Yoga Journey in NWA Introduction

Danielle Keller 0:12

Welcome to People of Northwest Arkansas . I'm Danielle Keller , and we are so excited about our guests today .

Danielle Schaum 0:17

And I'm Danielle Schaum . We're excited today because we have a friend of mine that's a guest , Lynn Hill , owner of Yoga Story . How are you doing today , Lynn ? Hi , I'm great . Thank you guys for having me on .

Danielle Keller 0:27

Yeah , we're super excited to have you on the show today , and obviously the show is People of Northwest Arkansas . So why don't you tell us a little bit about how you got to NWA and why , sure , I moved here when ?

Lynn Hill 0:39

I was 17 . So that's a little bit longer than I care to admit , like , because it's gonna tell how old I'm I'm 43 .

Brock Short 0:47

I should say that loud 43 .

Lynn Hill 0:49

40 years old . So we moved here when I was 17 because my dad was a bookkeeper for a Southern Baptist church and school that we attended . I went to and went to that school it's Baptist Preparatory now , but it was Arkansas Baptist High School in the day . He was their bookkeeper and one of the principals there . The elementary principal got recruited by another Baptist church and school , formerly known as First Baptist Church of Springdale and Shiloh Christian School , and it is now Cross Church and Shiloh . Oh , okay , wow , to come up here , and she brought him with her . They needed a bookkeeper as well , so he became the bookkeeper for that church and that school . So I ended up doing my . It was a little traumatic because it was my senior year of high school .

Danielle Schaum 1:27

I was just going to say 17 .

Lynn Hill 1:29

Yeah , it was my senior year of high school and I had gone to Arkansas Baptist since kindergarten , so for 13 years at that school and or 12 years it would have been my 13th year if I'd have stayed for my senior year . You got to pack up and go and I came here for my senior year , so it was a little traumatic to actually move here , because at the time it was not what it is now . There was nothing on the square , it was just station cafe and people picking their banjos .

Brock Short 1:57

Are you serious ? That was it ? Oh , I believe it .

Lynn Hill 1:59

You didn't go down to the square . Why would you go down to the square ?

Danielle Schaum 2:01

I'd actually yeah , unless you just wanted a burger . I think I'd heard that before from people that are from here that their parents in high school didn't want them to go down there .

Lynn Hill 2:09

No , there wasn't anything down here . It was still the harps where Midtown is now , so you could go down there for that or for your dry cleaning , or just it wasn't the place that it is now . So that I don't give props to the people who worked really hard on developing it . I really wish they would stop with the construction .

Danielle Schaum 2:28

Oh absolutely , I would agree with that , but I am excited for when it becomes that promenade .

Danielle Keller 2:34

Yeah , the A Street .

Lynn Hill 2:36

That's actually . I'm glad you said that , because that's one of the main reasons why we moved to the studio . Really Because we knew that that was happening .

Lynn Hill 2:43

Like that this hotel that long ago , pre like . So I bought the studio in 2016 . It's been around since 2010 . That's the as far as this back . I can find that the first owner had started like incorporated and you know state of Arkansas incorporation and started having classes . I don't think she was in a studio yet . I think she was still at the Center for Psychology is where she started having classes and then she moved into the little space that's Bentonville Mercantile now , and then finally over to where Moose Jaw is .

Lynn Hill 3:12

Oh , yeah , so she had a third of it . So we knew that because one of our students actually owned some property in that area and sold it . That hotel was going to be in that area , so we were also busing at the seams because there wasn't a lot of hot yoga in Northwest Arkansas .

Danielle Schaum 3:26

I remember so that's okay , so , lynn and I know each other because when I moved here in 2017 , someone had told me , you know , I came from Dallas and I was teaching hot yoga , but I was pregnant , had my youngest daughter , juliet , only a couple months after . I thought I should go right back into teaching . I don't know why I thought that was a good idea . I mean , anyone knows , if you're nursing or like have a young , sometimes your your plans for work don't always go as well , but I had gone to the studio , I loved it .

Danielle Schaum 3:54

It was hot yoga and I think I asked Lynn for an audition and I taught the like 5.30 am because I was out of my mind . I was like , are you sure I know , are you happy with that ? I was like , yeah , sure I got this because I had always I came from the corporate world . I always taught or took super early in the morning . So now I do not . I do not like to wake up early .

Danielle Keller 4:17

She's learned her lesson I have learned ?

Danielle Schaum 4:19

I have learned , yes , but I remember the studio moving not long after that .

Lynn Hill 4:25

So we knew that that was coming and so that street was going to be pretty hard to access . We knew that the plan was to have that eventually , because that has been in the works for a long time for that to be a prominent I didn't realize that . Yeah . So my now ex husband was very I'm going to give him some props that he studied a lot of the city plans , which is why we ended up moving down to downtown . Mittenville before it became what it is now the most really smart .

Danielle Keller 4:51

The monster that it was .

