若果要你放棄現有的職業, 毅然把自己的興趣轉成事業, 需要多大的勇氣? Samantha 在4年前決定辭職, 開設自己的Studio, 包括 Samantha Yoga 及One Yoga , 短短三年已是三間瑜伽館擁有人。Samantha 曾是註冊護士, 每天進出手術室猶如戰場, 使她心身都累壞。 她父母在70年代開始練習瑜伽, Samantha自小對瑜伽不陌生。要放棄所有重新開始一定不容易, Samantha 和我們分享了她的故事!
Have you ever wanted to change your current status? Most of us don't have the courage to make the change. Samantha quit her job 4 years ago and now she's a owner of 3 yoga studio including Samantha Yoga & One Yoga. She was a registered nurse working in the operation room of a hospital, a very high stress environment that makes her exhausted mentally and physically. Her parents are OG yogi, they started practicing yoga in the 70s so Samantha is familiar with yoga since she was a child. Let's get inspired by Samantha's journey.
Q1. What leads you to start the yoga journey? 是什麼啟發你踏上瑜伽之路?
由於父母有練習瑜伽的關係, 我自小已接觸瑜伽, 直至我踏入社會, 繁忙的生活使我中斷了練習。在2012年, 我發現我的生活實在太大壓力, 每天進出手術室使我極度疲累, 身心都充滿負能量, 這不是我的理想生活。
有一天朋友邀請我一起上瑜伽課, 久未練習的我由原本只是隨意上一堂, 慢慢變成了每星期也上課的恆常課。2015年是我的人生轉戾點, 我決定了報考瑜伽導師。一年後Samantha Yoga誕生, 再過一年成立了One Yoga。現在我們擁有三間分館, 超過一千名學生, 以及一個專業的導師團隊!
My yoga journey began when I was still in secondary school. I guess I was always interested in yoga partly because of my parents’ influence.
Fast forward to 2012, I found myself at a career crossroad. At the time I have been working as a full time nurse for a while. I was exhausted everytime I stepped out of the OT room and I realized it is not something that I could do day in and day out.
Then one day, a friend of mine from university asked me if I wanted to join her for a yoga session. One lesson became two, and soon I started going to yoga classes regularly again.
In 2015, I decided to make a major career change. I decided to go through a formal yoga teacher training programme and become a yoga teacher. One year later, Samantha Yoga was born, and the year after, One Yoga. Today we have more than 1000 students at our three studios and a team of very passionate and dedicated teachers.
Q2. Do you agree that the trend of doing yoga in HK are getting more popular? 你認為香港的瑜伽是不是愈來愈普遍?
絕對是! 香港是一個繁忙大都會, 生活節奏急速, 很高興看到愈來愈多人察覺到瑜伽的好處。我們致力推動瑜伽文化, 希望有一天瑜伽能成為大部分香港人每天生活的一部分!
Definitely. And I am very glad that it is the case. I always feel that yoga is especially needed in a city like Hong Kong where the pace of life is so fast. It is very pleasing to see more and more people getting to know about yoga and its benefits. We are doing our best to promote yoga to as many people as possible at our studios. I hope one day yoga will be part of most people’s everyday life in Hong Kong.
Q3. What is the biggest difficulty operating a private yoga studio in HK? 在香港經營瑜伽館有什麼難題?
與其他行業一樣, 香港的昂貴租金是一項大挑戰。剛開始的時候, 我們一心只想推動瑜伽文化, 希望更多人接觸到瑜伽, 但同時也要達到收支平衡。 這是一個不容易的要點, 但我們做到了!
As with many other businesses, the high rent in Hong Kong makes it very difficult to run a yoga business. As a yogi, when I first started out, I was thinking about nothing but promoting yoga. On one hand, we want to keep the price affordable for everyone so that we can promote yoga to as many people as possible. On the other hand, we also need to make sure that we have enough to cover the operating costs. I kind of feel that we have found the right balance now but it is very a fine balancing act.
Q4. Any tips to those who want to become a yoga teacher or have their own studio? 有任何建議給想成為瑜伽導師的人嗎?
做瑜伽是一種興趣, 但變為職業又是另一回事, 所以必須先肯定你是否喜歡做教導人的角色? 雖然我成為了導師, 但這確實不是人人都適合的工作。
經營一間瑜伽館又是另一層面的事, 需要顧累更多東西而且困身。如果你是想要彈性管理自己的時間也許做導師會更適合你。
First and foremost, be sure that you like it enough to make it your career. Even though I have made the choice to become a full-time yoga teacher, I have to admit that it is not a decision for everybody. Yoga as an interest is very different from yoga as a career.
Running your own yoga studio is also very different being a yoga teacher. If you prefer to have a flexible schedule and be able to manage your own time, perhaps taking a teaching role would be a better option.
Q5. Have you count how many do you have? 你有計過你有多少套瑜伽服嗎?
瑜伽服永遠不嫌多! 我從來沒有數過, 但我的瑜伽服足以霸佔我半個衣櫃! 我很愛穿瑜伽服, 隨了工作需要, 平日穿搭也很適合, 因為它們十分舒適和百搭。
There is no such thing as too many yoga wear, isn’t it? I have a modest collection of yoga appeals which I have never counted; but I guess they filled pretty much half of my wardrobe! I love yoga wear because they are comfortable and you can wear them on many different occasions.
Features: Taisha Light Impact Bra ,Compress Mesh leggings
Q6. Any key function when you pick yoga wear? 你喜愛那類型的瑜伽服?
我認為設計必須要吸引, 瑜伽服的意義就是要舒適得如第二層皮層, 令你活動自如! 我最常穿的其中一件單品是Princess Jacket, 它的貼身剪裁讓我份外自信。
For me personally I think the design and the look of it is the first thing that attracts me. It needs to fit well. You want to feel comfortable wearing it. One of my favorite pieces in the wardrobe is actually a Titika Princess Jacket! I really like the way it fits.