoga nidra became non-negotiable for my physical, emotional, and mental health. I was also training for the Great Wall Marathon. Yes, that’s right. There’s a marathon on and around the Great Wall of China, and I ran that marathon with a dear friend in 2010.

Then came the day I received the letter. It was a Tuesday afternoon, and I opened it while sitting on the kitchen floor of my 400-square-foot studio apartment. Before reading it, I told myself, “Whatever happens, it will be okay.”

I opened the letter and quickly saw the words, “We regret to inform you…” My heart sank, and I was flooded with fear, despair, and panic — fast. I let myself be a mess for a bit, probably crying for a solid two minutes. Then, all of a sudden, I stopped. I thought, “Wait a second… did I even want to go to grad school?” The easy answer was, no.

At that moment, all I knew to do was to take really good care of myself — my energy, my heart, my emotions, my deep friendships, my finances, my sleep schedule, and my life. I thought, Maybe I can teach full-time? I could teach all over town, in spaces that help others feel good. Teaching yoga was never something I actively sought out — it was a calling. One of my first teachers had asked me to teach a while back, and I just couldn’t turn down the offer. I quickly envisioned bringing yoga classes to local businesses, colleges, studios, outdoor spaces like parks, and even wedding-day morning yoga before everyone gets busy with hair and makeup. The possibilities seemed endless. I wasn’t sure how things would go, so I kept working at the restaurant for a few more years to make ends meet.

I sat down with myself and asked, What do I want to do? Not what anyone else wants. What is Malaika good at? What does Malaika want to do with her time? Who is Malaika? Who is she when she feels her best?

I knew I was a hard worker, and no matter what, I would make ends meet. I loved being in different environments and shifting things up often. I was creative and very in the moment with my creativity. I loved working with all ages — from little kids in an after-school mindful movement program to folks in their 90s, where I’d go to their homes for stretching and breathing sessions. I was — and still am — passionate about burnout in the workplace, which led me to teach at many businesses around town during lunchtime.

Some of my closest friends, whom I trust a lot, encouraged me, while others told me it wouldn’t be possible to make a living unless I owned a studio. For me, staying true to who I am — my work ethic, my energy levels, my ideal bedtime, my passion, and what I truly care about — gave me the clarity to just go for it. I never wanted to own a studio. I love my freedom and know that managing others isn’t my jam. I also realized that working with one or two people in a small team was enough; any more than that, and I’d get overwhelmed. Often folks ask me where my studio is located and I usually reply with, “I never owned a studio I am sort of a rouge teacher, teaching wherever I can and thinking out of the box, so to speak, on creating spaces where people can tap into themselves.

This all boiled down to staying true to myself and not following the ideal path others thought was best for me. The more I did that, the better things got. I was having a blast. I tripled my social work salary in one year. Of course, this wasn’t without a lot of hard work. Sometimes, I taught up to eight classes a day! It wasn’t sustainable or healthy, but it got me started. Over time, I refined my schedule, cutting back on certain time slots and adjusting to ensure a better balance. And this refining process continues even now — always evolving.

Now, 17 years of full-time teaching have taken me all over the world! Traveling is another thing I love and that lights me up. Eventually, I started leading international retreats in incredible places worldwide. Linking lifestyle with passion and my offerings has been such a sweet combination — why not bring people on the adventure?

When we venture into entrepreneurship, it may look glamorous, but it can be very difficult at first. Over time, it gets easier as you get to know yourself along the path. Saying “no” becomes easier, and saying “yes” becomes even easier. As time goes on, everything that is meant to flow to you will find its way. You become more of a magnet to the things you truly want to do, the more clear you get about saying yes to what lights you up and what makes you want to hop out of bed in the morning.

My advice to anyone wanting to take the leap is to write down all the things you love about yourself — the things that make you the person you want to be. In my case, I love people, I believe in the power of the yoga tradition, as its practices have radically changed my life. I fell in love with taking care of myself and realized that the more peaceful and responsive I became to life, the more mindful I was about who I let into my life, my food choices, and the activities that made me feel good.

Most importantly, I became deeply aware of life within and around me. I couldn’t wait to share these practices with others, to help them tap into their own innate power and potential to live the life they’re truly meant to live. We are conscious creators and I believe that the power of self determination, the ability to dream and perseverance leads to a fulfilling life.

Malaika, 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?