Lynn Hill 4:53

And the divorce was very smart . Yes , so he had paid attention to what was going on the city plans . That's been on the docket for a while to have that to be a prominent . So , just thinking about it , the midtown space that we're in now was backward and that vacated and then it was just like a holding space , for they called it fly Oz until Faden Airport got built . So when we knew that that was going to be transition , we put our name in the hat for like actually . So I used to work at Walmart and we'll get to that .

Brock Short 5:28

Yes , and a little bit , and then people that used to work at Walmart .

Lynn Hill 5:32

There's a lot of them that now work for the folks that own that building . So I knew one of the people and said hey , I know you're in this , responsible for this . I want to put my name in the hat for this space . And they decided that would be a good idea . So that's awesome . Yeah , it ended up being a really really good decision , because then Moosejaw bought the building that we were previously in and kicked everybody out , and I mean not that it's a bad thing .

Lynn Hill 5:58

Oh sure , Something that happens right , so we would have been without a space and maybe not downtown . So it's serendipitous when you look back on it the universe is usually what I call it when you're working in tandem with the universe , with the right objectives and the right vision , that these things start to come along for you . Not that bad things can't happen , but yeah . So we've been in that space now , for this is our fifth year and we've renewed our lease for another five .

Danielle Schaum 6:25

I love that space . You needed it because you were like bursting in the scenes .

Lynn Hill 6:29

People were changing clothes up , not like naked , but changing clothes out on the sidewalk . We only had one changing room and it was the restroom which was inside the studio .

Danielle Schaum 6:38

Yes , and I remember you had to go in , like everybody would see that you went in .

Danielle Keller 6:42

Yeah .

Danielle Schaum 6:45

Okay . So I have to ask this because , side note , I'm also , as we've talked about , a yoga teacher . Everyone has their own story , usually , how they came to yoga . Mine was about 12 years ago . It was a corporate world burnt out , had a car accident , terrible back pain . My friend taught yoga , kind of just a gypsy yogi like place to place , donation based . I wasn't so sure about it . I loved it , got into it , changed my life , changed my physical , mental health . I want to know how you got into yoga

Transition From Corporate America to Yoga

Danielle Schaum 7:12

, sure ?

Lynn Hill 7:12

I was 20 years old and I woke up one day with lock jaw Like you know how people say I carry tension in my hips or I carry tension in this part of my body .

Lynn Hill 7:21

I carry tension in my upper shoulders , neck and jaw . So I woke up and I was so 20 . I believe I had already graduated college . I was working for a clinical neuropsychologist . I remember if I'd already started that job or not , but regardless , I was engaged to a very nice man that I did not want to marry , and so there was a lot of stress in my life . So I woke up , my jaw was frozen , like opening . It was very painful . I couldn't you know it was terrible .

Danielle Schaum 7:51

What's that ? Like you experienced it before . Like you wake up , your eyes are open and your brain is telling your jaw to move , and it just yeah .

Lynn Hill 7:57

It was . It was just so much pain and I was freaking out . So obviously never had this happen to me before . So I had heard that yoga was relaxing . Don't know that , yeah Right , and I don't even remember because it was 2000 . The year was 2000 . So I don't even know if Google existed or how I figured out , like where a yoga class was in Fayetteville's , where I was living at the time , and I ended up going to Arkansas Yoga Center is what it's called now , with Andrea Fournette . But she had just one room in the VA , the hospital . It was the hospital at the time , it's the VA now , but she had one room and it was .

Lynn Hill 8:38

We actually , I think , do believe we had rope walls , we did a lot of shoulder flossing and I just remember going . This is intense , like this is , yes , it's relaxing , but this is pretty intense . But it was the first time that I really felt that calmness in Shavasana , that Shavasana , yeah , the actual experience of being connected to divine . I'd gone to church all my life and the only time I'd ever felt that in church was singing . And I felt that in Shavasana , and I was also good at it . I had gotten pretty good at muscle memory , I was a cheerleader through high school and so I've gotten . You were a cheerleader , I was , I was a plier . I can see that .

Lynn Hill 9:52

Yeah , oh , my God .

Danielle Keller 9:54

Adorable .

Lynn Hill 9:56

I had gotten good muscle memory so I could see the poses and mimic them really well and so it actually gotten good at yoga . But that was really the only place in Northwest Arkansas that had it and so I after that I ended up getting married , moved to Senoriton , moved to Bella Vista , so most of my practice looked like yoga journal . You know they had those little mini sequences in them and DVDs . And I bought a book from Barnes Noble called Yoga for Women .

Danielle Schaum 10:26

And that was what I practiced , so curious what that had in it . I don't know if I still have it or not ? Women like no inverting on your cycle ? Oh yeah , I never I never .

Danielle Keller 10:39

I'm like no , I'm going to do a headstand today .

Danielle Schaum 10:41

Yes , and I'm not resting so peace out , you know .

Danielle Keller 10:47

Daniel's like what ? No , I know . No , just wait . No for a second though for Lynn . Could you maybe describe what Shavasana is ? Oh yeah , listening , you don't know .

