Today we’d like to introduce you to Amy Johnson.
Amy, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I started out as a High School Band Director in 1996 which now I feel prepared me for the situation I am in today. The original Karmany Studio opened in February of 2009 but the owner passed away suddenly in December of 2017, five months after the passing of my father and six months after the passing of my grandmother.
As the founding teacher of Karmany, I was hoping and praying I would get a sign to keep this donation concept going for the city of Dallas. So through the generosity of our clients and community, $43,000 was gifted to keep our doors open. After closing down Karmany, we moved to old east Dallas with a slightly different name but the same soul–Eastside Karmany. Everything in our studio has been donated by our community–lights, fans, sound system, floor, EVERYTHING! So it generates a pretty cool vibe.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Absolutely not! 🙂 This has been the toughest two years of my life. When my dad got sick in January of 2017 my free time consisted of driving to Tyler to spend as much time as I could with him. And when Kjehl, the original owner, passed it was like losing my second dad. Kjehl had been a friend and investor of mine for 15 years but there were several issues that came up after his passing that required complete closure of the business and a lot of soul searching to decide if I was going to keep this going. I’ve been a teacher for almost 25 years and never really had to notion of owning anything outright but here I sit. A business owner.
Please tell us about Eastside Karmany Yoga.
We are Dallas’ first contribution based yoga studio. And allowing anyone to come in and practice no matter what their means creates something totally different than you find in other studios. The vibe it creates is different. If a student can’t afford even the donation–maybe they’re out of work at the time–we educated of the law of karma. Maybe it’s helping with the trash or something that allows them to reciprocate in some way.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
Nothing. I think it had to unfold this way for me to be where I am.
Contact Info:
- Address: 1327 N. Peak St.
Dallas, TX 75204 - Website: www.eastsidekarmany.yoga
- Phone: 214-557-9354
- Email: amy@eastsidekarmany.yoga
- Instagram: eastsidekarmany_yoga
- Facebook: Eastside Karmany Yoga
Getting in touch: VoyageDallas is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
