Today we’d like to introduce you to Randii Reaves
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I was born in Mansfield, Ohio. My family and I came to Memphis, Tennessee when I was nine years old, and I’ve been residing here ever since. My very first yoga experience was my sophomore year in college. I took a yoga class as an elective, then I took yoga again for the next three semesters. Safe to say that I really enjoyed the class. I graduated from the University of Memphis with a BA in psychology. After college, I jumped from career to career just trying to find what worked for me. I would still practice yoga, but it was more of a workout or stress reliever than a lifestyle. In 2020, my father was killed. It broke me mentally. I was extremely depressed and the only thing that made me feel anything was my yoga practice. That’s when I knew that teaching yoga was what I really wanted to do. The following year, I got my 200hr YTT certification. And I, also, got certified in aerial yoga. Few months later, I quit my job at the post office and started my yoga journey. Since then, I’ve had a successful studio. I have 3 city contracts teaching weekly classes, going on our third year. All classes are free, btw. I’ve taught at several schools, and businesses. And I also teach a handful of private aerial yoga and meditation sessions. Discipline and dedication have been two major factors in my journey. When you love what you do, it doesn’t feel like work. And I absolutely enjoy everything that I do.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Just like any journey, there will be some trails and tribulations. I couple of things that were a struggle for me was getting started, finding my audience, and location. When I was first started, I didn’t know what I was doing. I spent about a year just doing random things like teaching free classes at the park, having zoom classes, posting “at home” videos on social media, and inconsistency. It would be days or weeks where I didn’t have a class or video posted then I would have a class for two weeks straight, and stop again. Finding my audience was also a struggle. It was hard reaching out to people that were interested in health and wellness outside of my friends and family. Most of the time people, whom were already in health and wellness, have a place where they already go. So trying to get people that would be interested in attending MY classes was a huge hardship. The biggest struggle for me was location. I’ve always known that having a good location is important when running a business. I always wanted my business to be in the center of it all. Where you would have good foot traffic and cars driving constantly. Knowing what I know now, you also have to be in a good community when looking for a location. My studio was initially in Cooper Young, but they weren’t very welcoming to me nor my business and forced me out of the area. So I believe having a good location is also a struggle other businesses may have, on top of finding an audience and getting started.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Fancy Yoga?
I offer a dynamic range of classes and services, but I specialize in teaching vinyasa, yin, meditation, and aerial yoga. To me, yoga means more than just the poses you see. There is a deeper sense in finding oneself while practicing yoga; physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. Not only are you discovering your own strengths, weaknesses; but, you also gain discipline, confidence, balance, a boost in immunity, a peace of mind, self awareness, resilience, and, of course, flexibility. By allowing myself to connect to myself deeper, I found love and passion in the art of yoga. I pride myself in the ability to push my body and mind to reach new limit. Because of that, I committed to become an instructor so I can share the uniqueness within yoga all while holding space and empowering others to rediscover themselves through movement and meditation. Not only would I teach regular 45 minutes to an hour yoga classes. I will also incorporate classes into events like Yoga sip and paint or dance and glow classes. When I’m not on my mat, I am doing massages as a licensed massage therapist, helping people to alleviate their physical pain and tension through relaxing touch.
Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
“Trust yourself. Believe in your knowledge. You have enough to serve.” Was the advice given to me when I first started. Another one was “Don’t get so stuck on making things perfect that you forget to start.” But the advice I would give from my personal experience is to get connected. “It’s not about what you know, but who you know” Start networking with people who are doing what you want to do, the people that are successful in their business, and those who are purpose driven. It’s a clique but true. That’s where the real help comes from.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://fancystudiosmemphis.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fancyyogamemphis?igsh=MXE1dTBoczRuc2JnYg==
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1HXYgtT8cQ/?mibextid=wwXIfr
