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We're chatting about the people, places, events, and flavors that make Johnson City, Tennessee a lovely place to live. An interview show hosted by Colin Johnson.
Proud member of the Maypop Media family of podcasts.
0:00:00 - (Colin Johnson): The sun is shining, although it looks like a thunderstorm could be rolling in. So I'm excited to see what June brings. And I'm excited for you guys to meet Ally and Andrew McElroy with Saluna Sage yoga studio and wellness center and just awesome people that you guys are going to get, to get to hang out with today. So thanks for coming on the podcast today.
0:00:21 - (Ally McElroy): Yeah, thanks so much for having us. We're excited to be here.
0:00:24 - (Colin Johnson): I'm excited to hang out with you guys. I love the podcast because it brings people to me and our listeners that we would just probably never cross paths, maybe, I don't know. Johnson City's smaller, but every day we got people moving here all the time. So. Yeah, super cool, super cool. So you've listened to the podcast, you're a avid listener, you know what's coming. What's your favorite thing about Johnson City?
0:00:47 - (Ally McElroy): Yes. So my favorite thing is the small town vibe. I love getting to know people at the coffee shop that are regulars. I love getting to cat up with the people at, like, shamrock, um, when I'm in for my lemonade or my ice cream.
0:01:01 - (Colin Johnson): Shamrock.
0:01:02 - (Ally McElroy): So good, so good, so good. Um, I love the walkability. We live really close to downtown, so we're able to, like, walk and just always say hey to, like, friendly faces, which is so fun.
0:01:13 - (Colin Johnson): Yeah. Andrew.
0:01:15 - (Andrew McElroy): Oh. So I'm a native Johnson city, a long history here. And I would have to say my favorite thing is the Farquaad fizzle. It is a drink from Dos Gatos. They debuted it five or six years ago at Shrek week.
0:01:30 - (Colin Johnson): Okay.
0:01:30 - (Andrew McElroy): Which is an event that they host, and it's a doctor enough with an espresso shot in it. And I don't know, but it's the most Johnson city thing that I can be angelier.
0:01:42 - (Colin Johnson): I think you get the award for the most obscure and awesome sounding drink recommendation that we've ever had on the podcast.
0:01:50 - (Andrew McElroy): If you love Doctor nuff, you gotta try it.
0:01:52 - (Colin Johnson): At least it was born here. And so it's Johnson City in as well.
0:01:55 - (Andrew McElroy): Exactly.
0:01:56 - (Colin Johnson): Yeah, I love it. Okay, and what's it called? The Farquhar.
0:02:00 - (Andrew McElroy): Farquhar Fizz. Like Farquaad from Shrek.
0:02:05 - (Colin Johnson): So it's like an overdraft.
0:02:06 - (Ally McElroy): Yeah, that's right.
0:02:07 - (Colin Johnson): But you're not green. If you could. All right, so, Andrew, you grew up in Johnson City? Born here, lived here all your life?
0:02:14 - (Andrew McElroy): Yep.
0:02:15 - (Colin Johnson): Awesome.
0:02:15 - (Andrew McElroy): Since the nineties, so I love it.
0:02:17 - (Colin Johnson): And then, Allie, where were you? What's your story?
0:02:19 - (Ally McElroy): So I'm from Knoxville, and you and I met when we were in high school. We met through, like, a little church group, started dating, have been together ever since. Nice. And then we moved up here for school, went to ETSU, graduated.
0:02:34 - (Colin Johnson): Awesome. Go bucks.
0:02:35 - (Ally McElroy): That's right. That's right. Yes. And then after we graduated, we left Johnson City for a couple of years. I was a school teacher for a while, taught through Covid, got really burnt out from it. And then we ended up, like, converting a van and living out of it and traveling the country for a couple of years. And then we just landed back here for our little home base. I love it.
0:02:57 - (Colin Johnson): I love it. Where'd you guys get your degrees in from EtsU.
0:03:00 - (Ally McElroy): Yeah. So I did mine in elementary education.
0:03:03 - (Colin Johnson): Okay.
0:03:03 - (Andrew McElroy): Mine is Polly Tsai from ETSU. And then I also have a master's of business from Tennessee Wesleyan University.
0:03:10 - (Colin Johnson): Oh, wow. Awesome. My wife Carly, she graduated with an undergrad degree and then got her master's in audiology. And now she sells pedals with me.
0:03:18 - (Ally McElroy): So where the path takes you.
