This was a gift given to me by my sister Monica. It stands for Unity.

I want to create a feeling of community and hope that people will come here to gather, meet new people, and find peace within themselves.

I want people to know that yoga is for everybody. It’s not about the brand of clothes you wear or the car you drive, but about who you are as a person. I want people to come to the studio and find their escape from everyday life.

The studio is small, and that creates an intimate space where you will likely end up knowing or meeting the person next to you. Though yoga is a mind and body connection, you are not alone in your practice.

We are affected every day by our surroundings. When someone is sad, you often feel that sadness. When someone is smiling, it usually makes you smile too.

I love that Ujjayi Breathing is also known as "Ocean Breathing" because it sounds like the ocean. In class, when everyone is breathing aloud, it’s amazing to hear the individual waves within each person. When you listen to them all together, you can hear the ocean. It is so powerful.

One person may breathe shallowly, and another may have a stronger, fuller breath — but indirectly, the stronger breather helps the shallow breather. Like picking someone up from a fall. I wonder if they ever realize the impact they are having on one another.

Yes, yoga is not a competition. It is about turning inward and growing as an individual. But it is each individual that helps shape the world we live in today.

I hope you are able to learn and grow — with yourself and with the world — at our new yoga studio, "y Respira."