Conversations with Jana Stratton

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jana Stratton

Hi Jana, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
We (Maj-Lis and Jana) met in yoga teacher training about 10 years ago and quickly bonded over our love of food, yoga, and humor. We realized about halfway through training that we wanted to find a way to make yoga a bigger part of our lives and others. One day over lunch we decided to open our own studio. We figured as new teachers nobody would hire us so we would hire ourselves!

The process from conception to doors open took about two years and wasn’t without an array of unique challenges. We opened our doors on September 17, 2017 and it’s been a wild ride ever since. Through the first 2 years of business and seeing our goals just within reach to years of covid and recovery the studio has molded and adapted to the current climate, but three things have remained the same. Our culture, community, and quality of classes.

The culture at Yoga Pod is positive, accepting, and compassionate. We work hard to ensure that everyone feels welcome. The community has evolved on its own into something so inclusive and loving. We hear from our students that it’s the #1 reason they stay. In addition, the community is fun and vibrant. The lobby is always full of students and teachers chatting and lounging on the couch. Nothing makes us happier than seeing our space connect others.
We believe we have the best classes in town. In a city where yoga is incredibly popular and there are so many places to practice (all of which are unique and incredible in their own way), we have the most robust schedule, diverse offerings, and amazing teachers. We truly are so lucky to have the knowledgeable staff that we do.

We take great joy and pride in being a premier hot yoga studio as well. We have worked hard to build our hot yoga portfolio and with our state of the art HVAC system we deliver a hot experience that is unlike any other hot yoga you can get in town.

We are about to celebrate our 7th year in business and looking forward to what the future holds. Hopefully a lot more yoga with friends!

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
As with many small businesses covid was a particularly challenging time. After our 90 day shutdown we had to decrease class capacity from 48 in our largest room down to 12 and 30 in our smaller room down to 7. This made it really challenging to accommodate our current membership, which was drastically dropping as well.

The most unique covid challenge we encountered was hot yoga in a mask! Imagine a 105 degree room with 60% humidity and physical activity, in a mask!! It was so brutal, but we laugh about it now and always say that if our students had to wear a hazmat suit they would have just so they could practice. It was actually quite inspiring to see people continue to show up and trust us during that time.

Post covid has felt a little like the wild west. It’s been a process of rebuilding the last 4 years and we are happy to say that we are still here and thriving. Things feel really positive and while the studio is different than before there are many things that came out of that time that were really impactful for us and gave us the opportunity to reevaluate business in a way that you wouldn’t be able to do under normal circumstances.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Maj-Lis, our studio owner, had a broad range of professional experience that brought her to the point of owning a yoga studio. She worked retail at Verizon Wireless, worked for Comcast for many years, ran a bank, and even helped make cattle sales more technologically advanced! Jana, the studio manager, spent years on the operations and management side of things. She worked in healthcare and at a tax firm before the studio opened.

When the two combined their professional resumes with their love of yoga and compassion for people it was magic. They both felt that opening Yoga Pod was their small part in making a difference in the world. Collectively, we are most proud of the community that has formed at Yoga Pod. It’s a place where people make lifelong friends, make their lives better every day, feel strong in their bodies, and find support when they need it most. Our student experience sets us apart from other studios. We focus on being warm and friendly, learning everyone’s names, and providing the most excellent class and studio experience possible.

Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
Both of us began working as soon as they could! Maj-Lis would ride her bike 7 miles each way at 15 to work at KFC and Jana was working almost full time in a 24 Hour restaurant at 16.

Together we love to laugh. Humor is at the heart of everything we do. Keeping life light and positive helps us during challenging times and hopefully brings joy to those around us.

Obviously, our main interest is yoga! But we are both mothers and wives which really takes precedence over everything else. We love raising the kiddos and using our yoga practice to get us through those teen years!!

Pricing:

• We have an introductory offer open to anyone new to Yoga Pod. You can enjoy unlimited classes for 4 solid weeks for just $40. This special is available on our website yogapodfortcollins.com

Contact Info:

• Website: https://yogapodfortcollins.com
• Instagram: yogapodfortcollins
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1Rb1XRMxfoxKuckR/?mibextid=LQQJ4d

Image Credits
@jessybphotos (IG) Jessy Esposito