WelcomeOmDC

DC Yoga Week Co-Founders Debra Perlson-Mishalove (left) and Annie Mahon (right) with Shiva Rea at the launch of DC Yoga Week, Yoga on the Mall this past Saturday.

Have you heard? Its DC Yoga Week! WelcomeOmDC had a chance to ask DC Yoga Week Co-Founder Annie Mahon a few questions. Annie is the Founder and Director of Circle Yoga. Check out what she has to say about angst-filled teenage years, brainstorming at Starbucks and DC Yoga Week.*****

Insights with Annie Mahon

WOMDC: How did you first start practicing yoga?
AM: I took my first official yoga class in about 1991.  I think it was at the YMCA in Bethesda.  I’ve had an interest in Eastern religions/philosophies since I was an awkward and somewhat angst-filled teenager looking for a way to understand the universe.

WOMDC: Where did the idea for DC Yoga Week come from? How did you get it started?
AM: Theo Adamstein, of Somafit, and I were having coffee outside at Starbucks on Connecticut Ave in 2005, and talking about ways to bring more people into yoga.  He was telling me about Spa Week, and from there we starting thinking about the possibilities of a similar kind of yoga week.  We then brought my dear friend Debra Perlson-Mishalove, of Flow Yoga Center in and the three of us figured out the basic mission for DCYW and what studios would be required to do to be involved.

WOMDC: How did you recruit other yoga studios in the city to get involved?
AM: We just asked them, and almost everyone was enthusiastic about it right away.

WOMDC: What are your goals for DC Yoga Week?
AM: Our intention is to bring more people into yoga in the District, create more community, and also to promote cooperation among studios rather than competition.  I think we have met all of our intentions and as a result the DC yoga community is much less competitive than I hear it is in other metropolitan areas.  That makes it more fun to be part of this great DC yoga community.

WOMDC: What made you decide to open your own studio?
AM: Well, my initial ambitions were pretty small.  I was teaching peer mediation, peace studies, mindfulness, and yoga to kids, and I wanted to have a space for them that would be welcoming and feel safe and peaceful.  So I rented a small room in the building that is now the Circle Yoga building, and started teaching classes.  After building a strong kids and family program, we started noticing that the adults were just as stressed as the kids, and many of them were asking for adult classes.  I had just finished an Anusara 400-hour YTT and decided to offer one adult class just to see if it would fly.  From there it just grew and grew and now we have 35 teachers and dozens of classes for all ages, from babies to toddlers and kids to adults with special challenges and adults who just want a regular yoga class.

WOMDC: Do you have advice for women business owners in the District?
AM: Well first of all it’s a lot of work and a big time commitment.  I guess I would suggest that you be certain that you absolutely LOVE what you do because if you don’t you’ll burn out pretty quickly.  I am so lucky that I found a rewarding vocation that I love.

WOMDC: What keeps your going in your work?
AM: I’m pretty easily inspired – for example, when someone says that they feel better after a class. Or someone comes to class the day after a traumatic event, such as losing a loved one, and tells me that they came to Circle Yoga because this is where they feel most safe and cared for.  Or when a child comes bouncing into yoga class, and comes out looking totally tranquil and happy, or a teenager simply shows up for class.  Or when I’m walking up Connecticut Ave and I see a group of 6 moms with babies and yoga mats walking and laughing together on their way to get tea after a prenatal class.  Or when our little studio management team sits together and gets excited about our plans for new workshops and classes to support our students.  Or just when I see the smile on the faces of students coming down the stairs after their class…

WOMDC: What’s your favorite yoga pose?
AM: Changes regularly – right now it’s Urdhva Dhanurasana.  I always love sitting meditation.

WOMDC: And what about your favorite yoga attire?
AM: Solo pants and a tank or camisole with a cardigan sweater.  I pretty much wear that every day.

WOMDC: What’s your favorite quote or words that inspired you?
AM: Oh so many… here’s one I like right now: “You must be able to do three things: to love what is mortal; to hold it against your bones knowing your own life depends on it; and, when the time comes to let it go, to let it go.” ~ Mary Oliver

WOMDC: And what’s your favorite style of yoga?
AM: Mindfulness Yoga mixed with Anusara alignment and playfulness.

Posted by: Jamie