12/30/2020
After writing at least 2 newsletters a month, every month for almost 16 years, this will be my last newsletter as Yoga Blend. Hang in there…it’s a long one but I feel if there ever was a time for an extraordinarily long email…now is the time.
This is my Love Letter to you, the Yoga Blend Community,
Once upon a time, over 25 years ago, I was lost. I knew deep down inside that I was a good person, but through the trials and tribulations of life, I found myself so far away from the life I wanted to be living and I had no idea how to find my way back.
That’s when I met Betty…my yoga teacher. She owned a tiny little yoga studio in Nashville that was a 30 minute drive for me. I cried the first time I drove out of that parking lot (as I continued to do many times throughout the years) because I felt like I had found my home. My yoga home. I had found ‘common unity’ with other people interested in their own personal awakening and transformation. I remember feeling so relieved.
Betty saw the light in me that had become dimmer and dimmer from years of unconscious choices. She saw my potential even though I was very lost in my own shadows and shame about the direction my life had taken. Through her guidance, her love, her steadfast devotion to her practice and her commitment to her students, she inspired me. She planted the seed. I knew I wanted to open a yoga studio one day. I wanted to create a community. I knew there was no way I could thank her or repay her for how she had helped me to turn my life around. So I vowed that I would spend the rest of my days on a mission to pay it forward to anyone interested in learning about yoga and how it could change their life for the better.
This is where the journey of Yoga Blend began. I dreamed of it for 8 years before the doors actually opened. It took so long for many reasons, but mostly because I had some serious work to do on myself before taking on the responsibility of holding such an important container for others. And it was well worth the wait because Yoga Blend might have opened in Nashville or San Diego and likely would have only lasted a couple of years because I still had so much to learn. So I trusted in the process and finally, on March 4th, 2005, my dream was realized on Magnolia Blvd in Burbank, CA exactly when and where it was meant to be.
Having worked in the corporate world for over a decade and helping to run other people’s businesses, I really wanted to do things differently when I opened my business. I didn’t open a business because I love business but rather I wanted to be in charge so I could love the people that worked for me, treat them with respect, care about them and let them know how important they were to me and to the success of my business. I wanted them to love coming to work. I wanted to empower them to take ownership and always let them know that I had their back. I wanted to do it my way without having to ask someone else permission to do the right thing. And I got to do all of that. What an incredible blessing. I had over 15 people that worked with me for well over a decade. Damn. I’m so humbled by and so very proud of that fact.
To say that it was a dream come true is an understatement. Yoga Blend became something that I didn’t even have the capacity to dream at the time I started dreaming about it. It exceeded my expectations in ways that I never even knew were possible.
I wish I could mention everyone that has ever been a part of Yoga Blend. Gosh, the people I’ve had the honor of meeting. But you know who you are and please know that I love and appreciate you for what you brought to my life, even if it was challenging, because I see every challenge as an opportunity for growth. And wow, how I have grown in the past 15 + years.
But I do want to specifically acknowledge and honor the incredible teachers who walked beside me through one of the most difficult years of my life, holding my hand and offering me so much love and tender care up until the very bittersweet end where we find ourselves today. They not only showed up for me, but also for the community, day in and day out. They are true champions and I am humbled by their steadfast loyalty, grace, love and support. Thank you for walking this wild and winding road with me for so many years and especially through this one. I love you with all my heart.
Bekah Finch, Nicole Eber, Heather Hudson, Arjuna Rice, Kellie Lupe Smith, Gracie Greenbaum, Jenny Brill, EJ Merlin, Susan Raglin, Susan Quon, Shee Dueitt, Kerry Trapp.
And to those who were there when the pandemic hit but couldn’t continue for whatever reason…I love you and honor you as well. Thank you so much for all the years you showed up so powerfully for me and for our community. I am so very grateful for each of you.
Jennie Powell, Jo Bianchi, Ryan Recchio, Sandy Comstock, Mark Tiger, Rose Moran, Karen Apostolina, Anne Christensen, Lacy Altwine, Darby Orr and Arielle Silver.
And to all the other teachers who have ever taught at Yoga Blend as well as all of the other people who worked in various capacities…I love and appreciate you so very much. Thank you.
And then there’s the students…our students. The backbone of our community. My goodness, what an incredible bunch of humans…loving us, trusting us, appreciating us and showing up day after day, week after week, year after year. You believed in the teachers & staff of Yoga Blend and we believed in you. What a beautiful gift. What a beautiful community. Without you, Yoga Blend would have never become what it did. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
And finally, as we come to a close tomorrow on New Year’s Eve, I want to thank Yoga Blend. You taught me patience, trust, acceptance, forgiveness, authenticity, humility, grace, loyalty, sincerity, depth, vulnerability, perseverance, commitment, boundaries and surrender. You taught me honesty, kindness, compassion, dedication, tenderness, determination, abundance, fairness, balance and resilience. You taught me how to grow and grow and keep on growing regardless of the obstacles, the disappointment, the frustration and the fear. You taught me to love more than I thought I was capable of loving. You taught me to believe in magic and to never give up on a dream. You taught me the true value of community and why it so very important to me, to all of us. And more than anything…you taught me to let go.
And so now…I let go…
As Yoga Blend dissolves and this version of my dream comes to a close, I will forever be seeped in the kind of gratitude that drops me to my knees, brings tears to my eyes and a fullness to my heart. Thank you all for being a part of my dream. I hope we meet again in the next one.
With infinite love and gratitude…
Namaste,
Christy
PS If you want to keep hearing from me and receiving my newsletters, you can find me here…
www.christylynnhicks.com
PSS Please join me for our virtual dance party tomorrow afternoon as we close out this year and the Yoga Blend chapter
https://bit.ly/34WoYZm
PSSS I love you
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