In this episode of Simple Rituals, Lia sits down with her longtime yoga teacher and friend Kathryn to talk about yoga on and off the mat, learning to surf at 40, and the rituals that keep her grounded. They also get into how to hold a vision without needing it to happen right away, and why creating your own wins matters most after a hard season.
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Lia: Kathryn, welcome to the Simple Rituals Podcast I'm so happy to have you.
Kathryn: Thank you. It's an honor to be here. Thank you so much for having me.
Lia: Of course! I've been wanting to get you on the podcast basically since I came up with the idea of having a podcast because you've been such an important part of my wellness journey and a staple in my weekly rituals pretty much for the last like 10 years probably because I've taken your yoga classes up until what January of this year...
Kathryn: Yes, perhaps even longer than a decade, to be honest. Yeah.
Lia: Yeah. Once or twice a week, every week, for probably a decade. We were just chatting how you have taken a break from yoga but you're trying to find like the right community to get back in and for me it's funny hearing a yoga teacher talk about trying to find the right community because as a student I feel like it's so hard to find the right teacher and so when I found you there's just and you were talking to about like how people cue differently and. I feel like that's such an important part of the practice as a student to define someone who like uses cues that you just understand and like the pace of your class and the asanas that you choose and everything just makes it feel so relaxing and also energizing and I miss your classes so so much and I miss our weekly check-ins and like catch up sessions so much
Kathryn: Likewise, likewise friend.
Lia: But I'm happy to hear that you're enjoying the break.
Kathryn: Yeah, yeah. You know, because I've been teaching for 16 years, and it was my full-time career. I think a lot of people have a career, and then they teach one or two classes on the side. It's not their main source of income. But for me, because I was a professional ballet dancer turned yogi, I always say I'm not really qualified to do anything else.
Lia: That is not true!
Kathryn: So most of my friends that were also dancers either segued into Pilates, personal training, or yoga. And yoga just always made sense to me and my body. And it felt really good to balance mind, body, and spirit. And then I created a company out of it and helped a lot of people. And I still have my company. It's just under construction at the moment and going through a transformative period of time with my corporate wellness. But I have stepped back from teaching for the first time in 16 years. So I used to teach anywhere between three to five classes a day
Lia: A day? Wow! I didn't realize that. That's a lot.
Kathryn: yeah, yeah. Oh, yeah. Yes, yeah. I always say I'm like a yoga dealer, you know? Just like wheeling and dealing yoga all throughout San Diego. But there was nothing else I wanted to do. You know, that was it. And to me, that was living the dream, because not a lot of people love what they do. And to spread health and wellness to other people was amazing. And you were part of that journey. And it probably influenced your life in a way that I don't even realize. So just to have that influence on my students felt right.
Lia: Yeah. I think that like one of the things I admire most about you too is your ability to follow your intuition and like tune into what feels right for your body and for your spirit because, for a lot of people I feel like I mean sure I'm sure it's been jarring for you to take such a break but you've approached it in a way that's like this is what feels good and then you were saying that you're probably going to get back to teaching a couple classes like everything you do just feels... Like it's just happening as it's supposed to and I'm sure that there is a lot of friction like internally for you and more than it shows but you seem to approach everything with such grace and intuition, and I love that.
Kathryn: I try. I try. You know? But that's what the yoga practice has taught me.
Lia: Ah! True.
Kathryn: You know? It's taught me resilience and patience and self-compassion and self-love and to follow your intuition and to, you know, de-stress and calm the mind. And the list goes on and on and on of the many benefits of yoga, not only from a physical point of view, but from an emotional and mental point of view. And so I've used that technique or skill set off the mat, so to speak, I always say that to you guys. And you take from this practice off the mat.
Lia: But you embody it so well.
Kathryn: Yeah. Yeah. And then you're embodying what you learn up on the mat, you know, into your daily life. And it's kind of like, OK, Kathryn, practice what you preach, because you do preach this three to five times a day, you know, five days a week. So...
Lia: Yeah, but a lot of things are easier said than done. And you do a great job.
