Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Sandrine Kamhi. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Sandrine, thanks for joining us today. Naming anything – including a business – is so hard. Right? What’s the story behind how you came up with the name of your brand?
When I founded State of Yoga, my vision was to create a friendly place for the whole community to practice yoga and share its depth in a caring and nourishing environment where we feel home. Yoga has been highly westernized in recent years, and a majority of the result of this westernization and modernization is the heightened profile of the physical aspect yoga has to offer.
However yoga isn’t just about being able to perform difficult poses or to be more flexible even though yoga posture looks like gymnastics; it is only a small aspect of what is Yoga. Yoga is more than a physical discipline.
Yoga literally means unity, connection, and it is as well a state of mind, a way of listening and being in the NOW, humble and free. It’s our innate state of total freedom, faith and bliss and practice supports us in waking up to this natural state. The path of yoga is a process to exercise the equanimity of the mind, to cultivate a deep inside and outside listening and refine our relations with all beings. It is a movement into a deeper self-transformation, to know who we really are a little bit better everyday widening our awareness of our body, fluctuations of the mind, feelings and spirit. It can transform one’s life, allowing one to better contribute to a positive atmosphere which can in turn benefit others.
With its rich philosophy, yoga. can enhance all the aspects of our being and our lives helping us to balance our mind, body and soul, holistically, to be in a state of connection and unity, a State of Yoga
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
My journey to yoga began in Geneva, Switzerland, in 2002, when I was working as a children’s rights consultant for an NGO to improve education and children’s rights. One day, a friend dragged me in a yoga class and I immediately fell in love with the practice, and before I knew it, yoga became my life. In 2005, I moved to Istanbul and I radically changed my life. I became a mom of twins and I had the opportunity to study more seriously yoga but as well psychology, hypnosis and body language. After years of practicing and studying consistently various styles of yoga, and thanks to the support of my friends and family, I began on my path as a teacher in 2009. Since then, I have completed several trainings to explore the depth of yoga and to serve my students the best. I have been teaching classes internationally, organizing workshops and retreats, mentorship programs, taking part in teaching teacher-training courses, and extremely blessed to have found State of Yoga. When I moved to Miami Beach in 2015, I lived in the building where State of Yoga is located, South of Fifth, I felt at home immediately and I knew that it would be the place where to establish this peaceful sanctuary for all. I preferred however taking my time to know better the community.
I founded State of Yoga in March 2018, four years ago already and it’s a real dream come true.
Today, State of Yoga provides invaluable support and guidance for “every body” on this beautiful inner and outer journey. State of Yoga incorporates devotion, energy, passion and knowledge into its classes each day and I am honored to have many of Miami’s top experienced and inspiring teachers on the weekly schedule. Our teachers are steeped in tradition and experience and their knowledge provide quality, traditional style yoga instruction.
You can enjoy wide variety of classes for all levels and types of practitioners to take your practice to the next level.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
Sometimes In our pain we can find a greatest power. The challenging moments in my life when I felt disappointed, confused and stuck have been the extraordinary opportunity to reflect, refuel and refocus. Like most of us, the COVID-19 pandemic has been extremely difficult and challenging as we had to readapt and learn new ways for our members to continue their practice. We figured out a simply profound tool for surviving the chaos of the moment: applying the Yoga. I decided this was an opportunity, like all other difficulties, and a chance to go with the flow rather than push and pull. We had to think about the options to keep on offering yoga while we all needed it the most. Really fast, we started to teach virtually and I had the chance to reconnect with many students internationally. The new platform was a welcomed shift, a means not only forward during quarantine, but an outlet in its own right and an unexpected way to stretch the boundaries of connection globally. With the latest safety precautions in place, then we offered yoga outdoors and gradually reopened indoors respecting social distancing. Yoga of course helped me on this path to remain true to myself and to accept life as it is… And today, I am sincerely grateful for all the bumps as I am still here now in Miami Beach, a place that I can call home, a sanctuary for all, sharing my passion with this amazing community.
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
For the last 4 years, State of Yoga has been a friendly place for the whole community to practice yoga in a caring and nourishing environment where we feel home. State of Yoga incorporates devotion, energy, passion, integrity and knowledge into its classes each day and I am honored to have many of Miami’s top experienced and inspiring teachers on the weekly schedule. Our teachers are steeped in tradition and experience and their knowledge provide quality, traditional style yoga instruction. We don’t offer anything new or fancy; we are simply a continuation of teachers and lineages of yoga that have come before us and we proudly and humbly serve yoga practitioners our best. Our mission is to honor the science of yoga as a holistic process to create a lifestyle of health, happiness, and abundance. We offer yoga classes, teacher trainings, workshops, private yoga, corporate yoga and yoga retreats.
We welcome our students to an atmosphere that promotes the wonderful community that we are all a part of.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.stateofyoga.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stateofyoga/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stateofyogastudio
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/stateofyoga
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/state-of-yoga-miami-beach
Image Credits
Maria Fornieles, Chris Borchetta and Sergio Nieto