“You can eat well; you can work out as much as you want. But if you’re not bringing the mind into the work, if you’re not working on the breath and the mindfulness aspect of it, you’re really not going to lose weight ... or have clarity in your being,” she said.
After working for more than a decade in retail management, longtime yogi Normand quit her job in January 2018, held pop-up yoga events throughout the community and opened her studio in Bridgeland by December.
She said as someone who worked most weekends and was constantly on the go in her previous job, yoga was always where she found solace.
“For me, yoga has been my sanctuary,” Normand said. “My mat was my place where I was able to really rest my mind.”
Shaka Power Yoga offers classes for all experience levels, from gentle to more athletic classes. Normand said she expects to see her business continue to grow as it produces more certified yoga teachers through 200-hour training classes in affiliation with Yoga Alliance.
Normand earned her certification to teach yoga while living in Hawaii, and upon moving to the Houston area in 2016, she got certified to teach stand-up paddleboard yoga. The business began hosting SUP classes in May 2019, and Normand said more regular classes have taken place in Humble and Texas City since COVID-19 hit this spring.
Shaka Power Yoga also began offering virtual classes in mid-March which have since reached international yogis, added outdoor classes and launched an on-demand library of yoga content for members to stay active during quarantine. This innovation has not only helped keep the doors open, but Normand said the business has actually grown in 2020 despite the pandemic.
The studio reopened for in-person classes in May, and Normand said children’s classes will return once a vaccine for COVID-19 is released.
“We can coexist with this [virus] if we do it safely and cleanly,” she said. “Life does not need to stop.”
Shaka Power Yoga, 10611 Fry Road, Ste. 250, Cypress. 832-413-3194. www.shakapoweryoga.com
Hours: Mon., Wed. 5:30-10:30 a.m., 5-8 p.m.; Tue., Thu. 7:30 a.m.-1 p.m., 5-8 p.m.; Fri. 5:30-10:30 a.m.; Sat. 7:30-11:30 a.m., Sun. 8:30-10:30 a.m.