Kathryn: Thank you. Thank you. And the practice has seen me through many different seasons of life, the highs and the lows. And I really have relied heavily on, you know, coming back to my breath and using that as an anchor to anchor me into the present moment and go, OK, let's reflect on some of the things that, you know, are uncomfortable or that aren't working out so well. So having yoga in my back pocket, so to speak, even as an instructor, but also as a student, has been pivotal. And I'll have it for the rest of my life. You know, I've been practicing yoga for almost 20 years, and I've been teaching yoga for 16 years. And I think I'll do it to the day I die, quite frankly.
Lia: I hope you do.
Kathryn: Yeah. Yeah. And it's really cool because my life has evolved significantly over the past few years outside of the yoga realm. So I think it's also important to honor that. I mean, yes, it's like my bread and butter. And it's my one true love, so to speak. But I've also fallen in love with surfing. And I'm really into pickleball. I have a garden. So there's many simple rituals that I really love. But they're usually intertwined into the health and wellness industry.
Lia: Health and wellness and like just mindfulness, because I feel like a lot of your... a lot of your hobbies are, for me at least, they feel like really intentional. Like pickleball is like social and active and surfing is more of like the spiritual. But it's also social for you too, right? I feel like you have a group of surfer friends.
Kathryn: There's a "Boards and Brunch" plug. I love it. I love it. I knew we'd find a way to rope it in. Yeah. Three years ago, I started an all-women's surf and brunch club, Babe's Boards and Brunch.
Lia: That's so fun. I love it.
Kathryn: Yeah. So yet another project and a simple ritual that really empowers women to paddle out and catch waves together and support one another and love one another. It's been a super, super special aspect of my life as well.
Lia: And you learned to surf like when you moved to Hawaii or like later in life, right?
Kathryn: Later, I started surfing when I was 40. Yeah. And so I've been surfing for six years. And it's just been such pivotal work is what-- it's work. It's not easy. I always say that as a professional ballet dancer, I trained my entire life. And so my life, I was always very disciplined in that regard. And so when I transitioned that lifestyle into yoga, it was very effortless. It was very natural. So yoga always was-- I don't want to say easy because it wasn't easy, but it made sense to my body. But surfing has been incredibly challenging because
Lia: Different!
Kathryn: the conditions are always changing. The waves can be really big in Hawaii. The wind can be crazy in Hawaii. You know, you have multiple different variables every day. The tides can swing drastically. So you have to take all that into effect. Whereas, like, yoga, you roll out that mat. You could do that anywhere in the world. It's always going to be the same stability and consistency. So that has set me up for success in terms of kind of evolving that practice pretty quickly over time. With yoga, it has evolved-- or excuse me, rather, surfing, it has evolved, but it's taken me a lot longer to learn. And I'm still struggling to learn the concepts of it. But it's worth it. It's really a fun sport.
Lia: I feel like you don't give yourself enough credit because I feel like I've seen videos of you surfing and you're good.
Kathryn: I just started surfing bigger waves this summer. And it has been so pivotal because it teaches you to step out of your comfort zone, which we're not always good at, right? There's this massive head-by-- if not like double overhead high wave coming your way. And you're like, all right, I'm just going to send it and charge it and see what happens. And what I was starting to realize is nine times out of 10, I could catch the wave. And I could go down the line. And I was like, oh, maybe I can do this. So it teaches you something about yourself that you're like, maybe I need to trust that I can do this.
Lia: I need to take a page out of your book because I've been wanting to surf forever and I've always lived in a place where surfing should be like very easy to do and here I don't even need a wetsuit like I have no excuse not to do it. And I like take lessons and then I'm like, all right, I've had a few lessons that feel just go do it myself and then I always chicken out. I just have a huge fear of going on my own and doing it. And I don't know if it's because like I don't understand like I've grown up swimming in oceans like I have no fear, I have a respectful fear of the ocean but not like a like a you know like a actual fear of the ocean. But I feel like I need to under I don't know I just make excuses like I need to understand like the... where the coral is, where the reefs are, where the tide is changing. I don't know. I have built it up in my head. I just need to go out there and do it.