Lynn Hill 10:58

Yeah , there's a whole language .

Brock Short 11:00

Dead man's pose . It's dead man's corpse pose , corpse pose . There you go .

Lynn Hill 11:04

And that's what I always encourage . People that are new to yoga . I'm like go to the new . Even if you're an Iron man triathlete , go to the beginners classes , because it's a language that you learn .

Brock Short 11:14

It's literally , I mean .

Lynn Hill 11:15

Sanskrit is the language that they use for the poses . But even just learning what warrior because they translate to English most of them what warrior two is and what Shavasana is , what our final resting pose , but it's literally translated to corpse pose , dead man's pose , and you lay down on your back , yeah , Absolutely . Thank you .

Danielle Schaum 11:38

A problem just lying there ? Oh , yes , oh , absolutely . I've had students that are like extra it's five minutes Crunch , crunch crunch .

Lynn Hill 11:44

It's five minutes . Hands stand , heads to inch Shavasana .

Danielle Keller 11:46

Please don't do that , I have no problem with .

Lynn Hill 11:48

Shavasana .

Danielle Schaum 11:49

Just rest Zero problem . Allow yourself a few minutes not to check your watch and just lay yes , and please leave your Apple Watch outside the door . I'm talking to myself , by the way , oh you are .

Lynn Hill 12:00

I'm using these as a supplemental messages for Northwest Arganza . Please leave your phones and your Apple Watches outside the door . You'll be okay for 60 minutes .

Brock Short 12:07

Unless you're a doctor , absolutely .

Lynn Hill 12:09

Or your kids are home by themselves , yep . But yeah , it's just the opportunity to give your cognitive brain a break , to just or assimilate the practice within your body , because we're doing a lot of different physical postures and it's one of the reasons why yoga is such a great practice is because we use the , we move the joints in all planes of motion laterally , rotationally , front and back , side to side , all that . So some of that , though , for whatever reason that might be going on , your body might not feel good . You might have to decide okay , I'm not going to go as deep in this pose , or I'm not going to do that pose right now when they call it . And so that opportunity that five minutes on your back is for you to just kind of connect with your body and to give your thinking mind a break and to just listen to yourself breathe , which we don't have built in in regular society . We have to create that for ourselves .

Lynn Hill 12:58

We have to create boundaries and rest for ourselves .

Danielle Keller 13:01

Especially those who work in a corporate Mecca which is north of the circumstance which you can be in the corporate world . So tell us a little bit about that transition of going from corporate America to being a yoga Sure .

Lynn Hill 13:16

Yeah , well , and it's my 10-year anniversary of that transition . I started in 2003 . We were living in Centerton at the time . My now ex and I and I was driving all the way to Fayetteville to work this job . I have a degree in psychology , so worked for a clinical neuropsychologist doing personality tests and IQ tests and testing for disability and testing for social security . So he was like you know , we really ought to get you in at Walmart because this drive is killing you . It's 30 minutes from Centerton to Fayetteville and back and let's just see if we can get you in at Walmart .

Lynn Hill 13:50

So I started in HR in executive compensation , so helping process pay raises , and I had a spreadsheet . I just worked off spreadsheets with all these officers in the company . So we worked closely with an area in legal called Corporate Governance , which is responsible for making sure that the company has run the way that it's set up in the bylaws and legally with SEC . So they did actually the hiring contracts and the termination contracts for officers . So they brought me on as the junior liaison to the Board of Directors , which is the entity that helps to govern the company as a whole .

Lynn Hill 14:25

So it's outside executives that are brought in to be on this board . Board of Directors , the chairman was Rob Walton at the time , so I had to work with my boss , who was a senior liaison , to help set up meetings all over the world . So it gave me great opportunities . I've been to Tokyo . I've been to South Polo , Brazil , I've been to Toronto , san Francisco , because we've got an office out in San Bruno . So it gave me a lot of opportunity to really see the world . But it was a very high stress job , sure .

Lynn Hill 14:53

Lots of travel , which was great when it was just me and my ex . And now then I got pregnant no kids yet yes .

Lynn Hill 14:59

So I got pregnant , had my son my eldest son and decided that this was not where I wanted to be , the role that I wanted to be in and be a mom , because I felt like my son was being raised by my parents and who lived here at the time . So I made the decision to take an LOA for a year and at the end of that LOA like two months after my LOA ended , so technically was terminated from the company . I was like , oh , I don't want to be a stay at home mom . No , no , no , no . I had a lot of postpartum not postpartum anxiety , but I had a lot of anxiety , a lot of anxiety I can relate to that , yeah and a lot of loss of identity , like it's really hard to become a new mom especially your first one , where you're like oh my god , who am I now as a person ?

Danielle Schaum 15:44

And I live in as your journey through a mom motherhood , yes .

Lynn Hill 15:47

You become , you're a thousand different women .

Danielle Schaum 15:50

That's the best way to describe it .

