Today we’d like to introduce you to Annelise Lonidier.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I grew up in a low-income household, single-parent household. As is often the case, in this type of scenario you are exposed to a lot. And though I love many things about that experience, I dealt with a lot of abuse, first at a very early age from my father and later in relationships, which negatively impact on my self- esteem. On the other hand, I saw a lot in the area I lived — from drug use to prostitution — that positively impact on my determination. My senior year my mother sat me down and told me, “I know you really want to go to college, and I’m so sorry, but I don’t have the money for you to go”. I was an honor student, a good athlete, a student body President, so this was big. And it proved to be a pivotal moment in my life. I began to work to figure out how I could put myself thru college, and five years later I had.
I graduated college in four years while working a full-time job and started a career in Product Manager for a Medical Device company. This career-path gave me a tremendous amount of opportunity. I was able to travel – something I never did before. I was able to meet amazing, ingenuity physicians, nurses and engineers both here and abroad. But I was never truly fulfilled. My upbringing, candid nature, it didn’t fit in white-collar America. What really made me soar was teaching yoga.
I started teaching in 2003 in Boston when I moved for my job and consistently taught for 10 years while working full time. In 2012 I moved to Atlanta and a year later a studio I admired, {sacred} thread was looking for a new owner. The founder, Deborah Quibell, had decided to move to Amsterdam. I threw my hat into the ring.
The practice of yoga is important to me because it helped me heal my relationship with my body. It allows me an opportunity to blow off steam. It keeps me fit. I believe, truly, that it has saved my life as I struggled to overcome the effects of abuse and get comfortable in my own skin again. But I didn’t feel there were studios in my area that found the right balance of strong, physical yoga and the softer elements of “acceptance” and “contentment” that area present in yoga philosophy. Owning {sacred} thread gave me the opportunity to take what they did well (a deep commitment to the eastern elements of yoga like breath work, mantra, and meditation) and inject the strength of the yoga I practiced in Boston and Charlotte for so many years.
{sacred} thread transitioned to my ownership in January of 2014 and in January of 2015 I opened a second studio in East Atlanta Village. All the while, I continued working a full-time job. It was my dream to be a full-time business owner, but there was so much fear around taking that leap. Growing up poor, I had a major attachment to the “hustle”. To ensuring that I never ended up back where I started. To impacting things around me as much as I could. To control. I taught as much as I could but relied mostly on our amazing teachers. By June of that year, though, I was crying most days on my drive into work. Not because my life was awful but because it was literally breaking my heart not being able to focus on my passion. Then one day I had a lightbulb moment…
My mother worked 4 jobs growing up. She consistently put in 18 hour days. And part of my motivation for success was because as much as I loved her, I didn’t want to be like her. I didn’t want a life like that. Flash forward 30 years and I realized I was doing EXACTLY what she did. It looked different because my job was in a fancy office and not in a uniform but I was working 18 hour days. Not out of necessity but out of fear.
So I took the plunge.
In June 2015 I left my full-time job to be a full-time business owner and yoga teacher. And I couldn’t be happier.
Our communities in Old Fourth Ward and East Atlanta are the most heartfelt, low-key, accepting spaces I could imagine. Seeing how our communities show up for themselves and one another inspired me to open a third studio this summer in Hapeville. It’s a move most business analysts would have recommended against. There weren’t other studios in that area (South Atlanta) and Hapeville is a small town. But my mission is to bring yoga to communities without options. To have a neighborhood studio in each area of Southeast Atlanta. Atlanta’s traffic makes it impossible to have a consistent practice without neighborhood studios and with yoga consistency is key. {sacred} thread is decidedly a low-key studio. We have loyal students who love coming to us because we aren’t the most popular place in town — but we are a place where you can come as you are and get to know one another. From my mom, who sometimes works the desk, to my dog who occasionally pops up in a class, to our teachers who join our free monthly “Women’s Circle” where we share struggles, ideas, and wine…{sacred} thread has a feeling of home. It’s a refuge from anything you’ve experienced or struggled with. And classes bring a balance between strong, breath-infused, challenging asana and soft surrender.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
No. I’m sure you hear all the time that owning a business is an extremely difficult path. From the vulnerability it takes to make a plunge to the financials – most days have some element of “fear”.
Our biggest struggle, honestly, is the changing demographic in the Old Fourth area coupled with the number of corporate chains and competitive nature of studios in that 1-mile radius. Old Fourth Ward has experienced tremendous growth but the going rate for apartments continues to increase. We’ve lost many students who’ve moved to more affordable areas of town. And some who hang on to live here don’t have the expendable income to practice consistently. And then there are the rent increases we experience. It’s hard to compete with corporate chains as a mom & pop shop in such a trendy area. But I continue to persevere because I am so deeply committed to what we do. A place like this needs to exist in Atlanta!
Please tell us about {sacred} thread yoga.
{Sacred} thread has a major focus on creating community and allowing students to be themselves. It is a soulful studio and we like to stress that within our walls what is {sacred} is not imposed, but it is implied. Meaning you find what is sacred to you. It can be sweating (our East Atlanta studio has mostly heated classes). It can be praying. It can be music. It can be the image of your sweet nephew in your head.
I specialize in vinyasa yoga (fluid, breath-oriented movement) with a focus on healing the physical body thru proper alignment. Our studio is a vinyasa-based community and each teacher brings a slightly different perspective to their classes. While I like to think mine are pretty athletic, the common thread is our mission; yoga, art, community.
I am most proud of the fact that we are a mom & pop. We don’t utilize PR firms or hard-sell techniques – we are super reliant on word of mouth and receptive to providing what the community needs. And also that we work closely with area non-profits have an overall effect on our communities donating 1% of sales to various organizations of change.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
I don’t know that I’d change anything. This is the yogic part of me. Every step on the path is a step on the path. A lesson. A life experience. And honestly, struggle makes you a great teacher. When you think you have nothing to teach as a yoga teacher, you ask yourself “have I ever struggle?”. If the answer is yes, then you can teach.
Pricing:
- New Student special is 3 classes for $30
- Drop-ins are $16
- Half priced classes rotate every month to different time slots on our schedule
- Monthly unlimited packages are $95 and include access to all three studios, yoga, meditation and yoga nidra classes
Contact Info:
- Address: 828 Ralph McGill Blvd Atlanta, GA 30306
465 Flat Shoals Ave, Atlanta GA 30316
583-B N Central Ave Hapeville, GA 30354 - Website: www.sacredthreadyoga.com
- Phone: 404-844-7243
- Email: yogi@sacredthreadyoga.com
- Instagram: sacred thread yoga
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/sacredthreadyoga
Image Credit:
portrait of Annelise by Leigh Baugham
