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Glow Has Turned 15!​

I’ll be honest - Glow is turning 15, and I never imagined I would be writing this email.

Fifteen years of running a business. Fifteen YEARS of being my own boss. FIFTEEN years of having a regular workout routine? Who is this girl???  Even writing those words feels surreal.

 

The truth is, I’ve been so deeply boots on the ground that I haven’t even had a real moment to pause and absorb this milestone. I might honestly need a week in the woods just to let it sink in and allow myself to celebrate it.

But one thing I know for sure: I’m not celebrating alone.

Glow was never just my creation. It has always been a baby of YOUR support. Sometimes in joyful seasons, sometimes in very hard ones. So before I share more of my reflections, I would truly love to hear yours:

Whether you have been practicing here for fifteen years, one year, or whether you simply stepped into Glow once and continued your practice somewhere else - if Glow or one of our teachers touched your journey in any way, I would love to hear about it.

I created a small reflection form here, and I cannot wait to read your stories. To me, your story would be the most powerful gift.

 

PLEASE SHARE YOUR GLOW SELF-CARE STORY >

 

And since anniversaries invite reflection, here are a few things the last 15 years running Glow have taught me:

 

1. You don’t need to know everything to begin.
I didn’t start Glow because I had a perfect business plan. I started because I had terrible neck pain in my twenties and couldn’t find a place that combined what every doctor kept recommending: yoga, resistance training, and therapeutic bodywork. I opened the studio out of that inconvenience. It turns out most learning happens after you leap.

 

2. Your mission matters more than your shortcomings.
When I opened Glow, I was an immigrant with very raw English (still learning!). I had no family here, no public speaking training, and I couldn’t even teach a class yet. But strangely, none of that stopped me - because Glow was never about me. I believed deeply that this space needed to exist, and that belief was louder than my insecurities.

 

3. Leadership is learned the hard way - and that’s okay.
Leadership was never my plan. I opened a studio quite happily naive, without realizing that I would one day need to lead a team, guide students, and sometimes make difficult decisions. Fifteen years later, I’m still learning how to lead well. Cheers to being a lifelong student. I am so grateful I get to work with the most caring and capable team on the entire planet Earth!

 

4. As a business owner, hard days don’t come with a “call in sick” button.
I’ve had hundreds of days where I thought, “I have terrible cramps today… I wish I could just call my boss and stay in bed.”
And then I remember: I am the boss.

Running something you love means learning to show up even on difficult days. And the beautiful part is this: you discover that you can do hard things. You can show up for others even when you are not feeling your best - as long as you also give yourself real, scheduled time to recover.

 

5. Burnout is preventable when recovery is part of the plan.
Even though I teach many classes each week, the largest part of my job actually happens sitting on my ass staring at my laptop - writing emails like this, doing bookkeeping, planning trainings, answering messages. Screens and emails are endless. What has protected me from burnout for fifteen years are my recovery practices: long bubble baths, sound baths, yin yoga, and my beloved myofascial rollouts. I truly credit those rituals with allowing me to still show up and teach after all these years.

 

And now, I would love to hear your story. This will make this celebration truly special.

If Glow - or any wellness studio that supported you, please share it with me.

I can’t wait to read them. With your permission, I would also love to share a few of them in my future notes.

 

And, join me for our Anniversary walk in the Botanical Garden in March - let's celebrate!

 

Pictured with me: Marcella, who has been a member since the 1st week we opened 15 years back, and who has never failed to bring anniversary flowers for all to enjoy. People of North Beach are beyond incredible.