Kathryn: No, I feel you. I think if it weren't for COVID, when COVID hit, I literally turned 40 within that week. It was like everything changed in my life. And the world shut down. And I had literally nothing else to do because our classes transitioned to virtual. So instead of showing up at multiple different locations within San Diego, I was like, oh, maybe I'll teach virtually in Hawaii? That sounds great. And did that for six years, but had all the time in the world to explore my backyard, which was like some of the best world class breaks for longboarding. And so I think if it weren't for COVID, I wouldn't surf. I just think I'd still be teaching a gazillion yoga classes day in and day out, which was fine with me. I loved it too.
Lia: Yeah. Silver lining, though.
Kathryn: So yeah. Yeah, I was still following my passion. Yeah.
Lia: So you're 46 this year. I'm 36 this year because I turned 30 during COVID. So we both had like big years during COVID. Big birthdays. I celebrated with my two best friends who quarantined.
Kathryn: Yeah. And we both moved to islands on different sides of the continental US. That's kind of interesting. Yeah.
Lia: It's so crazy. We definitely have a lot of parallel things happening in our lives.
Kathryn: Right, right. Yeah, exactly. But it all happened the way that it was supposed to.
Lia: Exactly. I believe that truly like I don't think you can believe anything else other than you're exactly where you're supposed to be.
Kathryn: Right. And I always say that in yoga too. You just got to trust that. There's always a lesson involved, and there's always something to learn from.
Lia: What, and if you haven't hit on them yet because you've already we've already chatted through some of your favorite rituals but is there a specific ritual that you want to share with our community?
Kathryn: Well, it was yoga, obviously, because that's what I love the most. But I really struggle with this because I'm not one-track-minded, if that makes sense. So any given day, I might not practice yoga. I might focus on my garden, and there's a ritual with that as well. Or I might focus on my free diving because I finally booked my dream trip to Mo'orea in Tahiti to swim with the humpback whales in September.
Lia: I'm so glad you're doing that.
Kathryn: So it's like, yeah, holding your breath and diving deep. And I learned to do that on Oahu during COVID with several different trainings and whatnot. So that's another simple ritual that I'm really into as well as I love to hike in Hawaii. I love to weight train at 45 or even I belong to the Elks Lodge. So we lift weights there. Pickleball, as I already mentioned, and yoga and surfing. So I'd say my life is constantly revolving around those, you know, maybe like 10 things that I really prioritize. And of course, cooking healthy food and whatnot. But then there's even just like those little simple daily rituals that I enjoy like watching the sunset, you know, from the lanai. That's been a dream come true. And it doesn't always align with my schedule, but I really do try to carve out time at night to just sit and watch the sunset over the ocean. I think there's something so sacred and so beautiful about that. So I've even thought about talking about that today, but...
Lia: You could talk about any of it. And I know just because I've seen your place but like your space is so conducive to any honestly any wellness ritual. You have the wave cave which is it literally feels like you're in the ocean.
Kathryn: I feel like I'm in the ocean. Yeah. So for the listeners, it's technically a tiny home. It's under 500 square feet. You can't see land from the living room. So there's 180-degree view of the ocean. And a lot of times people say that they feel like they are on a boat,
Lia: Yeah. A stationary boat.
Kathryn: but it's not moving. So you wouldn't get seasick. Yeah. Because my brother said to me, oh, mom's going to get seasick at the wave cave. And I was like, well, we're not moving, but you know, we're not moving. So. It's a very unique and special place. This November, I will have been there seven years of my life and it is so incredibly special to me. I've seen the most beautiful rainbows and whales breaching and diving. You know, I caught waves in the backyard, learned how to surf in the backyard. The front yard is Kapi'olani Park, which with Diamond Head in the background. So for me, these were all the things that were on my vision board. It just really truthfully feels like a dream come true living out that life.
Lia: I have goosebumps.
Kathryn: Yeah. So the way the wave cave could be a ritual within itself because it does inspire a certain type of lifestyle. And it's everybody always says it's perfect for you.
Lia: It is. It is you.
Kathryn: You found the most perfect place for you. Yeah. Yeah. And I hope I continue to live there, you know. Yeah.
Lia: Can you talk a little bit more about your vision boarding. Like do you... vision boarding and or like manifestation if you do, if you practice that?
