JULIANA OLMSTEAD

Studio Owner | Original Hot Yoga Instructor | Yin Yoga Instructor
I took my first Hot Yoga class in 2004, during a summer break from college. I had practiced ballet since I was a kid and had dabbled in many different yoga styles, but I had never experienced anything like this! As a bendy ballerina, I was usually bored in yoga, but the hot yoga class was a real challenge and I loved it! I had never felt such powerful results from a “beginner's" yoga class.
At the time, I was working on an engineering degree at MIT and trying to maintain a dance career on the side, so I did not have a lot of spare time and I was a very sporadic yoga student for my first few years. When I finally graduated, quit ballet, and made yoga a priority, I saw a huge difference in my life. I got stronger and more flexible, which I appreciated, but I also felt much calmer and happier. I had always been a very type-A, competitive person – which does help when you’re running a business! – but yoga has taught me how to relax and find peace with myself.
In 2010, midway through graduate school, I realized that I would never be happy as an engineer working in a lab. I wrapped up my degree, went to Bikram Yoga Teacher Training in Las Vegas, and never looked back. I taught full-time at studios all over the country before making a home in Rhode Island. I opened our Bristol studio as August 2014 and expanded the business to Providence in 2017.
I love coming into the studio and feeling the energy in the air as more and more people discover this life-changing practice. Yoga has transformed my life in ways that I never imagined, and I hope that the same will be true for you!