Today we’d like to introduce you to Marybeth Brady.
Hi Marybeth, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My story started over 20 years ago when I took my first yoga class. And, can I be honest? I hated it.
It was too slow, too still, too many “pearls of wisdom.” And Savasana felt like an adult nap that left me anxious and frustrated. And yet something deep inside of me, kept pulling me back to the mat. For a long time, my yoga practice was merely physical, a competition between me and the pose.
And then, one day, years later, life cracked me wide open in a way I never saw coming. Trauma is a powerful catalyst.
The unimaginable loss of a child, followed by a divorce, left me with a grief that took me to my knees. The kind where it’s hard to swallow, hard to breathe, and putting one foot in front of the other is a measured success.
During this time, I showed up to my mat every day. I was the woman in the back of class, sobbing through the entire practice. Not once. Not twice. For months. My yoga mat, and the students around me, held me. And that rectangle of space is where I began to put myself back together. It was where I healed. And eventually, in this messy new and unfamiliar version of myself, I remembered that I was whole.
It was in that space, messy, broken, raw, I made a promise to one day open a yoga studio where others could come to heal, celebrate, remember.
And that led to the first step, a decision that made zero sense on paper, given my current circumstances. I was a single mom, with a full-time corporate job, getting on a plane every other week for work. No time. No extra money. No clue how I’d make it work. But something in me had finally had enough.
Enough waiting, enough putting myself last. And so, I took the first step on a journey that would change the entire trajectory of my life, and signed up for yoga teacher training. I figured if I was going to open a yoga studio some day, I better learn how to teach.
The years after teacher training, I taught at several studios, and practiced all over the country when traveling for work. I built community, strengthened my voice, and got curious about what felt authentic to me in each space I taught and practiced in.
Opening Wild Heart Yoga, started as a “someday, I’m going to open a yoga studio.” And then one day, with no plan, I consciously changed my verbiage to “I’m opening a yoga studio.” And with that, things were put into motion.
There were so many set backs and I learned so much about myself during the process. And on December 16, 2016, at 6am, before I unlocked the door, I said a prayer, “Dear God, please let people show up.”
And you did.
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?
There were so many obstacles to opening Wild Heart Yoga
The shift in my language from “someday I’m going to”…. to “I am”, brought so many questions from folks. (Thank you!)
“Where?”- led me to finding a realtor and looking at properties. (That I could not afford.)
Which led me to applying for business loans. (That I did not qualify for)
Which led me to repair my credit. (If you know, you know… took 12-18 months.)
I didn’t have investors, or a trust fund, or any other kind of financial safety net.
What I did have was instilled me as a child, an insane work ethic, drive, ambition, and discipline. A Sun sign in Capricorn also helped.
So I did what I knew how to do. Asked questions, got answers, worked the solutions, and kept going.
That’s the thing right? It’s not always easy. I deeply believe the Universe rewards the risk takers, and shows up to co-conspire with out efforts when we show up. Wishing doesn’t create. Manifesting, which requires intentional action, does.
Small business owners reading this will get this next part. Small Businesses take time to be profitable. I worked my full-time corporate job, for the first 5 years of Wild Heart’s existence. To be fair, I had planned on retiring earlier, but a little thing called Covid happened. I made the decision to stay at my corporate job, and stopped paying myself at Wild Heart, so I could afford to pay my teachers. Who are absolute earth angels!
During Covid, we held classes on our outdoor deck for an entire year. The hottest class, 109 degrees and the coldest 29 degrees. People drove from San Antonio. Lockhart, Round Top… from all over, to be in community outside. In a time that was scary and emotionally heightened, we found joy together. I learned more about myself and my business operating during this year, than all of the other years combined. The magic though is the way small businesses support each other, and how our local Austin community truly values the authenticity small businesses serve in Austin.
Owning a small business and keeping the doors open, is hard. It’s not unique to Wild Heart. It’s the reality of living in a capitalistic world where big business can easily swoop in, price us out of real estate, and put up another condo.
We’re living in a moment where even our most basic communication is being constructed by something non-human. We can feel it, that there’s no real person on the other end. So much of daily life has become mediated, filtered, optimized. People are moving faster, feeling less, and outsourcing more of their heart and creativity, and sometimes, without even realizing it. Chatgpt is making waves in ways that feel misaligned, especially in wellness and holistic spaces. You can feel the lack of depth and realness in it all. It’s the furthest thing from WILD.
We can’t chatgpt our way to connection. It has to be embodied. And I think Austin is just wild and weird enough to stand it’s power of authentic connection.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
For 9 years, Wild Heart Yoga has served Austin through daily yoga classes and workshops. With a tribe of 18 earth angels, including teachers, leadership team, guest experience team, I am overwhelmed with gratitude!
As for my personal teachings and creations :
To share my love of all things lunar, I created the first Full Moon Yoga offering in our wild and wonderful city 8 years ago! Held on our outdoor deck under the stars, every month since. 200 & 300 HR Yoga Teacher Trainings both at Wild Heart and Costa Rica, Sound Healing Trainings, women’s circles, and community events are also a part of our magic.
My love for travel inspired me to create Wild Heart Retreats, luxury wellness retreats that reach from Texas to Mexico, Greece to Bali. Each one a transformative experience designed to align with your heart, and guide you on a path of nourishment. Through ceremony, connection, and divine practice, we embrace the intersection of ancient wisdom and mysticism. We have 3 more retreats this year, if you’re feeling the pull!
My North Star in all of it is WILD. Wild means to be untamed… living as nature…free… even primal.
Wild is our truest essence. Before the world started telling us who we “should” be, we trusted our hearts to lead the way. And so, Wild Heart Yoga, is a space to welcome you back home. Wild. Messy. Imperfect. Whole.
Our acronym is W.H.Y.- a reminder to keep reminding yourself if you why is aligned with your wild heart.
Now, more than ever, authentic, real, community is needed. I intend on creating and holding spaces that foster that for that as long I can. I am wildly grateful to do this work and walk the path with you, friends.
Alright, so to wrap up, is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
In Wild Gratitude,
Marybeth Brady
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.wildheartyogaaustin.com/
- Instagram: @wildheartyoga
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Wildheartyogaaustin/
- LinkedIn: 2984
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@wildheartyogaaustin
- Other: https://g.page/r/Cewzm9wkU85UEBM/review
Image Credits
@wildsparrowphoto
@wyld_roots
@birch