Kathryn: Yeah. And we've done that in our classes as well. And I'm sure you remember every start of the year, I always talk about goal setting and, you know, we do meditations before we even practice any asana around what it is that we want to positively manifest into our lives. And I just think the power of thought can go so far because you're already setting yourself up for success by the thought process, you know? Like I even did it on this trip. I'm kind of like, all right, you know, we're like halfway through the year. What do I want the rest of the year to look like when I get back from North Carolina and how do I want to embark on my journey getting back to Hawaii? What are the goals that I want to accomplish before the end of the year? So I'm caught... the wheels are constantly turning about like what's next and what steps do we take? But I think cutting out different pictures of what it is that you want. So for instance, I remember cutting out pictures of a garden and now I have that garden or I remember cutting out pictures of Diamond Head because I've always been obsessed with Hawaii and now I live at the base of Diamond Head.
Lia: That is wild.
Kathryn: Yeah. Yeah. So just little things like, you know, yoga and having a corporate wellness company. We haven't even talked about the name, but it's Hang Zen Yogis. Yeah. It's a play off of Hang 10 and surfing - Hang Zen. So always just being in that Zen-like state of mind and bringing that to big corporations, whether that's in Hawaii, San Diego or all around the mainland has also been a dream come true. But I think that also started with just the visualization process of like, hey, this could be an avenue to explore.
Lia: And so when you. Well I actually have so many questions but yours zen-like mindset because I want that. I want a zen-like mindset.
Kathryn: We all do. And I'm still working on it. Trust me, I am still working on it.
Lia: You are, ok. Because I feel like some people just, they just are. You know like they're just chill their type B they've got it like nothing really ruffles their feathers. Are you like one of those people or are you...? No because you also said like "I'm always thinking about what's next". So how do you.... Because I find myself more in that bucket of like I'm always thinking about what's next. It's really hard for me to focus on contentment. Is it Santosha contentment?
Kathryn: Yes.
Lia: Yeah, so when I did my yoga teacher training way back when, that was my first like big like aha moment like Lia you never feel content like you need to learn this and practice this. And I feel like since then 20 years ago now not 20... maybe 15 years ago though since I did yoga teacher training, like contentment has been something that I've been trying to achieve, which is literally the opposite of what contentment is. But I feel like I really struggle with that. So how do you practice manifestation and like hold a vision without getting like too wrapped up in achieving it? You know what I mean?
Kathryn: Yeah. I see what you mean because I have a lot of visions that haven't happened yet. Truthfully. So I think it just is a matter of, you know, being patient and knowing that there's going to be a lot of different setbacks for whatever reason and what are the ways in which we kind of navigate through that. Yeah. Yeah. Visualization doesn't always pan out the way we want, but I think contentment, you know, comes with age too. I feel like I, the older and older I get, the more I chill out because I am more type A.
Lia: Okay. Same.
Kathryn: And you wouldn't, you wouldn't think that, but I like to dot my I's, cross my T's. Everything has to be perfectly aligned. I wish I was a little bit more lackadaisical chilled out, but that's what the yoga practice has conditioned me to be. So I really feel particularly the meditation aspect of it, which is why with my business, we offer more than just yoga. We offer sound healing and meditation for big businesses because not everybody likes yoga A, but B has the time to change into the yoga clothes and do all the postures and whatnot, even though we've condensed the classes to about 30 minutes now, you know, not everybody has that timeframe. So I think as much as I like to talk about yoga, I also like to talk about guided meditation because I don't think that I could just sit in stillness alone. I could, but I prefer to be guided.
Lia: Me too.
Kathryn: And that's okay, right? Like, that's okay. It's however you want to achieve that Zen-like state of mind. But I've encouraged many of my friends and many of my students to, you know, if they're having difficulty sleeping or if they're working through grief or what have you, just listen, you know, even just through YouTube, there's a bunch of free videos. And even if it's just 10 minutes of your time, that's another thing. It doesn't have to be a super long duration. Maybe you don't have an hour in the middle of the day to practice yoga, but you do have 10 minutes to listen to a guided meditation, or maybe you can meditate on your own or, you know, go to a sound bath, that type of thing. So,
Lia: I love sound baths.