Everyone is unique. Each person has abilities, talents, and gifts that they may already be aware of or that are hidden, waiting to come out. What sets me apart from others is my authenticity and the well of compassion and empathy I offer. I deeply care about people and believe everyone deserves to have access to resources to calm themselves down, to know how to regulate their nervous systems and tap into their potential to live a balances life.

I believe I am here to make the world a better place. I passionately believe in the things I teach. This is not just a job for me; it’s a calling. I believe in the goodness of people and the power of transformational change.

Through movement, training, and staying active every day — whether that’s going on hikes with friends, meditating, practicing yoga and yoga nidra, taking long walks in meadows, or simply connecting with nature — I have created a lifestyle that helps me feel like my most optimal self every day. I love helping others do the same and supporting them in creating the life they desire.

I believe that my personal brand and what I bring to my offerings is “a sense of place.” Not everyone needs the same tools. As I mentioned before, everyone is unique and different, and creating healing and transformational spaces for others to explore who they are is what I do best. I am deeply honored that people seek out my services, and I never take that lightly.

I was someone who struggled with chronic depression along with high functioning anxiety from childhood to my early 30’s. I was always seeking peace and calm and had no idea where to begin or how to tap into that. I explored a lot with finding holistic ways to heal myself and live a calm life, a life I enjoyed and felt proud of that wasn’t so hard and sad. I was devoted to healing myself and being a better person everyday. Learning, growing, shifting and loving myself through it all.Yoga is not all rainbows and butterflies. Yoga sheds light on the darkness. Seeing all of who we are is not always pretty or comfortable. Helping others to do the same in safe spaces is what I am most proud of.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

At the same time of taking the leap back in 2009/2010 to shift to teaching and sharing yoga full time I was also reading “The Places that Scare You”- by Pema Chodron. I was house sitting at a friends place across the street from my new bird nest apartment during this time. I took a moment to lay on the couch and just rest a moment. I stayed close to the movement of my breathing and just simply and intentionally took pause to do nothing. Within a few minutes I scanned their book case and this book literally popped out to me. It was in a bookcase filled with a ton of other books but my eyes noticed this one very intensely. I started to read it and cold not put it down. The way her words described feelings I was having or have had made such perfect sense. each page calmed me more and more. Being afraid and living in fear was okay? It was part of the breaking open? So all I had to do was surrender? What did this all mean? As much as I I was questioning I was also enjoying and softening more and more. This book took me to a whole other level of loving myself through this hard time. Looking hard at myself and knowing that it was going to be ok, that this was a normal part of the process of waking up! “Tapping into that shaky and tender place has a transformative effect”, as she states in her book, helped me tremendously to have the courage to go to those places within myself and to simply stay there. Not try to change anything, not try to push anything uncomfortable away, not go down a rabbit whole of reasons why this or that happened…and this is what saved me. I got to know myself deeply and in turn love myself deeply. Which ultimately helped me to let go. Let go of past pain and turn toward a new vast and open landscape of a life I was curious about creating not just living or getting by. I, to this day always carry “The Pocket Pema Chodron” with me! It is a mini little book that fits in any purse, I flip open a page from time to time and feel connected, inspired and peaceful immediately. I would love to meet her one day and personally thank her for all I have learned from her.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

What helped me build my reputation was simply showing up day after day and staying the course for the long haul. There were times over the years where i I was feeling very burnt out from giving so much of my energy all day long. I still stayed the course even at times when I was not very inspired to teach. I never asked for subs and when I did it was usually do to a cold or traveling. I feel I have built trust within my clients and overall landscape of the wellness industry because I show up continuously for others to do the work and have learned over the years that to best be there for others, taking great care of myself was the highest priority. I could not afford to burn my wick at both ends ever again. Saying no became much easier especially in times of fatigue or agitation from over pouring from my cup. Much of my work and its growth over the years is relationship based, word of mouth and grassroots; whether is be personal training or group fitness, coaching, yoga classes, workshops, trainings and retreats for example. I love how much of what I am creating has a large community component. gathering in a park for a yoga class in the grass to a private event in someones backyard and sauna. Gathering helps us to stay connected, make new friendships with other like minded folks and creates space for belonging. Loneliness and loss of connection to others and nature decreases our quality of life. I am very passionate about people feeling like they belong and that they matter.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.malaikayoga.com
• Instagram: @malaika.yoga @habituallynourished
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/malaika.dosremedios/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@MalaikaYoga

Image Credits

Homer Horowitz
Luca Patelli
Tracey Mammolito