Today we’d like to introduce you to Ashley Maina.
Ashley, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I’m a Sensual Yoga Teacher and Transformational Coach for women. And I’m here to help you turn on pleasure in your body, life, and being!
Before this current path, my life looked very different 7 years ago.
In college, I studied Business and Finance at Northeastern University. I went on to work in GE’s Financial Management Program and Corporate Audit Staff where I lived and worked all over the world (Tokyo, London, Italy…). On paper, I was successful, however, on the inside, I was beyond miserable.
I was living in London when I hit my breaking point. At that moment – crying hysterically behind the office building – I decided that my happiness was more important than anything else. I requested a leave of absence and went to Bikram’s College of India Yoga Teacher Training. This is where my own healing journey began – during this 9-week intensive training, years of repressed feelings and emotions started to peel away – I remember one class where I cried the entire time, it felt so good!
After becoming a Bikram Yoga Teacher, I then went on to study holistic health coaching (through the Institute for Integrative Nutrition) and later Transformational Coaching (I studied directly with Stacey and Carey, the founders of The Health Coach Institute) where I completed their foundational and mastery level Transformational Coaching Method certification. It was absolutely life-changing.
Great, 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?
Definitely not. I believe that starting a business is the greatest personal growth journey – as your fears and doubts start to pop up more than ever.
In the early years, I struggled the most with the identity shift – leaving my corporate identity and income was incredibly difficult for me at the time. It now seems silly.
Find mentors, find community, find accountability, and surround yourself with those with a growth mindset.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about your business – what should we know?
I have two main offerings – 1:1 Transformational Coaching and Sensual Yoga.
As a coach, I specialize in lasting habit change through re-patterning outdated beliefs. It’s deep work, and it’s incredibly healing and powerful. I work with clients 1:1, and a typical engagement includes a half day in-person intensive at the Moon Lodge, aka Hawthorn Farm Retreat Center in Medfield, MA followed by 8 coaching sessions (via phone or video).
As a Sensual Yoga Teacher, I currently teach monthly at the Moon Lodge in Medfield, MA. After years of practicing Bikram Yoga, I craved to move in a more fluid and feminine way. Sensual yoga combines feminine body movement, kundalini breathwork, chanting, and pelvic-centered connection. It’s an amazing practice that helps awaken your connection to your pelvic center – where your intuition, creativity, and power sits. During my own postpartum period, I found this style of yoga to be incredibly healing and powerful – women at any stage in their life truly love it!
What I’m most proud of and what sets me apart, is my own continued growth and evolution – my mentors taught me that you can only take your clients as far as you’ve taken yourself. I’ve courageously committed my time and energy into doing the work – it wasn’t easy and I feel like I’ve taken a number of “time outs” where I solely focused on my personal growth and I continue to. I believe it’s an absolute gift and luxury to be able to heal and feel freedom and pleasure in your body, life, and being. And, I enjoy being able to hold this space for others to find it for themselves as well.
Do you recommend any apps, books or podcasts that have been helpful to you?
I’ve distilled it down to this “Slow down, Tune in, Turn on” by that I mean, find a method to listen to yourself and learn how to trust yourself.
And find community! It can be isolating being in business for yourself.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.ashleymaina.com
- Email: ashley@ashleymaina.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/ashelizabeth
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AshleyMaina.Community/
Image Credit:
gortizphotography
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