Kathryn: oh, yeah, they're so great. In fact, that was our most popular offering.
Lia: Really?
Kathryn: Yeah. At multiple different businesses, those classes were.
Lia: I feel like maybe... it's not, I guess it's more passive like a lot a lot of people meditation is work for a lot of people and yoga is work but sound bath you can just receive and you benefit from it without doing anything you know.
Kathryn: Yeah. You might fall asleep. You know, it calms your central nervous system. You're out of fight and flight. You're in rest and digest. You're in that Zen-like state of mind that we're all trying to achieve and maintain. That's the hardest part.
Lia: And maintain, yes!
Kathryn: You can achieve it. And then something happens, you know, within your day where you're like, well,
Lia: I'm not so Zen anymore.
Kathryn: Yeah.
Lia: How often do you meditate?
Kathryn: I try to do guided meditation once a day, but it doesn't always end up being that. And that's okay. I'm not super strict about it, but, you know, I always try to incorporate it into my classes. So I think as you know, because you've been a student of mine for so long, but I like to theme all my classes. So we're focusing on various different topics or, you know, spring Equinox, summer solstice kind of stuff that halfway check in throughout the year, or that, you know, manifestation and goal oriented class at the beginning of the year or a vision board or, you know, jotting, just even writing down your goals is helpful. So I'd like to think that my classes are a little different than the norm because we're getting our brains to think, whether it's a quote or, I don't know, I'm trying to think of maybe even something that you, you took away from one of my themed classes, but there's been many themes.
Lia: Many themes and I was just about to ask you, I'm not trying to be like asking the magician to tell me his tricks but I feel like your words and like your themes and everything are almost as important to me to hear as the asanas are for me to move through because I don't know how to describe it. I feel like I'm meditating when I do class. I also feel like I'm like receiving like a life coaching session or something to like your words are always so intentional but they always hit right when I need to hear them too.
Kathryn: Yeah. And then, you know, it just makes you feel less alone because I think we're all working through the same issues to a certain degree. Obviously all those scenarios look drastically different, but the emotion tied to it is the same.
Lia: True. Yeah, it's a universal.
Kathryn: Right. So it's like, yeah, it's universal. Exactly. So if I'm talking about, I don't even know what it could be anything.
Lia: Change... or...
Kathryn: Change, yeah. Feeling uncomfortable. Like everybody can relate to that to some degree. So, I think the classes are relatable when they're themed and then it helps people. There's some psychology involved in that. You know, helps people work through some different issues. And it might even be something from the past that you're like, oh, this is unresolved. I never really worked through this, but because she's theming it in this way, now I'm thinking about it again. And maybe you're processing that in a whole new way, moving forward.
Lia: Do you, because you've been doing it so long so you probably don't have to think about it as much. But when I did yoga teacher training, that was like the thing that scared me the most was knowing how to fill the empty spaces in class with like inspiring words. But you always nailed it. So, do you like write it down before class? Or do you, it just comes to you? Or do you theme your actual flow around the theme? Do the movements match the theme too? Or is it all just works together magically because you're you?
Kathryn: That's a really good question. I do think it's a lot of training that I don't even realize is there. But it's there. Because I, you know, I did my 300 hour with YogaWorks and they were all about theming the classes and having the movement tied into the theme. So maybe inadvertently I was doing that and not realizing it. I think a lot of it has to do with my ballet background. You know, it's always a story through movement.
Lia: Ah, interesting!
Kathryn: I think I've, yeah, I think I have kind of merged those two things. And then I've been to classes where it's just focused on the physical postures and as lovely as that is, I kind of feel like I want more. So, and, you know, every instructor has something unique and different to offer. I just think that, you know, I've created a platform where people know they're going to get a theme that they want to or not. And then hopefully it helps them.
Lia: Yeah! It's your secret sauce.
Kathryn: It is my secret sauce. Oh my God. Yeah. Yeah. I never, I never thought of it like that, which is why I really feel called to teach again. I'm like, I got the secret sauce...
Lia: You've got the secret sauce.