Lynn Hill 15:52

Well , Emery Hall just put out a poem that basically honoring the thousand different women that I have been and will be . It's just an evolution of being a woman throughout . Everything that we go through is hard , terrifying and magical , and I say being 40 , I can , I'm very proud to say 43 , because your 40s are a very magical time . I'm glad to know that .

Danielle Schaum 16:15

It is , I agree . I'm in my 40 . I'm almost there .

Lynn Hill 16:19

You are almost there . So my boss , my former boss , who is a senior liaison , they had already . I believe they already replaced me . Yes , they replaced . Obviously I was out of the gun for a year . I said , well , we have a new CEO of Sam's Club coming on because Doug McMillan was moving on to international and they brought Brian Cornell in , and so he interviewed me and I was really into running and working out at that time because I didn't have anything else to do with it .

Danielle Schaum 16:43

Yeah , you have to have an outlet .

Lynn Hill 16:44

I have to have an outlet . So I really got into running at that time . So I started running when my son was a baby he's 15 now , so I've been running for 15 years and he asked me , like , okay , what do you do in your free time ? And I told him I am really passionate about working out yoga , lifting weights , running and I didn't know it , but so is he , like he is very much a very disciplined , so you're in good company . Yeah , and I think that was one of the reasons why he hired me . Also , with my background of having worked with executives , he is a very disciplined person . I knew exactly what he would want for lunch . He was very disciplined with his diet . He made sure he got his workout in every day and he would ask me have you gotten your workout in today ? I'd be like , oh no , I haven't yet . And he's like make sure you get it in .

Danielle Schaum 17:26

That's really cool for a boss to you know you're hiring manager just your co-workers to be of that mindset .

Lynn Hill 17:31

Yeah , yeah , because he knew how important it was to me . But he also knew that when you have a corporate job , you have to train your body and your mind . That it's , it's that

The Journey of Career Transformation

Lynn Hill 17:41

, yes , it's so important to your ability to perform cognitively to move your body ?

Danielle Schaum 17:47

Yes , and it manifests physically .

Lynn Hill 17:49

Yes , and so that's what I really would love for people in the corporate world to understand , because the stats on people that get regular exercise are the recommended daily amount , which is 20 to 30 minutes a day or 150 minutes a week . It's 30% of Americans get that recommended amount and 30% don't exercise at all , and so you have this 60% in the middle , that kind of do sort of sometimes here and there . Yeah , not consistent basically , but it's so important to how your brain functions cognitively .

Danielle Schaum 18:21

Yeah , you have to get outside , get a ground , Like the days that I don't feel like working out . At least just go outside and walk or power walk or garden or like just whatever . Just to get outside . Cause I know a lot of people say , well , I don't enjoy working out .

Lynn Hill 18:33

Well , people that say I don't like to sweat , I'm like why I know I mean , I get it if it's your preference not to be hot , but sweating is a very natural and needed part of your body .

Danielle Schaum 18:48

I know some people like that . Anyway , I'm the hot yoga gal . Like , don't talk to me outside . Sweat is her life Okay .

Danielle Keller 18:56

Oh my gosh . I will be honest , I'm scared of hot yoga , like I know I shouldn't be sweating . I shouldn't be sweating .

Lynn Hill 19:04

I tell people all the time it's not like it's required if you do yoga , to do hot yoga , but don't be afraid to sweat or exert because it's right .

Lynn Hill 19:12

I mean it's exerting yourself as hard , yes , anyway . So Brian and I worked together for three years and I would have stayed with him for as long as possible because he was just a wonderful boss . He took me to all meetings . I traveled with him and his senior staff to do top to tops with other executives , so I've gotten to sit in on dinners with Jeffrey Katzenberg . I've met , like , all sorts of fantastic people because he knew that investing in me as his assistant would benefit him and vice versa . Like it's this he really believes in symbiotic relationship .

Lynn Hill 19:46

Yeah , like in raising people up even though , like , I'm pretty sure he knew he wouldn't be there for forever . So he ended up moving on and he is now the CEO of Target and killing it like doing a great job . I didn't realize that . Yeah , so he's the CEO of Target now and has been there for like seven this years . I think All right .

Lynn Hill 20:03

So at that time I transitioned back into the role of senior liaison , now to the board of directors , and did that for another three years and it just I just got to the point where I knew this wasn't my life's purpose or my soul's purpose , which I think changes all the time . Like , I think there's a reason why you were put here on this earth and the modality in which you deliver . That is going to evolve over time and as you get older and how your passions develop . So for me it's connecting with people through health and wellness , and I've been a personal trainer . Yoga teacher fell into the whole studio ownership thing . Like that was not my plan to own a yoga studio , really . Do you know that ? No , so I was a teacher and a manager of yoga story at the time and the owner herself went through a divorce and was just like I'm done , like I don't want to do this anymore .

Danielle Schaum 20:56

It wasn't like her passion anymore .

