Connect
To Top

Meet Joy Rush of Yoga Joy Kids Studio

Avatar photo

Today we’d like to introduce you to Joy Rush.

Joy, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
Working with kids has been a passion – throughout high school, college and into my career, I’ve always assisted friends with their kids’ special events and eventually, my passion grew into entrepreneurship after many jobs in corporate America. After years of practicing yoga for self-care and seeing my child learn mediation at school, I decided to look into becoming certified to teach children’s yoga. Soon after completing my certification, I volunteered at various non-profits and local community events. Eventually, my services were requested at local schools, community programs and the need for a space where kids and families could do yoga and meditate together became YOGA JOY Kids Studio.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I started business as a mobile yoga instructor, teaching at local schools and events; it was a smooth transition, in the beginning, Like many other small businesses, it was somewhat of a “side’ hustle,” something I thoroughly enjoyed, but unsure how to monetize properly. It wasn’t until I realized how to replace my income, a mind-shift happened. I started to implement the same marketing techniques and sales training in my business that I had learned in Corporate America. That was my “AHA!” moment, I started to work for myself at the level I worked for other businesses. The struggles didn’t come until I was presented with an opportunity to open a studio location. I started as a Pop-Up studio. However, after the Summer, I quickly realized, my business was becoming a staple in the community. With more exposure and business steadily incoming, I became overwhelmed. I over-committed myself and tried to do everything; multiple school classes, birthday parties every weekend, community events, networking events for the business and more. I was still maintaining, but at the cost of exhaustion.

The hardest thing for me to do was let go of responsibilities, although I knew it needed to be done. Within eight months of continuous work, opening a studio and having a growing community, COVID-19 happened. I was forced to close the studio because I had to refund clients without any expectation to re-open for months. I learned quickly the difference between an entrepreneur and business owner. I quickly made the decision to not rely on being a business owner without proper planning; I decided to strategize and transition my business to online live classes, virtual training and soon special events. Although this pandemic has been the most difficult situation for a new start-up business, it was perhaps, a moment to breathe and re-strategize. Now, I’m serving virtual classes all over the US and a partnership with a Virtual Kids Summer Camp based out of Atlanta called Camp Connect LIVE. We are new to the Atlanta community but excited to offer fun yoga programs for kids and families.

Please tell us about Yoga Joy Kids Studio.
Yoga Joy Kids Studio is a kids-specific yoga studio, now virtual, that focuses on fun and education yoga classes for kids and families. We make yoga engaging to kids of all ages! We specialize in musical yoga, child-centered meditation and creative mindfulness activities. We are best known for our child-centered meditation and silly animal poses. I am most proud that I am the first black woman to open a Kids Yoga Studio; there are many yoga studios, but we gave kids a comfortable fun place and they never want to leave – I’m very proud to have provided such an environment. We train our yoga instructors on how to let go and bring out the kid from the inside out. We are like characters when you go to a theme park, but for yoga, and that truly sets us apart.

Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
My favorite memory from my childhood is being a part of the elementary school jazz dance group. I remember how proud I felt having fun in class, learning new steps, being a part of a group and the opportunity to show off my skills and wear a fun costume. I was told that I was a social butterfly and a silly sense of humor in elementary. I still have pics of me wearing my mom’s clothes and shoes, smiling and being in character. I think those qualities attribute to my success in making fun characters for yoga stories or silly yoga poses and creating a fulfilling experience.

Contact Info:

Suggest a story: VoyageATL is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.

Related Items

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

More in