A breakthrough moment can change people’s lives forever. Whether it is seizing an opportunity or meeting someone new, these moments can connect people and open doors in ways they could not have imagined. This is what happened to Ava Johanna when a friend brought her to a yoga class to unwind from her stressful work and personal life.
“A friend pulled me to a yoga class and it was the first time I felt peace and a sense of fulfillment in my life. I dove head first into yoga, meditation and breathwork and realized that these practices were not just a “nice to have” for any humans, but needed to be non-negotiable, especially for those of us that have grown up being fed a culture of non-stop working, grinding and hustle culture,” Ava recounts.
This was a seed planted in Ava’s mind that never left her and it was the perfect inspiration for her to begin her new business, which focuses on teaching individuals how to use breathwork and meditation in their daily lives. She wanted to help a new generation of coaches and teachers to help others learn these mindfulness practices that they could use to decrease stress in their lives.
“My business, Ava Johanna LLC is the parent company of The Academy of Breath, an 8-week breathwork and meditation certification for entrepreneurs, coaches, healers, and alternative health practitioners looking to extend their core offering with breathwork and meditation modalities for greater mental, emotional, physical and spiritual health. We also equip our students with business strategy and resources so they can take their education around mindfulness, meditation and breathwork and build a sustainable online wellness business,” Ava explains.
Ava’s business was not without obstacles, however, despite the fact that yoga, mindfulness, and meditation have been on everyone’s mind in the past year and a half. Ava’s business was in fact just that! A business, so it came with challenges just like any other business.
One of the many things that has helped Ava and her team overcome these challenges was having a good mindset when approaching these difficult times. They were also able to think outside of the box and develop fun ways to get people involved such as their new do it yourself guide for those who want to develop their own meditation practice and routine at home.
“The Academy of Breath is also releasing a do-it-yourself guided online learning platform for all individuals who are interested in creating a daily breathwork and meditation practice. This six module course is meant to serve anyone from busy moms to high school students that are seeking emotional resilience, reduced stress, greater physical and mental wellbeing, and the laundry list of benefits breathwork and meditation offer. Our goal with this introductory course is to get breathwork and meditation into every household across the planet, so we are actively seeking non-profit organizations to partner with to adopt a one-for-one model to get breathwork and meditation into the hands of marginalized communities that lack access to spiritual resources,” Ava details.
Finding the perfect balance between mindfulness, spirituality, and science, Ava’s Academy of Breath is great for anyone who either wants to learn how to teach about these practices or learn them themselves! To see how you can get involved, follow Ava on instagram here and check out her website here.