We were lucky to catch up with Abbey, Ajoy Yoder recently and have shared our conversation below.
Abbey, Ajoy, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.
Finding my purpose is never ending for me. As someone who has a lot of passions, I’ve always felt pulled to go in the directions that have led me to where I am now, but I know that my purpose will continue to grow and expand as I do believe everyone’s will.
To follow the stepping stones that have led me to where I am now, I grew up in Maryland and pursued dance and ballet that moved to Philadelphia, New York, and Chicago and now Arizona. I danced with the Joffrey Ballet in Chicago and was also a Physical Therapy Aide which both gave me experience in functional body training.
After I decided to stop dancing, I started at ASU, and found that diversified studies was what truly allowed me to continue to expand so I have majors in Communication and Integrative Health as well as minors in Entrepreneurship & Innovation and Digital Marketing. At this time I also did my 500 hour Pilates training certification through Remedy Pilates and PSC, as well as the Forma training. I knew that while I was dancing and using pilates as my cross training, I wanted to pursue it more because of it’s versatility, functionality, as well as it’s accessibility to people of all phases and walks of life. I found that no matter if I had an injury to work through or simply everyday movement, pilates was an outlet for me to be creative in my movement practice while also maintaining strength, mobility and balance in my own body and mind. I also work in the digital media field and that allows me to connect with a variety of brands, companies and individuals and help to capture, spread, and build community for them which I enjoy deeply. I also created my own creative business that houses my art, prints, graphics, and tshirts that bring together my love for finding the little joys in everyday life.
My goal overall in both pilates and with digital media work is to spread this joy of life, movement, and community. I want to give people their own foundation of wellness to build upon and remind them that they are never alone in what they are going through. Now you see why I never will never truly have found my purpose, because it will continue to grow.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
In following that I do have a lot of passions I like to be able to do them all.
Thus, I started my own LLC which is called
TheJoyfulcoStudio. It is the home of all of my “joys” my pilates teaching, my digital media clients, and my art. I teach at a variety of studios, have personal clients, and have loved curating events as a form of community building and connection for our local Arizona community. I do monthly plants & pilates events at Jade & Clover, teach mat pilates at spin studio called the underground and The Global Ambassador Hotel to name a few. If you’re in need of social media management and strategy or content I am also here for you, as I have found that authenticity and finding community virtually has expanded both myself and the brands that I’ve worked with. As for my art, I have a table at Jade & Clover in Arcadia that houses my art and also do limited drops that can be found there, on Etsy, through my Instagram to send! I keep all of my links in my instagram bio @ajoy10 and have all of my information on there as well to connect.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Community, following your passion, finding joy in the ups and downs of it all, these are my three qualities or areas of knowledge that have allowed me to develop.
First, community, finding people that align with your passions and you can go too. Surround yourself with people that see more in you than even you can see in yourself. I’ll say it once and I’ll say it again, we will always be better together. Whether you’re having a bad day or in a hard season of life, knowing that you are never alone is what will keep you going and learning to reach out and lean on people that will be able to lift you higher.
Second, following your passion, this leads to so much fulfillment. Whether you can do what you are fully passionate about full time or part time, it’s crucial, at least for me to do what lights me up inside. To know that that light and fire will only burn brighter when I can impact others following it is what truly brings me the most joy.
Third, finding joy in the ups and downs of it all. I am reminding myself as I write this one because this one is a continuous learning. Remembering that life is like a wave and there will both be higher points and lower and that is totally normal. As someone who naturally loves the ups, it’s learning to find the joy in the downs and a bit more of the “go with the flow” mentality. My family has instilled that in me, that door will open for you, you just have to keep an open mind to see them and then take action.
How can folks who want to work with you connect?
Always! I am a big believer in collaboration and remembering like I stated above that we are better together. I have loved being able to bring my skills and passions for teaching pilates to activate brands, bring people together, and get everyone feeling their best. So if you would like to have me host an event in your space or are looking for private pilates class I am here for you! As for social media management, I am also happy to help if you know anyone who is looking to build their business or need assistance in that realm.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://msha.ke/ajoy10
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ajoy10
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/abbey-yoder
- Other: Email: [email protected]
