Today we’d like to introduce you to Diane Vitoria.
Hi Diane, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I went to college after high school to be an ultrasound technologist in the medical field. After 7 years, in the field, I stopped working full-time and became a stay-at-home mother of three in 2000. Then when our kids grew older and I had some free time during the day, I started running after being asked to participate in a local triathlon relay in 2007. From there, a dedicated runner was born. I completed several organized races including six full marathons. After reading how yoga can benefit runners, I decided to try it in 2012. I found another love and became a regular yoga practitioner, (and by the way, my running did improve in both endurance and speed). I decided to get my certification for yoga as my home studio was asking me to substitute classes. I became a registered yoga teacher in 2016 and began teaching at local studios and gyms. After less than a year, I started dreaming of having a studio of my own to bring different styles of yoga to the community.
My husband and I searched for months for a “house”, hence The Yoga House. We settled on a property in a quiet office park near Brandon Hospital. After seeing the waterview, surrounding nature, and realizing the space was serene and away from busy traffic, we acquired a large business loan, took money out of our retirement funds, and transitioned an old medical office to a comfortable quaint yoga studio. We hired professionals for the big jobs, but had family and friends work with us for two months for everything else we were capable of doing ourselves.
This included building furniture, laying floors, painting, decorating, and more. The Yoga House opened the door to the public in August 2017. With an amazing staff, we built a studio welcoming students of many different ages. Through the years, we have added instructors, classes to our weekly schedule, and special monthly yoga-related workshops. I led my first international yoga retreat in 2023 to Costa Brava, Spain, and now I am taking another group to Morocco this April! In addition, with the guidance of another dedicated instructor, I also started our own Registered Yoga School last year and we are now teaching others to become yoga teachers.
So far, this has been an amazing journey, a positive addition to mine as well as my family’s life, and fun! I strive to continue my yogic education having achieved more yoga-related certifications in recent years as well as welcome new ideas from others that may benefit our students in some way. I am so grateful for having the support of my husband to make this dream come true. I hope to continue to thrive in our small serene space in the heart of Brandon of spreading the “yoga magic” to our community.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
For the most part, with the help and support of our amazing team, I would have to say it’s been a pretty smooth ride. However, like most small businesses, Covid threw us for a loop. Our studio was closed for three months, but our dedicated instructors continued to offer yoga at least once a day virtually via social media and YouTube.
Opening the studio little by little with some restrictions, in accordance with Hillsborough County and Florida law, we survived. This was mostly because many of our dedicated students offered to continue paying for their memberships, even through the times our doors were closed. For those who did, my heart will always have a warm place. I will never forget.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
On a day-to-day basis, I work cleaning the studio, maintaining the supplies, and keeping everything neat and organized for our students.
I also teach 4-5 classes per week. Outside the studio, I have a lot of computer work from the business aspect with the income and expenses, having an appearance on Google and social media and well as scheduling workshops, marketing the studio, completing payroll, paying bills, answering phone calls, etc. I am a one-woman show as far as the business aspects. I do have a wonderful front desk staff that shares the cleaning and organizing responsibility of the studio, and a supportive team takes care of the “house” when I am away.
The Yoga House specializes in having a variety of classes. I didn’t want to gear the studio to attract a certain age group, demographic, or style of yoga. We have 27 classes per week from Gentle, Restorative, and Yin Yoga to Power, Hot, and Aerial Yoga. Our age groups span from age 16 to 90! We truly believe we have something for everyone and it is never too late to start practicing yoga, hence our slogan, “Yoga for Everybody.”
We have a specific class unique only to The Yoga House. I earned the trademark from the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (no easy task) for “YOGAJUANA”. I wanted to create a yoga class that nearly anyone could do regardless of experience. Therefore, when CBD hit the market full force years ago, YOGAJUANA seemed like a good fit to make our class exclusive. It started as a 60-minute class incorporating the benefits of CBD (optional if desired) with 3 parts of YOGA: breath control (Pranayama), gentle poses (Asana), and meditation (Dyana). The main goal of this special class is to guide people to simply relax, move the body easily, go inward, and be still for a while. This class does not require much effort and teaches skills people can use off the mat to reduce anxiety and stress. People leave feeling like they know they took the time to do something good for themselves without straining or sweating. They learn a technique they can use in life situations and teach it to others as well. It has been a very well-received class in the community, and we are very proud of it displaying our U.S. Trademark certificate in our reception area. We offer YOGAJUANA twice weekly.
I believe we are known for our grounded welcoming environment providing quality yoga from compassionate, dedicated, and experienced instructors. Not to mention, our practice area is really beautiful having many windows overlooking a conservation pond with birds of different species including ducks, sandhill cranes, hawks, and more. We have had a peacock camp out awhile outside our door, and even spotted a bald eagle a few times!
I am most proud of the relationships I have made and the healing impact our studio has had on people’s lives. We have helped people recover from trauma, the loss of a loved one, divorce, injury, and other life hardships. When people share their struggles and let us know how The Yoga House was their safe place for peace and healing, and to know that we truly made a difference in their lives just by doing what we love, that is something special.
What sets us apart is the diversity of people who attend our classes and our “no judgment” attitude. As stated before, we welcome everyone seeking to add yoga or keep yoga in their lives. We are grounded and accepting, we respect the yogic philosophy and the practice, striving to serve others every day.
Who else deserves credit for your story?
My husband is the biggest supporter of me being a studio owner. He helps in any capacity that he can to keep it running as smoothly as possible from withdrawing money from his retirement to open it in 2017 to changing air filters. I know I can always count on him for help and support both physically and emotionally. Occasionally, there have been situations when other instructor’s husbands and students have volunteered to help in times of need.
Being born and raised in Tampa, I am fortunate to have many local friends. My friends have always been encouraging and willing to help me when I ask, or by lending their ear in times of doubt.
My previous yoga instructors, especially Marion Foster and Monica Lukasiewicz, were my mentors. They always guided me and I owe them for showing me how yoga can enrich and change your perspective of life. I am sure they probably don’t realize how much they had an impact on me because again, they were just practicing yoga and doing what they love. That’s part of the “yoga magic.”
But most of all, The Yoga House would not exist or have come as far as it has in the past seven years without our amazing team of instructors and front desk staff. I tell them all the time that I am the luckiest yoga studio owner on Earth! LOL. We help each other, we are always kind and respectful to one another, and not only are they each amazing individuals, but they are amazing yoga teachers. I couldn’t, and wouldn’t, ask for more.
Pricing:
- A yoga class is $17 for a drop-in class.
- Unlimited yoga is $99/month.
- Other packages include 5 classes for $75 or 10 for $130
- Other memberships are 8 classes/mo for $90 or 4/mo for $50
- We offer occasional specials, but not often,
Contact Info:
- Website: www.TheYogaHouseBrandon.com
- Instagram: @theyogahousebrandon
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theyogahousebrandon
Image Credits
James Garner