Lynn Hill 20:58

No , and she too . She wanted to connect with people through health and wellness and her modality changed and I was like I don't want this to go to anybody else . I'm so invested in the community . I loved what I did . I did not want this to she's . Well , there's a business person from Tennessee that's interested and I'm like that sounds terrible .

Lynn Hill 21:18

Yeah , I don't want to work for someone who comes in and runs this business purely like a business . Yes , you have to run a business , but at the same time , like this is not a corporate franchise .

Danielle Schaum 21:29

Yeah , this is a community . This is a community . That's why I love yoga .

Lynn Hill 21:32

Yes , and I don't want this run like a corporate franchise . I want this run like a place where people can come in and experience sacred transformation . I love that sacred transformation .

Danielle Schaum 21:43

Yeah Well , I love that at the same time .

Lynn Hill 21:45

Absolutely we love that Well , because you can't curate that . No , it doesn't matter how beautiful your place is , it doesn't matter how luxurious , which is that's the vibe you want , that's great . But that is not what creates transformation on the mat . What creates transformation on the mat is ugliness facing your own ugliness , facing your own hard truths . And all people need is a place of community and openness and accepting and belonging . And they're going to find that in different places . Like it doesn't have to be in my studio , yeah , but they're going to find that in different places . But that's where transformation happens and that's what I wanted to create in my community . So I went to my husband at the time was like hi , I have an idea . Anyway , I'm getting a little . Was it a good idea ? It was a great idea .

Danielle Keller 22:32

Oh good , yeah , it's been a learning idea , idea to buy the studio .

Lynn Hill 22:35

Which we can talk about when we get to that part , oh boy , Right . But anyway , I was at the senior liaison role and I went into an evaluation with my manager at the time and I said so I'd really love to know where you guys see my career going . Like I was in this weird half legal , half chosen events , half I didn't know .

Danielle Keller 22:56

Like they had a lot of hats on yes .

Lynn Hill 22:58

I did filings with the SEC . I did set up board meetings , picked out hotels , did dinner tastings , all this sort of stuff . There wasn't one pocket that my role fit into , to where you could have an actual seamless career path into something else that makes sense . So I did not have an example of what a career path would look like out of that role . So I asked him like , hey , where do you see me , my career going ? And they said , obviously you being like the senior vice president of the foundation one day . And I just died inside . I'm like that's a great role , but that I just did not see me in that role because I wanted to impact people one on one , I wanted to connect with people one on one .

Lynn Hill 23:37

So that's when I went to my ex then husband at the time was like , hey , I have an idea , I want to quit my job and become a personal trainer and yoga teacher . And he was like , okay , very supportive , I've given props anytime I tell this story . Very supportive . He said you know , we're pretty sure that we can make it on my salary . And so that's what I did . Like as soon as I quit that job , the shareholders was my last meeting and I went to Iowa City , iowa

Yoga Studio Ownership and Pivoting

Lynn Hill 24:05

, for two weeks for an immersive yoga teacher training . I'd already been doing some training on the side , like on the weeknights when I'd get off work and travel .

Danielle Schaum 24:14

So you did your , though 200 hours and two weeks oh my God , it took me a while .

Danielle Keller 24:18

I did like a week .

Danielle Schaum 24:19

Yeah .

Danielle Keller 24:22

Oh , how old were your kids at this time ? I just had the one , just the one , yeah , so it was a whole lot easier for my husband at the time to handle and my parents were here and they helped a lot too .

Lynn Hill 24:34

So , yes , very much appreciate that . But did that in Iowa City for two weeks and , yeah , I came out of it , did the personal training thing , the yoga teacher thing for a long time until I bought the studio . When I went to him again it was like I have another crazy idea , this lady wants to sell the studio , let's buy it . So we did and , yeah , it was a wild ride . It's still a wild ride after that . I know I've gone like if you want me to talk about that too , with studio ownership and being much different from being a yoga teacher , was really great for a couple of years . And then we moved into the Midtown building in 2019 and then 2020 COVID hit and it was like yeah , I wanted to talk about that because I know that you pivoted a lot .

Lynn Hill 25:18

Oh , and word just gives me PTSD Pivot pivot . It's like friends pivot .

Danielle Schaum 25:26

I can't pivot anymore .

Danielle Keller 25:29

I pivoted all the way out of my body . No , one likes that scene on friends anymore now because of COVID .

Danielle Schaum 25:35

Because you did a virtual , because I mean a lot of people did Filtering virtual . Yes , wow . So how did that change your business , aside from going virtual ?

Lynn Hill 25:44

I want to hear Well , first of all , that was a huge , huge stress on everybody that nobody . It was so uncertain of what was going to happen and so many people lost their businesses .

Lynn Hill 25:57

And I know of a lady that got into a lawsuit because her landlord would not let her out of her lease . Yeah , we still had to pay rent . We got two months free and that was it , and we still had to pay rent . So our community actually was very , very supportive and continued to keep their memberships a lot of them and so we did virtual , first streaming through Facebook Live , until they changed a lot of it where you had to have like streaming software and all this sort of stuff , and then Zoom came to be .

