Meet Brooke Cueny of Happy Balance Project in Downtown Phoenix

 

Today we’d like to introduce you to Brooke Cueny.

Brooke, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I was first certified to teach yoga in 2014, well before I was in a place in my life that I could truly understand yoga. At the time, it was a way to make money while attending college until I had a degree and could get a ‘real job’. While pursuing higher education, I also served in the military, went on a deployment, got married, got my first (and second) ‘big girl jobs’ and got a house in Michigan with my husband and our dog-baby. Through this time of my life, I always worked full time while also attending school full time, working out 90+ minutes a day, taking on extra projects, you name it. I was grinding myself into the ground. So hard, in fact, that I ended up requiring hip surgery at 21 years old.

As it turns out, that extremely inconvenient hip surgery ended up being the best thing that could have happened to me. It forced me to slow down and look at things differently. My rehab also required me to take a yoga class (what a drag!) only this time around. It made sense to me. I was FEELING the concepts that I remembered scoffing at a few years back. I started diving deep into my personal practice and personal development in general. I realized that prior to this point, I had what I refer to now as “I’ll be happy when__” syndrome.

“I’ll be happy when I get married”
“I’ll be happy when I make ___ dollars”
“I’ll be happy when we have a house”
“I’ll be happy when I weigh __ pounds”
“I’ll be happy when I finish my bachelor’s degree.”
Whatever it is.

Only I checked ALL the boxes and I still wasn’t happy. I started exploring what it REALLY meant to be happy and how we can create more happiness in our lives. I started traveling, I started over and took another 200-hour yoga teacher training on Koh Phangan Thailand, (and went on to numerous continuing ed teacher trainings), I became really clear on who I am, how I want to impact the world and what it means to me to be happy and “successful.”

To cut to the chase, I ended up moving across the country to Phoenix, getting a divorce, separating from the Army, quitting my ‘big girl job’, saying yes to some international teaching opportunities that quite frankly, scared the hell out of me, and founding the Happy Balance Project with the intention of helping more people create more happiness.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
There have definitely been bumps in the road. And when I say ‘bumps,’ I don’t mean potholes. More like, car-swallowing craters. When I started the journey out here, I had every intention of staying married and starting a new life out here as a team. As soon as I got out here, I got to scrap all my plans and start over!

I also did not have a solid plan when I first walked away from my job to teach yoga and run the Happy Balance Project full time. I was (admittedly) operating from a very emotion-driven place at the time. I ran through almost every penny I had saved up for the move before I was actually making enough to cover my basic living expenses.

Please tell us about Happy Balance Project.
The Happy Balance Project is all about helping people create more happiness in their lives. I teach yoga for corporate/workplace wellness, offer online classes, private lessons (in person or online), retreats and special events with a special focus on releasing stress and increasing feelings of positivity and happiness. I also create custom paintings for individuals and businesses with the intention of bringing more happiness into their spaces (home or work!). My most recent addition is teaching Yoga & Painting events so that students can tap into their creative energy and bring their own #HappyART masterpieces into the world.

What were you like growing up?
I was always the kid outside playing in the dirt, climbing trees, running around barefoot, riding motorcycles and getting into trouble. I was a gymnast growing up and always had a love for doing anything that made me feel like a superhero.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://happybalanceproject.com
• Phone: 9899090520
• Email: brookecueny@happybalanceproject.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/happybalanceproject/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brookecueny/

Image Credit:
Daniel Rose
Everardo Keeme

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