We recently connected with Meredith Conroy and have shared our conversation below.

Meredith, appreciate you joining us today. Let’s start with a story that highlights an important way in which your brand diverges from the industry standard.

Our motto is “Your Best Yoga”. If you only go one layer deep, this could be interpreted as a generic catch phrase. For me, it goes deeper. The literal translation of yoga from Sanskrit to English is to yoke, or unite, When applied here, the motto is “your best union”. As I intend it, that’s your optimal union with yourself. In connecting with ourselves through the practices that underpin the physical asanas (the poses taught in sequence in a hot yoga class), we are connecting with the wisdom and compassion available to every person. In an optimized union with ourselves an internal understanding of who we are emerges. And ultimately peace is created. This peace through yoga available to all who practice doesn’t stay inside the studio. It is taken with you when you leave and spread to every being with whom you come into contact. That is yoga at Bend and Zen – that is your best yoga.

We teach hot yoga at BZHY meaning every class is physically challenging. You sweat and are uncomfortable, get stronger and more flexible with every sun salutation. You also have the opportunity to go deeper and truly embody what our motto means and more importantly, to become the peace we desperately need in this world.

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.

I have always been an athlete and enjoyed exercise, so it may be surprising that I only found hot yoga at the age of 29. I was in the middle of a divorce, working in the corporate world (a good job, but soul crushing), and a new single mom to a three year old daughter. I started doing hot yoga and quickly became a fan, or mildly obsessed depending upon your lens. It was cathartic. It was 75 minutes where I could get out of my head and back into my body. To develop a pin-pointed focus and let the noise drop away. To begin my meditation in motion journey that would eventually be a meditation in stillness journey on my path to wellness.

It wasn’t long until I decided to do a 300 hour yoga teacher training in the jungles of Brazil. A year later I exited the corporate gig and started teaching yoga full-time. I’m skipping over a lot here, but fast-forward to a little over a year after that, I was set to open my own studio, Bend and Zen Hot Yoga, fulfilling an intention (goal) written in my journal on the very first day of teacher training.

News to no one, opening a small business is tough. Long hours, tiring days, all blended with fear of the unknown. Will this work? Am I ready? Will I still love yoga the same? The answers have shifted throughout the last decade, but here I am, 10 years later. As I write this, this is where things stand: So far, yes. I wasn’t, but I got there and get better everyday. It’s not the same love, it’s deeper, richer and more complicated, but it’s still a love for yoga all the same.

It’s this love for yoga and how it enriched my life, healed me, comforted my heart, and made me more peaceful, that started this journey. It’s this love that keeps me motivated for others to experience it, and is above all, what I aim to bring to all BZHY clients.

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

Providing an unmatched experience by knowing the product I’m offering (hot yoga), staying in my lane (hot yoga), and giving clients the best hot yoga out there.

Of all the lessons from the corporate world, process excellence stands out as the most relevant to my business-owner role. You have to make the trains run on time. Classes must start on time, the schedule needs to be consistent, the teachers have to be top notch. Be wise to steer clear of the newest “shiny object” out there in the fitness world and allow it to shift your focus. Simply put, know what you’re offering and be the best at it. Oh, and build up your SEO early on.

How do you keep your team’s morale high?

Communicate openly and honestly. When your team has to guess what you meant, or what the reason is behind a decision, many different stories can be written. Most often those stories aren’t accurate and don’t incorporate all the details. Getting ahead of this is key.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://bendandzenhotyoga.com
• Instagram: @bendandzenhotyoga