Lynn Hill 26:24

Man if I had bought stock in Zoom back in 2019, . I'd be a freaking millionaire right now . We wouldn't be sitting here , I know We'd be on a yacht somewhere . I know so true . And we had to completely like I had to learn so much so quickly . We rebuilt our website to be able to , but it's really good by the way , thank you .

Lynn Hill 26:47

Maddie helped me with that , but we had to rebuild the website so that we could have these Zoom accessions , because we could only fit eight in the studio , A studio that we were maxing out at 40 before . We could only fit eight in to have them distance 12 feet apart . And so we would do , and the first one when we couldn't get together at all , it was all it was through Zoom . So we would then take that recording and upload it on the back end of YouTube , set it to Unlisted and then upload that to the website so that members could then watch past classes on the website . I had to learn how to do all that . I had to learn Zoom . We had to learn how to set up the meetings , how to email them out , because then we also heard horror stories that if you just did the same link for every single class , that people would get that link and pop on and either say or do inappropriate things .

Danielle Schaum 27:33

So we had to create new links for oh well , lynn has all kinds of great stories about inappropriate messages .

Lynn Hill 27:40

I don't know if she'll talk about them all on air , but I have a funny story that Lynn told me all the time the Foot Fetish Guy or the Shiny Spandex Guy .

Danielle Schaum 27:50

Oh , the Foot Fetish Guy is a real interesting one . Oh my gosh .

Lynn Hill 27:56

Definitely the lack of connection from COVID brought people's free class out . What about the nudist yogi that was like ?

Danielle Schaum 28:01

please let me practice nude yoga in your studio . She was like no , we don't do nude yoga here , we do kitten yoga . You do kitten yoga , not the nude yoga . I mean there might be an audience for it .

Danielle Keller 28:11

Some people do it , I don't want to be behind that guy Okay .

Danielle Schaum 28:22

This is no shade to the men that practice yoga , but a lot of the men I practice next , you tend to sweat more profusely than I do . Oh yeah , I . In some of the really patched classes you get swinging sweats . Oh gosh , this is free COVID , though I feel like they don't pack them like that now .

Lynn Hill 28:40

No , actually reduce the class capacity when we were able to open up to full max because it's still I mean , still have some people that'll come in with masks and whatnot , yeah , but yeah , so I had to learn audio visual . We went through so many microphones and so many webcams and just being able to get a good quality recording or just the ability to have classes for my people we would have 20 , 30 people on at once that's a pretty good amount , it was . Yeah , we actually had a really strong because we were so regular with it . We would publish .

Danielle Schaum 29:11

And the rooftop I remember you did rooftop .

Lynn Hill 29:13

Yes , thankful that our landlord let us go out on the third floor of the parking garage and we would space everybody out , set up cones and have classes outside which we would also then take the laptop . And I don't think people understand the hoops that businesses jumped through to just make sure that they were servicing their clients .

Danielle Schaum 29:31

Yeah , Not unless you were in it yourself . No , I think you would know .

Lynn Hill 29:35

Then I would take my phone . I would hotspot the computer to the phone . I would bring my microphone . I had two microphones on . I would have the one for the virtual , I'd have the one on the headset for people to be able to hear me Two mics Two mics and doing yoga all at the same time . Like you know , having the virtual so long , I would have to get a lot .

Danielle Keller 29:54

Definitely .

Lynn Hill 29:55

So you know , just to be able to keep my business going , not only to keep my business going , but to service .

Danielle Schaum 30:01

But you did , we did it , yeah , and now you're opening a second , or you ?

Lynn Hill 30:05

already did . Yeah , three and a half months ago we opened Yoga Story DTR in downtown Rogers . We've really felt . I say we like me .

Lynn Hill 30:12

Me myself and I . It's a really so . The story behind that's very serendipitous too .

Lynn Hill 30:18

I was in Las Vegas doing a half marathon with a friend of mine and I'd just felt . I'd felt for a long time to open a second space . But I wanted to find the right space I wanted to give people who were already open , like their audience and their demographic . I wanted to make sure to be spread out from the one downtown . So we were looking in downtown Rogers or Bella Vista , and unfortunately , bella Vista is just like . I don't feel like that was the place to go to .

Lynn Hill 30:44

So I messaged one of my teachers who's also a realtor and I'm like , hey , if I wanted to look at some commercial space in downtown Rogers , who would I contact ? And she's like me , oh , so I'm like how great , yeah , convenient . Did an MLS search ? This place had come up on the MLS two days earlier . She scheduled a showing for like the day or two after I got back from Las Vegas and it was the lady that owned the building was the occupant at the time . So her agent walked me around and it turned out that the lady that owned the building was a former student of yoga story .

Danielle Keller 31:17

Oh , that's awesome . It's such a small girl yeah .