Kathryn: And maybe even if one person benefits from it, then so be it. Then I helped one person, you know.
Lia: Can you walk us through a day in your life just because mostly just because I'm really interested. I want to know what you do like from the second you wake up to the second you go to bed. And I know you said that not every day is the same but like pretend like it's a normal day for you.
Kathryn: Well I do really thrive off of consistency as much as I love variety. But I am a creature of habit, so... waking up and having my daily ritual of my coffee is very important and sacred and special to me and then I always have to move my body, that's something that is very important to me and it's interesting the days that I don't get to do that I notice a difference.
Lia: You feel it?
Kathryn: Yeah and it doesn't always align with you know with the work schedule or what have you but if I can wake up and either practice yoga, surf, lift weights, those are kind of my three go-to things. then the world's a better place.
Lia: So, you like to move in the morning?
Kathryn: yes yes in fact people have invited me to either you know surf or practice yoga or even lift weights in the evening, and I get it you know maybe if you work the nine to five and that's the only time that aligns for you of course you're gonna do it in the evening, but I just don't operate that way for whatever reason, I have to do it in the morning
Lia: It's funny how we all are wired. My friend does a class at like 6:30 at night. And I'm like, "Sarah, you know I'm in my pajamas. I'm really ready for dinner and wind down by 6:30.
Kathryn: Yeah same
Lia: There's no way you're going to get me out of the house to work out that late.
Kathryn: yeah yeah I've done it before it's like you know when push comes to shove and I actually have to do it, I will do it but I don't prefer to do it that way.
Lia: Yeah. I think five o'clock is like my cutoff for an evening workout.
Kathryn: yeah
Lia: But I also have a hard time moving first thing in the morning like maybe a maybe yoga I could do yoga at like eight or nine but a hard workout first thing kind of like it makes me feel like rushed a little bit.
Kathryn: yeah yeah I'm not an early morning person although I used to teach the 6 a.m. yoga class followed by the 7:15
Lia: That's so early.
Kathryn: yeah I did that for seven years so... and then here in North Carolina my brother and my nephew you know I'm up at 5 a.m. I'm paddling out in the moonlight. I've never done anything like that in my life but they really prioritize surfing that early in the morning less crowds better conditions. So you know you kind of adapt to to what works best but yeah I definitely like to move my body in in the morning and then you know just healthy foods, right? Like I I really feel good if I'm fueling my body properly obviously I'm super focused on like multiple different forms of protein and veggies and and I'm constantly preaching this to everyone I encounter so... But I have my off moments don't think I my diet super clean it's not but I I've really tried like 80/20 rule you know 70/30 maybe... You get what I'm saying I really do try to eat clean
Lia: What time do you usually wake up? Like not when you're on the East coast.
Kathryn: Naturally I usually wake up like around 7 a.m. something like that yeah
Lia: Yeah. And you have your coffee, and then yoga or surfing or something around like what... 8?
Kathryn: yes yeah 8 o'clock is my sweet spot for that
Lia: Your sweet spot.
Kathryn: yeah and then I'm you know and then I'm working I'm trying to figure out how to expand my business I really obviously the economy has changed a lot recently and so I think these big businesses aren't prioritizing corporate wellness as much. Do I think that has opportunity to change? I do, because not everybody is gonna be working from home. That has kind of also changed as well I think there's burnout with zoom yoga and rightfully so I was even burnt out teaching it as as much as fun as we had doing it for the past six years. I think it really should be in person but it's worked and it will continue to work virtually. But yeah so I'm constantly trying to get my brain moving forward with how can I restructure my corporate wellness business to reach, you know, new clients and help more people. That's really what I want to do. I want to help more people feel good in their bodies in their minds.
Lia: Yeah. Me too. That's another of your simple rituals too.
Kathryn: This is why we connect you know yeah
Lia: We have one shared vision. And different paths to get there, but also connecting paths - inner winding paths. I love it.
Kathryn: Yeah, and then you know once I've once I've worked then I maybe would do a second workout but something something lighter like the pickleball or the gardening or what you know I really enjoy walking around my neighborhood that kind of thing
Lia: Yeah. How much time do you spend working on your business every day, would you say?
