Today we’d like to introduce you to Colby Hanks.
With her childhood history of dance and cheerleading and over a decade of experience as a certified instructor, Colby’s passion for teaching spans a variety of ages, levels, disciplines and continents. Colby joined The University of Texas Pom squad in college where she also obtained a business degree before moving to London after graduation.
Yoga and fitness have always played an important role in her life’s most definitive chapters, both at home and abroad, and it was this interest that helped her launch Slice Studios in London, one of the UK’s original boutique fitness concepts. Since returning to Texas in 2014, she continues to host classes and retreats as a 500-hour certified Yoga instructor and ACE Health Coach. Outside of “day job” commitments, you’re likely to find her teaching at Dallas Country Club and We Yogis, outdoors in Klyde Warren Park and the Harwood District, or leading birthday parties for children.
“I will forever treasure all the chances I’ve been given to teach,” Colby says. “Teaching and writing give me a means of channeling the love and encouragement people have given me unto others and quite frankly, it’s what I live for.”
Has it been a smooth road?
My greatest joy in teaching is leading free classes, so essentially I work to support my teaching habits. And although I never “quit my day job” to teach, I have no regrets about having stuck the course. Working a more traditional desk job has always helped me relate to the students and peers around me and to the pressures and challenges of everyday life, which are of course always more prevalent than necessary. My journey as an instructor has been nothing short of organic. I have invested many of my vacations of recent years into training courses that interested me and my number of set classes per week has fluctuated from zero to eighteen. I love the flexibility of teaching and the thought of being able to do it for the rest of my life. For me, the greatest challenges of teaching are managing my energy and letting classes go when the time comes to do so. There is a part of every class and community that stays with us forever, and it’s that sense of connectedness that will always keep me coming back for more – both as a student and a teacher.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into Freelance Fitness and Yoga Instructor story. Tell us more about the business.
I’ve been told that there’s a little dose of cheerleader in most of what I do – so perhaps that’s my flavor. I will always be most proud of the studios I was able to help lead a chapter, my dance studio in Mt. Pleasant, Texas and our fitness studio in London, England. It’s amazing to pour yourself into a dream only to let go and then see a place flourish in your absence. Neither of those dreams was started exclusively by me, but they consumed me for a special few years of my life and now, I watch them thrive from afar with a great sense of awe and pride.
Do you have a lesson or advice you’d like to share with young women just starting out?
Follow your gut and your schedule. And schedule your time in a way that directly aligns with your dreams – leaving some space for rest and the great unknown.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.colbyranae.com
- Email: colby.hanks@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/colbyhanks/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/colbyranae/
- Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/colbyhanks/
- Other: https://www.linkedin.com/in/colbyhanks
Image Credit:
Erik Carlson, Noya Yoga, We Yogis, Harwood Yoga, Slice Studios London
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