Lynn Hill 31:20

Absolutely . So there were some other people that had put in for the space and they decide she has a tenant above too . So they decided that we would be the best tenant for that space . Yeah , and she negotiated a membership for herself .

Danielle Keller 31:33

Of course she did .

Lynn Hill 31:34

She's a smart woman .

Danielle Keller 31:37

Smart woman , very smart . So where is the space in downtown Rogers Just like the one in Bentonville .

Lynn Hill 31:43

It's a few doors down from Onyx .

Danielle Keller 31:45

Oh , very nice .

Lynn Hill 31:47

Try to get a wall in the street , why not ? So we're just a couple of doors down from Onyx on the wall . I love it . It's a cute building that's 120 years old . So it's definitely a different vibe from Bentonville , which is a newer space , a much more modern looking space . This one is an old , historic building . It gives very much old school yoga story Bentonville vibes .

Danielle Keller 32:09

I love that . That's a brick wall .

Lynn Hill 32:11

It's got this beautiful hardwood floor with a pattern on it from when it used to be a cafe character . Yeah , it's got a lot of character , so it's growing . I picked downtown Rogers because I felt like Pinnacle was serviced Right .

Lynn Hill 32:26

I didn't want to be in that area there's already studios in that area , so I need to give them their space and their demographic . But those people are already serviced and higher socioeconomic demographics get serviced . Yes , this area is growing . It's a different socioeconomic demographic . It's got that funky like downtown vibe , which is what we like .

Danielle Schaum 32:47

OK , so I know this is off topic , but I wanted to ask you what is like being single and dating in Northwest Arkansas , because I'm married and so is Danielle , but I mean , I think the scene is growing . I mean , do you agree , or is this just not ?

Danielle Keller 33:02

Oh , it's not great . Oh no , Before you answer that really quick , just so that our listeners kind of are caught up to speed about your dating life . So you've been divorced for how long ?

Lynn Hill 33:13

We got divorced in 2022 , very end of 2021 , beginning of 2022 . So , gosh , I mean , I think it's been almost two full years , Almost two full years .

Danielle Keller 33:24

All right , there was kind of set the stage . Yeah , you're right , right , so set the stage for being a single woman in her 40s

Dating as a Single Woman

Danielle Keller 33:31

in Northwest Arkansas dating .

Danielle Schaum 33:33

And how long had it been since you've been on a date Like a real ?

Lynn Hill 33:36

date . Well , we were married for almost 18 years , so you have to learn how to date again . Yeah , I think that's been the biggest learning for me , though , as a digital age .

Lynn Hill 33:45

And how to . How do we teach our children as they grow up how to set boundaries for themselves and how to set these non-negotiables for themselves and how to actually understand attachment styles and conflict resolution Like that's what we should be focusing on in schools . I agree , because I learned a ton . I've had some really healing relationships that ended very poorly but that helped me set the Like . I haven't had a ton of boyfriends , it's . You know . I've dated .

Danielle Schaum 34:16

Do you have any good stories of a bad date ?

Danielle Keller 34:19

No , not really . D2 is trying to get to the juicy detail . Where she's saying some really good stuff right now . She's so good . I'm gonna hear that psychology background .

Lynn Hill 34:30

I love it . I love it . That's for off-microbot , the good stories are off-air .

Danielle Keller 34:39

Yeah , they're off-air .

Lynn Hill 34:40

I've found out that a guy said that he couldn't date me because he knew my ex-husband , and I think there was a little bit of intimidation , not intentionally , but he was like , oh no , he's gonna beat me up , right , yeah , and I was also told by my ex you can do better .

Danielle Keller 34:56

Oh , good for him though . Oh yeah .

Lynn Hill 35:00

We have a good co-parenting relationship , so it was interesting . You get on the dating apps and you feel really good about yourself because you get all these matches and whatnot , and then it just doesn't go anywhere , like hinge or what I think I did bumble and hinge those were the only two . Or then you end up like finding out that the guy that you're dating is dating the other girls that you actually know , or hitting on trying to match with other girls that you know . So bad . Well , because it is a small dating poll . So I'll give shout out to my friend who did the math on this .

Danielle Schaum 35:33

Oh , there's math on there . There's math . Let's hear these stats .

Lynn Hill 35:37

He took the total population in . I think he did just Benton County . I don't think he included Washington and how many people were in . I think it was say it's like 300,000 . And I guess it was Northwest Arkansas . I think he combined Bentonville and Fayetteville and he said so . 70% of those people are married . Then you only have 30% , and then 50% of those people are women . For him , For me it'd be men , right . So it shrinks even more . And then you apply the filter of age range , and then you apply the filter of like if you want someone who's political views or personal views are in more in the line of yours . So he was liberal , so he applied that filter as well . So he came up with the number , the total number of women that were available 85 . 85 . 85 . And that is an 85 single liberal women .

Danielle Keller 36:25

That's it In Northwest Arkansas . What about conservative women ?