Kathryn: Some days I could be better at it.
Lia: Like you spend too much time, or not enough time, in your mind?
Kathryn: Not enough time.
Lia: I feel like that's the hardest thing as an entrepreneur is like deciding like, especially from coming out of a corporate wellness environment. I'm like it's drilled into my head that you work eight hours a day or more and it starts in the morning and ends at like five and I've been really trying to be open minded, I guess. And like more intuitive with my work schedule and it's really hard because I have these like rules set up in my head of like no that's too late to start work or like that's too late to keep working or that's not enough time to spend on your business every day. But it really, it's up to you. And I'm that's something I'm really curious about like how much time are other people spending when they have the freedom to choose. Are they working six days are they working for days are they working five hours a day are they working 10 hours a day like...
Kathryn: It honestly varies, because I've had my company, this September, I will have owned my company for 11 years.
Lia: That's crazy! That's awesome!
Kathryn: Thank you, yeah, yeah. So I never had the standard nine to five job ever in my life.
Lia: Wow! Okay.
Kathryn: Because I was a disciplined ballet dancer and you had to show up and put in the work, I am no stranger to long, extended hours of hard work. I'm not afraid to work, but I will say as an entrepreneur, you do get really used to creating your own schedule and creating your own hours. You're like, well, the surf's good today, so... I can enjoy that a little bit longer and then work a little bit later. So having that flexibility has been really nice. And once you get used to it, you almost can't go back to that rigid structure of like show up at this time and sit behind a computer for eight hours. This is why I wanted to help corporate America. This is why I started my company.
Lia: I don't think it's natural. And yet I still try to like make myself do that because I feel like it's what I should be doing and I'm like no I don't actually think that's what we should be doing I don't think that's how humans should be operating every day like eight hours behind a computer screen.
Kathryn: No, no. In fact, a lot of the people that I was working with were like, I don't know if this is a good thing or not, but would say, "you're the reason I decided to leave this job. Because as I was practicing yoga, I was realizing I wasn't really happy doing this. And I needed better work life balance and I wanted to focus on raising my children. Or I wanted to focus on being a wife or a husband or what have you." So that was kind of neat for me. And maybe something I said inspired that person and they had an epiphany. But then they followed their true life path and they didn't feel stuck anymore in corporate America. And I'm not saying corporate America is bad because it has many, many wonderful perks: the stability and 401k and the health insurance, right? So all these things are wonderful with different jobs. But I think it does take a certain type of personality to stay disciplined, but then also be able to have that spontaneity within your day and that's okay.
Lia: Yeah, yeah. To wrap things up what's on your vision board right now? Could you share?
Kathryn: You know, I could have done a better job at my vision board for 2026. I didn't vision board and I've always vision board in the past. This year I wrote down my goals. So kind of similar. I wanna get back to teaching yoga again. I wanna expand my company more. Specifically doing corporate wellness. However, my business has really changed because I am now working at assisted living facilities within Hawaii. And it goes back to what I always preach is that yoga works for everybody. And guess what? Seniors need yoga just as much as you and I need yoga, just as much as children need yoga. So... As of right now, I have been pivoting my business model to focus more on chair yoga, which we were never doing before, but there's a need for it, right? Think of all the seniors that live in either assisted living, independent living, memory care, what have you. They're in that facility for a reason and they need these different outlets throughout the day. So maybe Hang Zen in the future is offering more chair yoga at assisted living facilities, but I would like to get it back into some of those big corporations that I was working with before. And that takes me to multiple different cities and hiring a staff. That's also another thing I really enjoy is managing people and finding them a sub, or letting them have a creative outlet to teach these different classes in multiple different cities. I do feel like as much as I like teaching the classes, I also really enjoy managing a company and keeping it afloat... as best I know how.
Lia: Yeah, well because I feel like sometimes that's the Catch-22 of entrepreneurship is you enter it thinking that you're going to be doing the thing that you love all the time and then you end up doing all the other things instead. So it's a good thing that you like the business part of it too.
