Our Story
Born in Los Angeles, and raised for some years in the hills of Tennessee on a commune, I only recently realized that I have been surrounded by Yoga my entire life. I don't remember it, but my parents tell me stories of living on the farm where we would chant OM before our meals, but for as long as I can remember a mantra in my family has been "be here now." Perhaps it was a foregone conclusion that I would end up in Pittsboro, North Carolina, opening a yoga studio.
I didn't really step onto a mat until 1997 when I was in Monterey, CA, at the Defense Language Institute completing my military training. Bemoaning my course load to my mother, she told me that I sounded stressed and I should go to a yoga class, and so I did...and found it underwhelming. In fact, I would pick yoga up and put it back down on and off for years, never treating it as a practice unto itself, but more like a compliment to what was otherwise I pretty straightforward fitness routine.
It wasn't until 2008, that I looked at yoga with the respect it deserves, after a car wreck left me physically unable to do a lot of the things that I had been accustomed to doing. Physical therapy and pain management were just bandaids, but a regular asana practice helped me find both physical and emotional relief from a world of chronic pain. Even then though, I treated it as a physical practice, not the science that I know it to be today.
As time went on, I started to suspect that there was a lot more to this yoga thing than just keeping my body strong and healthy. I wanted to know more, and so I sought out different teachers and classes that could help me dive more deeply into what I knew was hiding just beneath the surface. I would drive 40 minutes to a Classical Hatha class in Southern Pines just to hear the dharma talks that the teacher would give before class, and I started going to workshops at Yogaville. And in 2015 I took the leap, and dove head first into my yogic journey with my beloved teacher, Dharma Richards. I loved that journey so much that I turned around and did my advanced training with her right afterwards.
Since then, Yoga has been a part of my daily life in more ways than I could have ever possibly imagined.
Hi! I'm Meadow, and I'm happy that you're here.
In 2017, the studio where I was teaching in Sanford, NC, closed, and so I thought perhaps I would open a new one so that I could still have a place to teach. Fortunately, my friends Holly and Sally decided to do just that, and I was honored to be invited to teach for them.
Then later in 2017, my partner, David, and I decided to take another leap and transplant ourselves to Pittsboro. We spent all of our time here anyway, and had been fortunate enough to score a little slice of paradise right on the river. I spoke to my teacher and told her I was thinking about opening up a studio once we got there, and she offered to introduce me to her friend and student Lexie who was in the process of opening one. Little did I know that Lexie would also turn out to be my new neighbor and a dear friend. So began my relationship with Yoga Garden PBO.
I has been my great honor teaching at Yoga Garden for the last 8 (perhaps 9?) years. I started out on the substitute list, but was grateful when Lexie offered me a prime class opportunity, a Gentle class that I taught until just a couple months ago.
And if Yoga Garden were not closing its doors, I would have been honored to teach there forever...
And so here we are, with Pittsboro Yoga.
I'm truly humbled by the support that I've received from so many people, and the words of encouragement that people have given me. I am beyond grateful for the amazing teachers that have chosen to join me in this endeavor, because truly, I cannot do this without them. Nor could I do this without all the people from our community cheering me on. So, thank you so very much.
My sincerest hope for this studio is that we can continue to share a sense of community that many of us have built over the years. I want Pittsboro Yoga to be a place that feels warm and welcoming, and where everyone feels comfortable being themselves. I want everyone to experience all the benefits that Yoga has to offer, and more than anything I want them to feel at home.
Thank you again for being here.
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