Lynn Hill 36:29

And so that doesn't apply the filter of it doesn't apply the filter of mental health , oh , of whether or not they're active , because he's very active . It doesn't apply the filter of attractiveness , because some of it is just like what your preference is , or just chemical attraction .

Danielle Schaum 36:45

We were just talking about that dating show where you see them naked before you get to meet them . What was that ?

Danielle Keller 36:50

I don't even know , I don't know . So it just gets you know a lot .

Danielle Schaum 36:54

That's a lot .

Lynn Hill 36:55

And smaller and smaller . But then sometimes you just luck out , Like the person that I'm with now . I'm just we both still like we were just gift wrapped to each other , Just that's so awesome , that is so .

Danielle Keller 37:07

So you would be scary in my 40s Well it's been fun .

Lynn Hill 37:11

I mean it's fun , but at the same time , like I , you really have to know yourself , and so that helped me . Like with the last relationship , I said , ok , here now my non negotiables one , two , three , four . Yep , here are my non negotiables . I want this in my life , I want this , and so it helped me kind of pair that down that this is what I have to have , yeah , to feel loved , to feel supported , to feel like this is an actual emotionally mature relationship that's going to last .

Danielle Keller 37:38

Tell us a little bit about what the future is in store for yoga story .

Lynn Hill 37:43

You know , I I just want to keep keep our vision going . Our tagline is magic happens here and that's that's all I want for folks is to feel really focused on diversity and inclusion . At the studio . I've worked really hard to ensure that we have some options for folks who might have barriers and barriers to be able to practice yoga regularly . So we have karmic pricing where people can apply for a low cost membership . I try not to do a lot of just free classes because I don't want to undervalue . I mean , yoga is a profession and I feel , like a lot of people in the fitness industry because there's so much out there that is free don't value people who have trained highly in their field and who are proficient at teaching , Because I think they kind of see it as a fun thing to do and it's not I mean it's fun , but it's in .

Lynn Hill 38:33

Some people do it as a hobby . But this is a profession like I'm . I've trained for 10 years and done extensive continuing education to be proficient as a teacher , to make it look easy , but to just continue authentic yoga in my studio , with some trends sprinkled in it but honoring the eight limbs of yoga , the culture in which we are guests in . This is not a Western world practice . It came from India . So I really want my studio to reflect diversity in our area like that . All people feel welcome to come in .

Danielle Schaum 39:09

Awesome . How can people find you on social website ? You want to give all that ? Yeah yeah .

Lynn Hill 39:13

So socials is Yoga Story NWA for the Bentonville location , yoga Story DTR for the Rogers location , yoga Story dot I NFO for the website for Bentonville , and Yoga Story DTR dot com for the Rogers one . So those are treated as two separate entities . And then I'm Lin Hill fitness on Instagram and I like to do a lot of . I'll go out there and do some 30 minute flows live and then archive them on my platform so people can get a little taste of what yoga is Awesome .

Danielle Schaum 39:42

That's really great . Thank you so much . Yeah , thank you for coming in , absolutely .

Danielle Keller 39:46

All right . Thanks so much for having your friend Lin on the show . It was really great having her . I like getting to know her . She had some awesome stories on and off the air Maybe we'll have her back on sometime . Oh , we definitely need to . So today we're toasting with confident coffee . How are you enjoying your confident coffee today ?

Danielle Schaum 40:06

It's really good . What , what ?

Danielle Keller 40:07

did you serve me today ? Ok , so there were two different types . We had Colombian roast and we also had the oh gosh , I'm going to forget the name of it now . Now , I forgot the name of it .

Danielle Schaum 40:17

I told you I wanted the exotic one . That's what I know .

Danielle Keller 40:19

I gave you the exotic one and it's called Mayanmar . Mayanmar and it's from a little island and it's just a great roast . It's a medium roast as well as the Colombian their medium roast . So confident coffee is here in Northwest Arkansas , of course , we toast with things that are local , and confident coffee can be found at Walmart as well , as it's roasted locally by the owner Amber is her name . She's a pretty awesome woman and her original shop is over in Fayetteville Johnson area by Wrights barbecue and then she just opened a new shop over in Rogers at Pinnacle Heights , I believe , is what it's called .

Danielle Schaum 40:56

It's a really good location .

Danielle Keller 40:58

It's an excellent location and she has just like a great atmosphere , so cheers confident coffee Cheers .

Danielle Schaum 41:04

Go check them out . All right , thanks for listening . If you loved what you heard today , please consider subscribing to our podcast so that you never miss an episode . We love hearing from you , so if you have a story to share or just want to say hello , you can reach out to us on Instagram at peopleofnwa . Until next time , keep exploring , keep learning and keep sharing your stories with us . Thanks for being a part of the People of Northwest Arkansas community .

Brock Short 41:24

People of Northwest Arkansas with the two Danielle's produced by me . Rock Short of Civil Republic Productions . Please rate , review and like us on any podcast platform where you listen . For more information about today's guests and the show , please check the show notes . Thanks for listening .