Today we’d like to introduce you to Autumn Trimble.
Autumn, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
The short story is that I have been practicing yoga for years. In that time, yoga has helped me unlock joy, flexibility, and general physical and mental health. It has been a strong, positive force in my life. I started Nashville Events Yoga as a way to offer that same positive force, yoga, in a variety of fun, creative ways. Nashville Events Yoga officially launched a little less than 2 years ago, and I have been amazed at how relatively quickly it has grown and the number of people who have already benefited from it.
As a child, I was neither fit nor healthy. When I was 16, my mom enrolled me in karate at our local dojo. My sensei and his wife took me under their wings. Not only did they provide me with discipline and physical activity in the dojo, but they provided a strong sense of community by including me in different activities outside of the dojo. One activity, in particular, was yoga. I distinctly remember the first yoga class I attended. I had never felt more serene and in tune with my own mind and body. Exposure to yoga was truly a pivotal point in my life.
As years went by, I wasn’t always consistent with my yoga practice. Whenever I wasn’t practicing consistently though, I would notice a buildup of tension and stress in myself. Or, if I hadn’t practiced in a while and then happened to practice, I would notice that I suddenly felt far better than before physically and mentally. In those moments, I would frequently ask myself “why don’t I do this more?”
During these years, I had never intended to teach yoga professionally and certainly never intended to start my own business. I intended to become an occupational therapist; which I did. I became an occupational therapist (OT) because I love helping people realize their full potential and thrive in life, not just survive. Everything was going according to plan until just before I received my license to practice occupational therapy (OT) in Tennessee in March 2020. By the time I had my license, no one was hiring; in fact, there were a lot of layoffs in my field. Also during that time, group settings did not seem safe.
I was disappointed by the change in plans, but I can be annoyingly optimistic sometimes. While it was a setback in my original plans, it also felt like a great opportunity to try my hand at entrepreneurship. I first made a business called Home & Hearth Therapy that focuses on in-home fall risk reduction for the elderly. It didn’t take long though before I realized that I could have an even greater impact if I found a way to bring the foundations of physical fitness and mindfulness to an ever larger audience in a way that is fun and not so clinical. This is where Nashville Events Yoga came in!
I thought about the many benefits of the various types of yoga: balance, coordination, strength, flexibility, endurance, mindfulness, attention, breathwork, and more. Yoga seemed, and still seems, like an excellent resource for helping people take care of themselves and preserve their quality of life even from a young age. Plus, it’s fun!
Unfortunately, there is a pretty specific, yet pervasive, image of yoga. Most people either picture someone sitting cross-legged and appearing not to do anything. Or, they picture someone super slender contorting themselves into some seemingly-impossible shape. Yoga doesn’t have to be either of those. It CAN be calming and restorative, and it CAN be challenging for the muscular and cardiovascular systems. However, it can also be anything in between. What’s more, anyone of any shape and size can enjoy yoga. Besides that, yoga doesn’t have to be confined to the traditional yoga studio environment; yoga can be enjoyed in so many more places than most people realize.
Additionally, I understand that some people are a little uncertain about trying new things. That’s part of why I have created events that combine other, fun activities with yoga such as hiking and stories. It has been really encouraging to hear people’s positive reactions when I tell them about what’s offered through Nashville Events Yoga.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Since starting Nashville Events Yoga (NEY), the biggest struggle has been learning how to let people know about Nashville Events Yoga and all that is offered through it. (aka marketing) My education and experience are largely in mental and physical health and wellness. I never thought I would ever need to market anything, so I never learned how, until now.
Besides marketing, the biggest obstacle has been patience. While I have been amazed at how relatively quickly Nashville Events Yoga has grown, it is still often weeks or sometimes months between either selling tickets to our own events (Hike & Yoga, Paint & Yoga, etc.) or clients booking us for an event they are hosting (such as a wedding, bachelorette party, etc).
As time has gone on, things have been slowly picking up, but it has been an excellent opportunity for me to practice patience.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Nashville Events Yoga?
Nashville Events Yoga provides yoga in a fun, creative ways.
We have two types of services. The first type is bringing yoga to locations of the client’s choosing. Some examples of client-hosted events are that we provide yoga for our children’s birthday parties, bachelorette parties, and wedding-day calming sessions. We also regularly provide children’s story yoga for some local academic daycares. The second type is hosting yoga events around Nashville. Year-round, we host Hike & Yoga events in local parks. Seasonally, our events shift from Paint & Yoga to Bring the Heat – Intense, outdoor, winter yoga to some fun, new events we have in the works for this year! To my knowledge, we are currently the only business in the Nashville area offering both of these types of services.
Each session is modified to fit the needs and wants of the clients, regardless of location. We are really proud to uphold the value that yoga is meant to serve people, to meet them where they are (in our case literally and figuratively), not the other way around.
We want everyone to know that you are never too old, too young, too small, too large, or too anything to be a part of the yoga community.
Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
To those who are just starting anything, (yoga, a business, an academic program, anything!) as long as what you are doing aligns with your goals and values, just keep going.
Be open to new ideas, know that failure is part of the process, and take setbacks as a chance to practice patience and be creative. Oh, and learn about marketing if you want to start a business (lol)
Pricing:
- Most events we host and ticket through Eventbrite are between $25-40/per person
- Client-hosted 60-minute session for 1-3 people for $90
- Client-hosted 60-minute session for 4-7 people for $125
- Client-hosted 60-minute session for 8-15 people for $225
- All other session times and sizes vary from $60 – $310
Contact Info:
- Website: www.nashvilleeventsyoga.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nashvilleeventsyoga
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Nashville-Events-Yoga/100068314934348/
Image Credits
Autumn Trimble and Rachel Adler
