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

Maria, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

I decided to start my yoga and mindfulness focused business in 2018.

In 2017, I experience a huge loss and heartache in my personal life and turned to yoga and mindfulness to heal and cope. Not only did creating this space for me help me to navigate this dark period I was in, but it also helped me mend my relationship with myself in ways I hadn’t even realized.

Once I started to practice consistently, I felt better about myself and my life. I started to accept parts of myself I use to be ashamed of, especially in regard to my body image. I learned how to love myself and what my body could do. I learned to observe myself without judgment. It taught me to be with discomfort and to lean into spaces I use to run away from or avoid altogether.

After experiencing what a regular practice could do for me, I felt incredibly inspired to share what I had learned and just how beneficial and accessible these practices were.

Here in the U.S, people have this idea that yoga is a practice that is exclusive to those who are tall, thin, wealthy, flexible, or fit; and when I looked around at the yoga community (at that time) I didn’t see anyone who looked like me. Being a normal-bodied, short, and perhaps average Latina woman, I didn’t feel represented. I knew if I didn’t feel represented that it was probably that others like me also didn’t. I knew I could change that simply by showing up and teaching yoga in the community just as I am.

I begin offering yoga and mindfulness classes with the mission to bring accessibility and representation to my community, ensuring that classes felt really available to all body types regardless of physicalities, mobility, strength, and income.

It was and continues to be really important to be to spread awareness that yoga is so much more than poses on your mat, or breathwork and that this practice can be built and utilized anywhere, anytime, and by anyone.

I know that my work is valued and necessary because now; 5 years later I walk into classes filled with people who look just like me now. They tell me how much these practices have meant to them and have helped them and how much they appreciate feeling like they can afford to practice in the studio. I love what I do and I’m so grateful I live a life that allows me to.

Maria, 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?

My name is Maria Agosto, I’m a 32-year-old Latina woman. I am a yoga and mindfulness teacher, energetic advisor, and mindful living advocate in Las Cruces, New Mexico.

I started practicing yoga and mindfulness as a child with my father on pre-recorded VHS tapes, and in my early adulthood enjoyed regularly practicing at home via YouTube videos. Following difficult times, I begin a new practice in studio and pursued teaching with the help of my teacher and mentor.

Since 2018, I’ve taught athletes, counselors, med-school students, educators, and essential workers during the peak of the 2020 pandemic. I’ve facilitated kid’s yoga summer camps, beginner yoga workshops, seasonal meditation and sound baths, special events, and yoga retreats. I’ve spoken at conferences, I’ve taught children in public schools and day cares, elderly folk in hospice, in public parks and recreation centers, in the homes of families, in corporate offices, and various everyday students all over the nation virtually.

I strive to create a safe and joyful environment, ensuring the practices I share are informative, accessible, and empowering. My passion is rooted in encouraging all bodies in their various stages of life to experience intuitive movement, kind and open self-observation, and intentional practices on and off the mat.

Yoga is a wellness practice in which you connect body, breath, and mind. Mindfulness is the practice of observation using kindness and curiosity. These two practices together create a powerful relationship to self.

I teach private, studio, and group classes to help people build self-confidence, reduce stress, sleep, move, and breath better, and amplify their overall health; body, mind, and spirit.

I offer 1-1 sessions, as well as mentorships, special events, and retreats.

In my 5 years of teaching, I’ve witnessed people find mobility and strength they didn’t know possible, and release pain and fear they never realized they had. I’ve seen people make huge positive shifts in their lives and experience spiritual and personal growth beyond what they imagined they were capable.

If you are looking to improve your daily life, experience more joy and gratitude, slow down, de-stress, and elevate your vibe, then yoga and mindfulness is for you.

Can you talk to us about how your funded your business?

I started my yoga and mindfulness business with $0 capital and a lot of gumption. If you have ever researched startup costs for yoga teachers it’s pretty pricey. Training can run anywhere from a few hundred to a few thousand. I think this attributes why people see yoga in the U.S. as an exclusive practice for wealthy people. I knew going into this market I’d have to front costs to get started so I did.

The first training I took was in Seatle, WA, and cost $500 I didn’t have so I applied for a new credit card and used a credit line to front the cost of my training (wouldn’t recommend this method lol)

For my 200HR training, which cost roughly $3500, I raised the funds via a go fund me page. Which was really helpful and started building a community of people who were excited about what I was doing.

Once I finished my training I started teaching everywhere and anywhere I was allowed to, so that I could make up the costs of travel and training. I taught popup classes at local businesses, in the park, in public spaces, and of course in the studio.

It took a couple of years to get established and to see any sort of return on my investment. All of the money I’d make from teaching yoga would go right back into my business so that I could build enough capital to upgrade my business. I invested in a small studio space where I now teach private yoga 1-1 and small group sessions. I invested in more training, continued education, and purchasing yoga props, mats, and other tools to increase the value of my offerings. I also invested in marketing materials such as my website, business cards, and merchandise.

It wasn’t easy starting my business with nothing but my ambition and while I would definitely do things differently now, I am so grateful for the experience, knowledge, and humility the path I took taught me.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

I started ‘Mindfulness Maria’ in 2020, I really wanted to create a space to offer mindfulness tools during the pandemic crisis. I focused my content on quick and easy meditation and mindfulness tips and over time that organically evolved to yoga content and just sharing things I enjoy, my life, and my interests.

I come from a background in digital media marketing so social media has always felt natural to me, I utilize a lot of what I already know and am always intrigued and willing to learn new things. Since I am from the rigid business world of marketing, the approach I’ve leaned into for my own business is quite relaxed.

I focus my time and attention on creating content that feels useful, fun, and interesting to myself and to the community I want to serve. I want my corner of the internet to feel like a safe space for my mindful friends to be authentic in both the highs and lows of life to encourage a mindful lifestyle. I don’t typically see a lot of harmful comments thankfully but when I do I don’t engage, I simply delete and if necessary block.

The advice I’d offer those that are seeking to build community is; don’t count your followers, likes, or views, and don’t worry about going viral or starting the next trend. Instead, find a message that means something to you, get on social and talk about it to your heart’s content. Be as consistent as you can. The right people will find you.

Building community is about showing up yourself as authentically as you are comfortable with and in doing so giving permission for others to do the same!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://mindfulnessmaria.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mindfulnessmaria/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mindfulnessmaria
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/startmarketingmindfully/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/mindfulmariaa
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@mindfulnessmaria

Image Credits
Carly Bennett Southwest Creative Fabian Esquival Olivia Rico Vanessa Aguirre