Today we’d like to introduce you to Cindy Lunsford.
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?
My earlier professional life was in Law. When I was in law school, my dad took me to a hot yoga class, but time, place and circumstance made it impossible for me to practice often. After law school, I moved to upstate New York to work in the court system, and there was no hot yoga studio for me to continue to practice. (At that time, hot yoga was all I knew as Yoga so I didn’t realize its depth as a system and a science.) After a few years practicing law, it became quite clear to me that I did not want to follow that path. Without any real thought or reasoning, I gave my firm 2 weeks notice and signed up for a 9 week teacher training in Acapulco with Bikram Choudhury….yes the same one who has since become infamous for many controversies including sexual assault and harassment.
After surviving 9 weeks of the most physically enduring experience of my life, where days consisted of 3-4 hours of yoga practice in a sweltering room of 110 degrees or more, and learning a book size “dialogue” of yoga instruction verbatim, I returned back to a non-legal life with a new disciplined mind and body. The obvious next step was to open a yoga studio since my town did not have one. After a year of planning and driving a few hours each week to manage the closest hot yoga studio I could find, I got my first studio opened, exactly one week after brining home and adopting two little boys from Ethiopia. Not exactly planned in that order but we went with it and within 4 weeks, we had 2 new family members and an already thriving yoga studio. It was a right time, right place scenario and people flocked to the studio.
Fast forward through 5 studios (including one in Nashville after moving here about 9 years ago) and I am currently running what I have declared to be my sixth and last yoga studio, Yogasoul Bhakti Center. Yogasoul is the culmination of my 17 years of full time teaching and represents the most important aspects of my practice because it unapologetically focuses on God and the Yoga Path of Love and Devotion.
Alright, 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?
At a time when I had forsaken the idea of ever opening another yoga studio, I met my now husband and spiritual partner. Our meeting and our love for one another was and continues to be grounded in our love of Krishna (God). So when we were offered an opportunity to open a Bhakti Center in the heart of Wedgewood-Houtson, a half mile from our house, we felt we were being called to do something we could not say no to. We have been entrusted to manage a community center that has a beautiful space on the second floor which we run as Yogasoul Bhakti Center. This agreement gives us the freedom to run the space as a not for profit community center where we can offer Bhakti Yoga and other spiritually based programming, both of which are generally not that profitable in the consumer and business based Yoga studios that proliferate the west. While that has made the financial side undoubtedly much easier, most people’s conception of Yoga is one dimensional, focused only on the physical body which, if practiced in a vacuum, can lead people away from the higher goal of Yoga.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Since I left the practice of law, I have been a full time yoga teacher for 17 years. I have owned 6 studios and lead retreats, trainings and workshops worldwide. I call it the Yoga Hustle but I wouldn’t trade it for anything just for the sake of professional stability. The hustle keeps me on my toes and constantly inspires me to find ways to increase both the variety and depth of my offerings which, in turn, keeps me a perpetual student of Yoga. My commitment to learning, practicing and then sharing my own lessons and evolution to my students is what I think makes me a valuable teacher. I feel so blessed that I have been able to dovetail my professional dharma with my spiritual dharma.
What matters most to you? Why?
My relationship with Krishna because he is the root and cause of everything in this world. In Bhakti, we say that when you please Krishna you please the whole world. The true peace formula for this world can be established when everyone understands this. Sharing the knowledge of the teachings of the Vedas, specifically the Bhagavad Gita, is most important to me as a Yoga teacher. Even though people come to Yoga for physical exercise, they are spiritual seekers by nature and are ultimately looking for something more even if not aware of it. My hope is they are ready to hear it in this life. As I did with my teacher Raghunath Cappo, I came for the handstands but stayed for the Truth.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.yogasoulnashville.com
- Instagram: nashvillebhaktiyoga
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cindy.lunsford.9?mibextid=wwXIfr&rdid=AXdSIh8IfjRjpJZG&share_url=https%253A%252F%252Fwww.facebook.com%252Fshare%252F1AtNvrFudL%252F%253Fmibextid%253DwwXIfr
