Sara Y.: All right. So welcome, Wendy, to our podcast. How are you doing today?
Wendy K.: I'm good, thank you. I'm excited to talk with you, Sara.
Sara Y.: Yay, so how's it been going over there 3B? I mean, with everything going on around coronavirus, how have you guys had to adapt?
Wendy K.: Well, really quickly, I had to learn how to use Zoom and how to get everyone taught like I was taught how to get on there and to participate in classes, which it took me a few days to get everything kind of going and smooth everything out. But I think we're in a good groove right now. We have a couple of classes streamed every day. I have a few of my instructors streaming classes from their homes as well. So I'm very grateful. But we've had a lot of members jumping on, and we've been keeping class sizes pretty regular. And so that's a great thing.
Sara Y.: Yeah, that's pretty amazing to keep that going despite this crazy time that we're in right now. My mom is a member there and taking your classes and loving it.
Wendy K.: She is. I love it when I read Shelby Yingling. Come on the screen.
Sara Y.: Does Sombra ever join the yoga sessions?
Wendy K.: Yes. Yes, she does. She was on last night.
Sara Y.: Little bit of poppy yoga. Yes. Well, for people who may not know what 3B is, tell us about your yoga studio. Maybe what separates you from other yoga studios here?
Wendy K.: Sure. So in June, I will now have been open for ten years.
Sara Y.: Wow.
Wendy K.: I know. I can't believe it.
Sara Y.: It is amazing.
Wendy K.: And I've just really grown it very organically. Ten years ago, the yoga scene was quite different. There wasn't much of one. It was very small and kind of concentrated around the university area. And I live out in Rio Rancho. So I needed something a bit closer. And there just wasn't a lot. Ten years ago. So I took it upon myself, got certified, opened a studio a few years later. And we're still a boutique studio. We're still smaller. I focus on my students that come in, helping them grow, really making it a personalized yoga session as much as I can. I get to know my students, their goals, what they want to get from their practice because everyone has a different reason as to why they come to yoga, and we offer a variety of classes. So we have like restorative yoga, we have yin yoga, we have gentle yoga, we have Vinyasa yoga and some meditation classes. But we also what really set us apart is that we have an Ashtanga program also where we were the only one in New Mexico that has this. We have the Mysore program, which is a self-paced kind of self-led practice every morning, Monday through Friday, and then we take Saturdays off to rest. And then on Sunday, we do what's called LED primary series. So, you know, my roots are Ashtanga. I'm a practitioner. That was important for me to have that connected to 3B as well as the other styles because Ashtanga isn't for everybody. I luckily have good, well-rounded instructors and students so we can kind of support both programs.
Sara Y.: For people who may not know what Ashtanga is, can you tell us about that, please?
Wendy K.: Yeah. So Ashtanga is a practice that's it's been around for many years. It kind of came into the United States more, I believe, in the 70s, 80s, and it's increasingly become more popular. It was originally taught by Pattabhi Jois, and he taught in Mysore, India, which is why we call it Mysore style. But it is a practice that has a lineage, which is why I kind of like it has set sequences to it. And you learn that sequence. If you're doing Mysore style, you kind of learn as you go. It's not just given to you all at once. You get it; you learn it piece by piece, you start small, and then you just grow your practice naturally so that it's healthy so that it's benefiting you. And it's just it takes different training. It's not like you can just do a teacher training to teach Ashtanga yoga, you have to be a practitioner of it yourself. You have to have teachers that were either taught by the Pattabhi Jois or his grandson or his daughter. You know, there's still a couple of teachers in India. But for the most part, it's a practice in itself. And gosh, there's just so much to say. I could Go on and on. But it's a self sequence that you follow. Yeah.
Sara Y.: Is it like a harder version of yoga?
Wendy K.: Some people are turned off by it because they say it's so hard. And that's probably because of the way they learned that they tried to like jump into a led primary series for their first time and oh, my gosh, yeah, that's hard. But if you do it Mysore style, you learn a little bit at a time, and you can build strength and flexibility and kind of get used to these postures, modify them as you need to for your body. So really, it's accessible to everybody if they have, you know, the right teacher, the right experience, the right space to practice. When you look at it, it seems hard for sure if you'll watch someone doing it for the first time, you're just like, oh, my gosh, you know.
Sara Y.: Yeah, that can be said about really, any practice if you take the time to really learn it, not just dive right in.
Wendy K.: Exactly.
Sara Y.: You know, it'll be easier in quotation marks or like right. Or you adapt to the situation like you would with any kind of fitness domain.
Wendy K.: Exactly. Like you don't just go and start lifting weights way beyond your capacity. Yes, you don't. You learn. You know, you have to learn how to do it. And that's exactly it.
Sara Y.: That's great. So I guess if you're someone living in Albuquerque, you're looking for maybe a challenging or you're looking for Ashtanga give 3B a try.
Wendy K.: Absolutely. Yeah. Like I said, we're the only ones. Some teachers teach Ashtanga classes, primary series, and that. But we have like a regular program of great teachers and people who practice it.
Sara Y.: Yeah. So you said I feel like just driving around, you see a lot of yoga studios in Albuquerque. It's kind of saturated. Did you have any growing pains getting through that and separating yourself?
Wendy K.: Yeah. I mean the first five years I was open, I kind of had the area sort of to myself in a way. And now and the last five years it's just been like you said, the market is saturated, and people are still opening yoga studios, and we're still set apart because of the kind of practices that we offer and that we are more of a boutique. So and I stick to my roots. Other styles are more popular right now, and that's fine. But that's not my style, and that's not what I've been taught. I stick with what I know and what I specialize in. And our practitioners are the same way. You know, they come for that experience, and they believe in what we do. They believe in our instructors. We just have a good little community, but a very open community. And I think that is what sets us apart. I've had people that have been coming to me since I got certified in 2007. I think that's what makes it special, as have been around for a little while. And we've established a good little community.
Sara Y.: That's good. It's definitely easy to get caught up in trying to change you or to adapt and be like the next best thing. But it's good that you stuck to your roots ...
