Meet Brian Fehling

Today we’d like to introduce you to Brian Fehling.

Hi Brian, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Let’s pick up my story in September of 2012 when I got an emergency call from my father stating that my mother was in a serious accident. I was currently living and working in Manhattan as the National Sales Manager for a meeting and events company. For several months I tried going back and forth between New York City and Tennessee but the severity of my mother’s symptoms required me to move home to Tennessee in order to help out my family and more importantly try to nurse my mother back to health. We tried everything known to medical sciences at the time to try to revive her but her brain injuries were too much to surpass. She was in a coma for almost a year until we had to say our final goodbyes. For the greater part of four years I wondered through life confused, upset and depressed. I changed jobs several times thinking that a different company within the corporate world would settle the internal unhappiness I was feeling each and every day. The job changes never seemed to work so maybe a change of scenery might do the trick so my fiancé and I moved from Manhattan to Scottsdale, Arizona where we found solitude in the sunshine and relief knowing that close family members were only a short car ride away.

We were loving Arizona but as the days passed and the nights grew longer I started to slip deeper and deeper into the void of depression and anxiety. I begin to take a closer look at my life, and more importantly I started to look closely at my mind and what and how I was thinking about myself and the world of which I lived in. One of the main patters I noticed is how much I focused on external things, such as what car I was driving, what clothes I was wearing, am I successful, and always comparing and contrasting myself to others and their progress in life. Still I was left with more questions than answers; Was I on the right path, does my job and lifestyle represent how I am feeling inside, do I need to make a change, and if I make a change what will EVERYONE ELSE THINK of the change I was thinking of making? Searching for even more answers I decided to take a “life mastery” course in Sedona where my life would change forever. Little did I know that the change I was considering making would fall into place without me really having a choice. The life mastery course consisted of many things, but most importantly the course gave me permission to feel again, to process my emotions around the passing of my mother, and it gave me permission to honor my path and the realization that my path was heading down a road I never even knew existed. Each day in Sedona we were given the opportunity to take a yoga practice, I made it to every single one.

The first day, I rolled out my yoga mat and my two feet stepped onto it I knew I had found what I was supposed to be doing. The feeling before, during and after practice was one of pure connection to my mind, body, and spirit. Each day I stepped onto my mat the change I had been looking for started to take root as my focus shifted from external awareness to one of internal awareness. I learned that in order to make anything happen in this world one must first look at themselves and handle what they see inside with love and kindness and a radical acceptance for what is found, basically I started to love myself unconditionally. Once back in the valley I quit my full time corporate job and enrolled into Southwest Institute of Healing Arts. I was all in and headed into business for myself. In 16 short months I graduated with 600 hours in everything Yoga related along with a Holistic Nutrition certificate. Upon graduation I started teaching at local yoga studios around the valley but my main mission was to create and build my own corporate wellness company which I would eventually name Corporate Vinyasa Arizona. This was the perfect fit because with over 15 years working in the corporate business world I have been in the corporate grind and can relate to how workers feel on a day to day basis. The overall toll and stress the working environment can take on your mind, body and spirit could be mitigated with the yoga and breath work I had so passionately studied.

Corporate Vinyasa AZ is a wellness company whose mission is to positively change the way you feel at the workplace through breath, movement and mindfulness. We work to provide safe, conscious and educational wellness programs where employees get to focus on their mind and body and over wellbeing. This creates a community of like-minded individuals working hard while being mindful of their working environment. After being in business for over (2.5) years we have worked with major Fortune 500 companies along with our many valued partners and clients around the Valley. It brings me so much joy to help guide clients back into a deeper relationship with themselves, which is where I would argue all the magic begins to happen. Once that deeper relationship is forged clients feel better in their physical bodies thus making more room to work smarter not harder. Hard work and perseverance has led me to the new life that I created with Corporate Vinyasa AZ, and that takes up a good portion of my time, along with being the lead teacher for (2) YogaSix studios in Scottsdale. YogaSix Gainey Village and YogaSix Scottsdale Shea where I am responsible for teaching (8+ yoga classes per week) scheduling, workshops, teacher trainings and the recruitment of new teachers.

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?
The road is never smooth, it’s called being a human being 🙂 I would argue that the most successful people you find out in the world have struggled or been through some sort of trauma in their lives. Your quality of life depends on how you are able to deal with the ups and downs that life gives you. There is just no way around the ups and downs. Over the years I have added so many tools to my tool belt that I am confident I have what it takes to solve and or get through any struggles that come up. Life is about the journey not the destination and valuing and appreciating each and every day for the journey has helped me to dive deeper into each present moment, which allows my past to be my past and my future to be determined through the hard work I focus into the present moment.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am a full time Yoga Teacher Wellness professional. I am the Lead Teacher for YogaSix Gainey Village and YogaSix Scottsdale Shea. I teach 8+ yoga class per week between the two studios and my other responsibilities include scheduling, organizing workshops, training and recruitment of new teachers and leading 200 hr. Yoga Teacher Trainings. The rest of my time is spend operating Corporate Vinyasa AZ. We specialize in helping corporate clients and workers alike learn how to best navigate their working environments so that they can feel better in their physical bodies and less stressed out on a day to day basis. We focus on breath, movement and being mindful while at work. I enjoy working face to face with clients and or utilizing online applications to assist clients who are not local or who prefer going online. I specialize in teaching transformative yoga experiences where I guide students into a deeper relationship with themselves through breath, movement and mindfulness on your mat. What sets me apart from others and what I am known for is being my authentic self-100% of the time, there is almost a level of vulnerability to my teachings. I am passionate about reminding students and clients alike to embrace everything that makes a human being a human being, the light and the darkness and everything in between. I feel it’s important to LOVE all aspects of your humanness through your practice and never try to ignore any of it.

How do you think about luck?
I have worked extremely hard to get to where I am today, working and thriving in the wellness profession is not something that is easily accomplished. I believe that you create your own “good luck” through working hard. If and when “bad luck” comes your way consider that an opportunity to take a deep look at your habits, beliefs and overall thought patterns. Often times “bad luck” is a sign that changes need to be made in your life. “Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity” -Seneca

Thank you to my wife Danielle who has walked this path with me. I love you. Thank you to my father who is my best friend and mentor. I am grateful and blessed to do what I do. A heartfelt thank you goes to my teachers, mentors, students, and clients alike. I appreciate and love you all!

Contact Info:

• Email: corporatevinyasaaz@gmail.com and Brianfehlingyoga@gmail.com
• Website: corporatevinyasaaz.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brianfehlingwellness/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/corporatevinyasaaz
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCZ5_8vnUTCQza8YktGW7FA