Jordan Ashley, the founder of Souljourn Yoga, first came up with the idea for her company at the age of 25, while feeling frustrated in a yoga class in New York City. She was discouraged by the lack of community within the studio; everyone seemed isolated alone on their mat: “There’s a massive disconnect between people who call themselves practitioners of yoga versus people who are living a yogic lifestyle of kindness, compassion, and service.” Ashley had just returned from living abroad in Southeast Asia, an experience that had her thoroughly convinced that there was more to yoga than just stretching and green juice. Two years (and one TED Talk later), Ashley would be running yoga retreats all over the planet to raise money for girls’ education and empowerment.
Souljourn Yoga is an NGO dedicated to building the cross-cultural connection she felt was so sorely missing that day in Manhattan. We caught up with this fearless entrepreneur to discuss career advice for breaking into the travel industry, as well as tips on maximizing both your yoga practice and your global perspective. The two go hand-in-hand, of course. “Yoga is more than standing on your hands and looking cute—it’s about being a warrior of change and rising to action by your own volition,” says Ashley. So rise up, read on, and prepare to feel inspired. After all you, you may not be able to rack up frequent flier miles while in quarantine, but you certainly can master your downward dog. Namaste.
It definitely was a journey, to say the least, and creating a charity that uses global yoga retreats to support female education and empowerment came from a place of frustration and disappointment from the local yoga community. There’s a massive disconnect between people who call themselves practitioners of yoga versus people who are living a yogic lifestyle of kindness, compassion, and service. And I think it’s so important to differentiate between the two. Yoga is more than standing on your hands and looking cute—it’s about being a warrior of change and rising to action by your own volition.