Kathryn: I wouldn't say I'm great at it. I'm learning as I go, but yeah, I do have a passion for it and I think there's always a learning curve and there's always more that I could learn. And then I'm also learning, hey, I'm not good at this aspect of it. So I outsource it to somebody who specializes in that. So it's also knowing when to say when. And I feel like I'm pretty good at that. It's like, okay, this is not within my realm of possibility. This is not within my skill set. So let me hire someone who knows how to do taxes, you know?
Lia: Okay, so on your vision board for the rest of the year is expanding your business, what ever that might look like.
Kathryn: Expanding my business. Yeah. Yeah.
Lia: Anything personal that you're working on? That you would be open to sharing with us?
Kathryn: Oh gosh. Well, you know, I, yeah, I had a really tumultuous 2025. I had a very low, low moment of 2025, unfortunately. So I wasn't doing a lot of traveling the past few years and I really loved to travel. So I thought to myself, "what's one, one place that you can visit that you've always wanted to go? And what's one thing that you can do that, you know, would help you kind of move your life along?" And so that's, that's why I booked that trip to Mo'orea. That's like one of the only places in the world where you can legally swim with the humpback whales. So I swim with the dolphins on the west side of Oahu and that, you know, you could just, it's kind of just luck per se. But here you're, you're, you're putting yourself in a pretty high probability to swim with the whales. So that's kind of more of a personal thing is like getting back to traveling and getting back to some of the things that I had to put on hold for various different reasons in the past. So yeah, traveling, I would say is one of them because it's been quite some time that I've traveled outside of the country and that's something that I really enjoy doing.
Lia: Yes! I'm really excited for your trip. I can't wait to hear about it.
Kathryn: Thank you. Yeah, yeah, it's, it's going to be life altering. I have a feeling.
Lia: I think it is too. Even if the trip itself... I think you need the trip because it's going to be life altering. I don't know how to say it, but like you were saying, I remember last year you talking about this trip.
Kathryn: Oh, really?
Lia: Well, maybe it's not this one in particular...
Kathryn: I think it is. I've been... I've been trying to manifest this for years.
Lia: Yeah, you were like, "If this doesn't happen then I'm going to book this trip." And this didn't happen. And so you booked the trip.
Kathryn: correct.
Lia: And I think that, this what needed... it's what needs to happen for you this year to like move forward.
Kathryn: Well, you know, when you go through a challenging moment in time and nothing's really panning out the way in which you had envisioned, you need some wins under your belt, right? So like, unfortunately, there, there weren't a lot of wins the past few years, for multiple different reasons. And so it's, it's just a matter of having something to look forward to where you're like, the probability of me swimming with whales in this particular area is very high. And this is something that I've always wanted to do. So now's the time to do it.
Lia: And you're creating your own wins, which is so empowering when it feels like life is just happening to you a lot of times too.
Kathryn: Yeah. So those were the three things that I was really looking forward to moving forward in 2026, expanding my company, swimming with humpback whales and getting back to teaching publicly, whatever that might look like at a yoga studio or, you know, wherever.
Lia: I love it!
Kathryn: Thank you.
Lia: Anything else you want to share with us before we end?
Kathryn: I, I did want to say one more thing is that oftentimes, you know, a lot of people have this interpretation that yoga isn't accessible to them, right? So I'd like to just spotlight that yoga is available to anyone, regardless of age, regardless of gender, regardless of skin color, regardless of socioeconomic, you know, status or background, because there's so many different ways in which we can explore yoga from the comfort of our own home with a free YouTube video on the carpet. You know, you don't need all the fancy yoga clothes or props or what have you. And it doesn't have to be super time consuming as well. So starting small and making those baby steps over time and celebrating those small wins, I think could really develop into a beautiful yoga practice for anyone and everyone.
Lia: Me too. I love that. Thank you for adding that in.
Kathryn: Sure. Absolutely. My pleasure.
Lia: Well, I hope you enjoy the rest of your trip with your family and have a safe trip and a good trip with your cousin in Florida. But then I hope you have a safe trip home to Hawaii. And I hope everything on your vision board comes true.
Kathryn: Thank you so much.
RESOURCES:
- Follow Kathryn on Instagram: @kathrynmccann
- Hang Zen Yogis: hangzenyogis.com
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