Today we’d like to introduce you to Lindsie Streng.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
My story and the story of the birth of Apricity Power Yoga can be boiled down to this; I wasn’t willing to conform to corporate life, so I started my own business. However, the preboiled story is a lot more complex and interesting than that. Here it is. I got certified to teach yoga in 2017 after the birth of my first baby, as a way to attempt to make some supplemental income for our family. I was not used to just staying home, before getting pregnant I was a well-oiled hustle machine. I lived on my own in Portland, OR worked three part-time jobs, had a full credit schedule in college, and was also a full-time flight student, while also maintaining military readiness and training as an Air National Guardsman. So after I became a stay-at-home-mom, I got a bit restless. I knew I needed and wanted to be present for my baby as much as possible so thought, if I was going to do yoga, might as well get paid for it. Shortly after getting certified we moved to Arizona, where I struggled to find a studio that fit my certification. Honestly, there was none. I am credentialed in Baptiste Power Yoga.
So naturally, I sought out this type of studio. None. There were ones that sorta fit but were over an hour away from me. After a few months of trying find a yoga home for what I was certified in, I realized it just wasn’t a thing where I was in the valley. Bummed, of course, I started looking for more traditional jobs. I had decided not to go back to school and that the pilot lifestyle was not one that fit within the vision we had as a family, so I turned to something that had financial promise and what I thought would be great for my family once my husband and I were completely out of the military. It had always been the plan that I’d go back to work around our baby’s first birthday (portion removed). So, I did. I got a job in the mortgage industry. As my husband, is also in real estate, we thought it was a match made in heaven. Shortly after I got the job, I found out I was pregnant with my second. I worked full time at the mortgage company until the day I gave birth.
After I had my second baby, I knew I couldn’t go back. This particular company had zero family values and was not supportive of the obstacles that comes with having a budding family. So, I started daydreaming of what I would do. I would daydream of opening a coffee shop, or a food cart, or selling some sort of creative craft. My husband and I had always talked about opening a yoga studio when we retired because we just never really thought it was in our reach any time soon. But then one day, I was talking about a studio as if I had already opened it. It was honestly just playful. But in that playfulness, we had brainstormed up the majority of how we “had made our studio”. Then he looked at me and said it’s going to happen, make it happen. Why not now? So we did. Not 10-weeks after that conversation we were standing in our very own yoga studio, which is today Apricity Power Yoga. I had picked the minds of other studio owners, attempted at creating partnerships, and even almost had a co-owner, but I was not willing to slow down. I know myself well enough to know that if I don’t act on a decision and move towards it every single day that it’ll become a “what-if” or a “shoulda-coulda-woulda” situation.
So, with the wisdom of my mentors, a couple of really supportive yoga teachers (of whom teach at APY today), and the stronghold of my husband, we made it happen. As a stay-at-home-mom in a one income home with two littles, we knew the financing of the studio would be our main speed bump, but even that didn’t get in our way. APY was meant to be born and was much needed in the West Valley, sitting just south of the I-10 in Avondale. We are a little hidden gem of a studio. We were the only hot power yoga studio in the area.There maybe two heated studios in the West Valley, but like I said, none that fit my certification for power yoga. So, I made one. If you want to know what the difference between the stereotypical yoga and power yoga, stop by, come feel the heat and try it for yourself.
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?
To bring the studio to life, I always knew I’d have to get real creative with funding without compromising on my morals or on quality of product. This was the real obstacle. I looked into co-owners, franchise-like options, partnerships, business line of credit, loans, and investors. As a stay-at-home-mom I had almost no money to my name. We were a one income home and that was sufficient to take care of our family but not really ideal for birthing a yoga studio. This was my biggest obstacle and fear frankly that I obviously found a workaround for. But at times, felt like would be my end all. Setting that fear aside and trusting that I had what I needed helped me shift my mindset enough to get creative enough to continue to keep moving forward in building APY.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Apricity Power Yoga – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of and what sets you apart from others.
I am the owner of Apricity Power Yoga. Our studio is a naturally and infrared heated space that is the birthplace of growth and expansion. We practice and offer Baptisite Power Yoga, Buti Yoga, and Restorative Yoga. These three yoga modalities all support each other in helping operate on a more energetic level in a physically and mentally draining world. These practices will challenge you, help you find new expansion, new accessibility, deep rest and a newfound vitality. I am most proud of APY for coming to life and being a pillar of transformation in the West Valley. APY is different from other fitness studios in the way that you’ll never leave the as the same person you walked in as. You will find true community that empowers you and accepts you. You don’t have to be or look a certain way, as you are works, the yoga works, and you will discover new things, not only in your physical practice but also in your life, that you never even thought you’d be capable of. Apricity is a studio for awakening and can be a catalyst for amazing growth if you do The Work.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
APY has so much on the horizon! We’ll be providing classes outside of the studio bringing yoga to the community with the help of some local partners. We’ve got some transformational workshops and trainings on the docket, yoga teacher trainings, and partnerships with other yoga studios that help grow community in ever expanding fashion. We believe in community over competition, where we can help others grow, expand and find success in any way we also grow, expand and find success. The growth of the community is where we find our purpose. With this in mind, our dreams, goals, and future plans all align with this…Be up to something bigger than yourself.
Contact Info:
- Address: 1050 N Fairway Dr. Suite E 107
Avondale, AZ 85323 - Website: ApricityPowerYoga.com
- Phone: 6232329030
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @apricitypoweryoga
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/apricitypoweryoga
- Other: https://www.vagaro.com/apricitypoweryoga
Image Credit:
Denise Marie and Tanner Koonce
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