Meet Our Ambassadors!
We are SO excited to announce our BEYOGA Ambassador program! Meet our FOUR new ambassadors. This program is different than a traditional ambassador program and it is very exciting! As science is slowly catching up documenting all the benefits of yoga it is still a lengthy process, there is no magic pill! If you are curious about the benefits of yoga and seek the mental and physical balance it brings, you have to commit and show up to see the changes over time. There is not always a sweaty shirt to "show" you your proof of something deep inside shifting. BEYOGA takes a whole body & mind approach to health and wellness to benefit every body in our community. Our ambassadors will share their journey's over the next year to highlight the fact that different combinations of classes work for different people. We have selected thesefour amazing humans with different backgrounds (jobs, stress levels & ages), and different wellness routines as there is no one style fits all to see results and benefits. Take a moment to learn a little bit about meet these wonderful humans!
Mellie Baxter
Meet Mellie!
Mellie Baxter is a native Houstonian, Mellie has always had a passion for health and wellness. After spending the first part of her career in corporate education for LVMH (Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy), Mellie went back to school to study health and wellness to ultimately obtain her Masters in Exercise Science Health Promotion with a specialty in Wellness Psychology. Mellie loves helping people live their best lives through healthy living and successfully integrating work, family, fun, movement and nutrition. Mellie’s research in workplace wellness led her to develop innovative programming for employer wellness groups at Humana. While there, she wrote large group and special population programming to help Humana’s members find their healthiest ways of living tailored to their specific lifestyle needs. Mellie has been in the wellness industry for over 10 years and is an ambassador for Lululemon in the Galleria. In the last year Mellie underwent surgery and is on the road to recovery and her best health yet! We chose her as our resident yogi that has recently shifted her focus to strength and speed training so we can track the effects of that and how yoga play an integral part of her movement routine.
Here a few things we asked and she answered:
1. What is your favorite scent? Geranium/bergamot
2. What do you do daily that brings you peace and centers you? Meditate, play with my puppies (they are the cutest!)
3. How does yoga benefit your life? My spine DEMANDS yoga! I practice every day to keep my spine flexible and hips open! It also loosens up my pecs and keeps my posture where it needs to be to support my spine!
We can not wait for you to follow along with her journey!
Jon Hackett
Meet Jon! Jon is on of the kindest humans you will meet. Being in his presence is pure joy and when he walks into a room, he lights it up! Jon is currently working on his LSAT for Law school and we know he will crush it! As you can tell from his pic, he likes to lift weights and one of his favorite exercises at the gym are sumo squats! We will have his FULL bio up on beyoga.comby the end of the week! You can catch him speaking on a panel called PROUD & PRESENT this week for PRIDE:2019 at the Lululemon Houston Heights Local on Thursday, June 20th from 6pm - 8pm. It will be a night of meaningful and thought provoking conversation driven by a diverse group of LGBT individuals from our community.
Here are a few questions we asked and he answered:
1) My favorite scent is: Such a tough question! Anything that is crisp, fresh or aquatic. (i.e., fresh citrus, ‘Sailing Day’ by Maison Margiela, ‘Afternoon Swim’ by Louis Vuitton or ‘Another 13’ by Le Labo)
2) What do you do daily that brings you peace and centers you? Listening to a specially curated playlist of my favorite songs and praying are constants in my daily life that keep me sane, grounded and connected to myself.
3) How does yoga benefit your life? Yoga offers me the ability to pause, and become aware of my body and my thoughts. Aside from the physical benefits of practicing yoga, it supports my breath in stressful situations, allows me to be mindful of the energy I create, and allows me to hear my inner voice.
Anastasia Hansen
Meet Anastasia! Anastasia Hansen is an avid runner, yogi, blogger and Houston connoisseur. After playing water polo for eight years, Anastasia made the transition to land sports and became a certified yoga teacher and started running consistently in 2014 and was an ambassador for the Houston Marathon & Half Marathon for two years.
Anastasia regularly writes about Houston and travel at It’s Not Hou It’s Me (ItsNotHouItsMe.com). An unofficially-official ambassador for the city, she loves to bring the best of the world to Houston and the best of Houston to the world. You can read about her running travel tips, local fitness classes, crazy work-out trends, where to trail run, favorite Houston running routes and much more on her blog.
When in Houston, you can find her running along Buffalo Bayou, eating pasta at Better Luck Tomorrow, and Instagraming pictures of local street art.
A few things we asked and she answered:
1) My favorite scent is: Grapefruit or jasmine
2) What do you do daily that brings you peace and centers you? Healthy eating and getting fresh air. I travel a lot of for work so prioritizing eating well and spending time outside--no matter where I am in the world--is a must to keep my sanity!
3) How does yoga benefit your life? Encouraging active recovery and stretching for higher cardio activities like biking and running, and also gives me space to pause and just focus on my breath.
We can't wait to share more about her journey with you!
Jillian Harville
Meet Jillian! She is a fierce single Mama to two daughters both in college and both graduating soon! She is an executive with a financial Institution and travels for work frequently. Jillian loves art, music, quality time with those she love
s and YOGA! Jillian's personal mission statement is “avoiding a life of beige”.:). She has recently met someone special that’s bringing a new kind of joy to her life.
Here are a few questions asked and she answered: 1. What is your favorite scent? Santal 33 is my perfume scent, it’s my favorite because it has violet and sandalwood. I use lavender to calm me when I’m stressed or before I go to yoga.
2. What do you do daily that brings you peace and centers you? Daily I stretch and roll my back out. Cooking for myself has become peaceful. I center-myself with A bike ride in Memorial park at sunrise and that’s sure to start the day right!
3. How does yoga benefit your life? Yoga started me breathing :) literally and figuratively. Holding your breath and hopeful for change is not a good life strategy. I found yoga and discovered my breath, I let go of what no longer serves me well. I’ve found space in my joints and in my life. I’ve met new friends and encouraged my loved ones to join me in this journey.