Today we’d like to introduce you to Jen Truong.
Jen, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
Hello! I am a native of the Valley, born and raised right here in AZ. My parents both fled their home country of Cambodia over 30 years ago during a time of great turmoil and conflict. They are small business owners here and growing up, I watched my parents work very hard to build a safe, beautiful, and loving community for us to grow and thrive in. They are my biggest inspiration, and watching their entrepreneurial ventures blossom as I grew up greatly influenced my decision to major in Finance and Marketing when I applied for college.
At the wise old age of 18, my plan was to work hard, become CEO of a Fortune 500 company, make my way to changing the world for the better somehow, live happily ever after, all before I turned 30 years old, of course. Ha! Ambitious and naïve, I know. 🙂 And looking back over ten years later, I am glad I can laugh about it. But really! My parents had experienced such hardships in their own lives when they had to seek refuge out of their own home country; I really just wanted to make the world a better place for us so that they would not have to worry or work so hard anymore. At that point in my life, I only knew how to live my life on our society’s terms, automatically following what I thought I was supposed to do to get to that next step. I wanted to change the world but only knew how to do it on the world’s terms. And I soon learned, you cannot change the world using the world’s terms. To make a truly positive impact in this world, we must change the paradigm.
There is a quote by Rumi that pops up often when I talk about this: “Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today, I am wise, so I am changing myself.” This could not be truer for where I am at today. I will never regret choosing to major in business and working in the banking and investments industry after graduating. I learned quite a lot, met amazing people, gained a lot of confidence. However, the environment crushed me. Not because I didn’t like the people, or the job, or the company. In fact, all of that was great! But I truly believe it’s because I strayed way too far away from doing what truly lights my soul on fire.
I ignored my intuition and inner purpose for a long time and pursued things that I thought would bring me “success” and prestige instead of what would bring me peace and happiness. I had a lot of internal work to do (still do), so I left my corporate job, went hiking the John Muir Trail with my boyfriend at the time (now husband), and signed up for an acro yoga retreat in Thailand and yoga teacher training program a few months afterwards. The rest is history. What began as a personal initiative to simply restore my body, mind, and spirit, now has turned into a full-fledged passion for sharing the magic of movement, connection, and wellness to others. They say that when you heal yourself, you heal the world. So that is what I’m doing. Through teaching movement, through sharing and connecting, I am doing the work I believe it takes to leave a positive impact in our world.
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?
It definitely has NOT been a smooth road. In fact, lately, I have been describing this journey as “Janky AF” in regards to how this all feels on an emotional level. When I decided to leave my corporate job, I did not ever plan to become a full-time yoga and partner acrobatics teacher. It was really just a way for me to get back into shape. A few years later, here I am, a full-time yoga and partner acrobatics teacher. Life has a funny way of surprising us like that.
A big obstacle for me was the fear of leaving a life of financial stability and success, all to pursue a life filled with uncertainty. I was deliberately choosing to leave the only life I ever knew, to chase after a feeling of peace and freedom. The old me would look at the current me and still think it is way too foolish and risky. It took a long time to convince myself that I am worthy of this peace and freedom. It took an even longer time to convince my family of that as well.
My advice to those who are just starting on their journey: be deliberate and intentional about it! Live, move, and breathe ON PURPOSE. Yes, I did leave my corporate job to pursue peace and freedom, but I also knew I had to make ends meet and pay my mortgage and bills. At the time that I was starting my teaching business with my husband—Jen and David Acro—I was also working as a barista at Starbucks, a kids gymnastics coach, all while planning and teaching classes and workshops. I was getting paid pretty much minimum wage (extremely humbling after leaving the corporate life), but I am just grateful to have had those jobs, jobs where I could still pursue teaching and growing our business. It’s not always the prettiest road or the most comfortable road, but it’s the road that gets you where you need to be as long as you stay true to who you are; as long as you stay open and grateful for the opportunity to journey on ahead.
Also, know that there are people out there who both support and believe in you! You just have to find the right people – your people. Your work doesn’t have to be perfect. YOU do not have to be perfect. We often paralyze ourselves with the fear of the unknown, or perhaps the fear of failure. The best way to overcome your obstacles is through. And together, this makes it even more possible and worthwhile.
Please tell us more about your work, what you are currently focused on and most proud of.
My husband and I started our teaching business—Jen and David Acro— together after we returned from our partner acrobatic training in Spain two years ago. Together, we specialize in teaching a variety of movement arts here in the Phoenix Metropolitan area, but we love to travel to teach as well! Our movement repertoire includes but is not limited to: partner acrobatics, yoga, slackline, and cycle. We are certified teachers through PartnerAcrobatics.com and the YogaSlackers, and Jen specifically has an additional 800+ hours of training in healing emphasis yoga.
We absolutely love sharing our practice with the community! A big strength of ours is that we bring a strong foundational technique to our private lessons, classes, & workshops while still making them super fun and accessible for people in all walks of life. We do have quite a bit of training under our belts and have a lot of great mentors and teachers to draw from as we teach. We love bringing the magic of movement and connection to those we cross paths with along the way. There really is nothing better than seeing the expression on our students’ faces when they are able to accomplish something they did not originally believe they could. We are all born to move, freely and fluidly, and we love helping others to remember what that feels like.
Finding a mentor and building a network are often cited in studies as a major factor impacting one’s success. Do you have any advice or lessons to share regarding finding a mentor or networking in general?
Yes! I would say, don’t force the mentorship. Sometimes, we crave learning and guidance so bad that we just cling on to the person that we look up to the most. While it’s amazing to have people who greatly inspire you, I feel like the best mentorships are the ones that just happen naturally. The ones where the timing and connection are just right—the ones where you don’t even realize he or she was/is a mentor until perhaps years later.
Pricing:
- 60 minute Private Yoga Session with Jen – $70
- 60 minute Private Partner Acro Session with Jen and David – $80
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.jenanddavidacro.com/
- Phone: (623) 428-9553
- Email: jenanddavidacro@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jenanddavidacro/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jenanddavidacro/
Image Credit:
Steve Farmer Photography, Eunice Beck Photography, Britta Friend
Getting in touch: VoyagePhoenix is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
