It all began on a dark and stormy night…
Hot Yoga Republic was born in 2018 on a cold and rainy December night in the parking lot of the Jewish Community Center in San Rafael, California.
After a good sweat with a bunch of Russians in the JCC steam room, high on endorphins and camaraderie, we (HYR Co-Founders Jessica and Kathryn) chatted for hours in Jessica’s jeep about all our yoga hopes and dreams.
We talked about how we wished, despite our lack of funding or any real understanding of the practicalities, that we could open a truly unique yoga studio that would change the world, or at least our tiny corner of it.
It was then, in the shadow of the JCC, that we decided it was time for Jesus, certainly a pretty good Jew, to take the wheel.
We decided to go for it.
When the Covid 19 pandemic hit, approximately the same month Hot Yoga Republic was set to open, we turned our attention to writing the HYR Mission Statement, and the guiding principles that would act as the guardrails for our mission.
We had a lot of time to discuss the HYR Mission Statement during the pandemic, more than 367+ days actually.
As we talked and dreamed and talked, it became so clear to us what would be the most important part of our company…the people we serve of course!
Below is our resulting HYR Mission Statement & Guiding Principles that came from what, in hindsight, would be the most important time our fledgling business could have ever had but never would have planned on.
(Most times, the greatest challenges give us our greatest gifts, and we never even see them coming.)
THE HYR MISSION STATEMENT & GUIDING PRINCIPLES
“We strive to provide a community in which our members, teachers, contractors and all of the people we serve, will feel better emotionally, physically, and socially for having spent time with us.”
We exist to make other people as passionate about hot yoga as we are.
We hire fantastic people who share this passion.
Our members are the most important part of our company.
“Members” include our members, cleaning team, yoga teachers, contractors, support staff, vendors, recycling & sanitary services folks, and anyone who is served by, or contributes to, Hot Yoga Republic.
We do what we say we are going to do, and we do the right thing.
We treat every relationship as though we are at the beginning of that relationship.
We are excellent with names.
We are kind, compassionate & curious.
We are immaculate because a clean studio shows that we care about our clients, and the environment in which our teachers do their work.
We are joyful and take joy in teaching and practicing yoga.
We embrace change and keep our eyes on the horizon.
We look for ways to better our community and give to charity when we can.
We are grateful.