0:03:22 - (Colin Johnson): Yeah, you never know how the journey goes. Like, you guys probably didn't think you'd be living in a van down by the river for a little while.
0:03:28 - (Andrew McElroy): Exactly.
0:03:30 - (Colin Johnson): Darrell borough McKee and my wife. I don't know that we could coexist in a van. So how did you guys do it?
0:03:38 - (Ally McElroy): Well, I think a lot of communication helps. Yeah, what helps for us, we were living in a studio apartment at the time.
0:03:45 - (Colin Johnson): Okay.
0:03:46 - (Ally McElroy): And it was already like 500 sqft, so that's kind of small. So then we were like, well, what the big jump to 77 sqft? It's not that much. So we just started, like, donating our stuff and very minimalistic. Yeah, we are very minimalist. I think we have like 100 items each let. Very ridiculous. So, yeah, we don't let her fool you.
0:04:10 - (Andrew McElroy): It's the great outdoors. It's being able to get out of the van and go on a hike and see, like, oh, hey, you know.
0:04:18 - (Ally McElroy): The little fights that I just had.
0:04:19 - (Andrew McElroy): About doing my dishes? Not a big deal.
0:04:21 - (Colin Johnson): Not a big deal. And we're spending maybe 10% of our time in the van. Is that.
0:04:25 - (Ally McElroy): Absolutely. Absolutely.
0:04:26 - (Colin Johnson): We sleep there. Well, I guess you'd be sleeping there. That's 30% probably sleep, work.
0:04:31 - (Ally McElroy): All the things.
0:04:32 - (Colin Johnson): Yeah, all the things. But you don't have a van in it. Well, you probably still have. Not living in it.
0:04:37 - (Ally McElroy): Not living in it full time. Not anymore. It's actually not allowed here in Johnson city, so we don't want to break any rules.
0:04:44 - (Colin Johnson): Us real estate agents made sure that you can't live in your van so that you have to buy a house from us.
0:04:50 - (Ally McElroy): That's right.
0:04:51 - (Colin Johnson): Sorry. It's just part of the deal.
0:04:52 - (Andrew McElroy): But if you ever want a challenge to sell 77 sqft, I'll call you.
0:04:56 - (Colin Johnson): Oh, the mobile house I'll hook you up with. Oh, man, that's awesome. Okay, so you met in like high school, and then you went to college, you got married at some point. And then where did the path go to yoga and wellness. And tell me about the Saluna sage origin story.
0:05:19 - (Ally McElroy): Yeah, so I had always practiced yoga. I started getting into yoga when I was in high school and started with online classes, like on YouTube and specialty websites and stuff like that, and then just really enjoyed it. So then when I went to Etsu, they have the CPA where you can go and take classes out. Actually teach there now, which is like full circle moment.
0:05:44 - (Colin Johnson): Well, and full circle for us. Christian, he just graduated from Providence. He's going to be a freshman there this year. And I said, he's in Carter hall. And so I said, you could actually run to the CPA.
0:05:54 - (Ally McElroy): Absolutely.
0:05:55 - (Colin Johnson): Work out and come back. So I'll send him to a yoga class.
0:05:58 - (Ally McElroy): Absolutely. So school happened. I was super, super busy working all the things that you go through. So I wasn't able to get certified until after the pandemic hit and I left teaching. I was like, well, we have the time, so now's the opportunity to get certified. So I got certified with a small studio up in Hoboken, New Jersey. They have a great, like, online learning platform. So I did it with them, and then we ended up traveling some more. I taught yoga on the road and built up a really good base teaching online yoga classes.
0:06:34 - (Ally McElroy): And I had never thought to open a yoga studio. And then when we were out in like, a really small town in California, I went to a yoga studio that was at this, like, converted auto shop that was originated from, like the 1960s. And I was like, okay, if I'm ever going to open a yoga studio, I want it to be in like a historical building with a cool story to it.
0:06:54 - (Colin Johnson): Yeah.
0:06:55 - (Ally McElroy): So then we started, like, thinking, what would happen if we were to open a studio? What would that actually look like? Stuff like that. So we launched, like, our online studio, continued teaching online, just brought on some more teachers, and then we kept an eye out for a building in Johnson City and ended up at our spot.
0:07:16 - (Colin Johnson): Pretty cool. Now, you did a lot of talking there. I'm going to get the other none. The rest of the story, as I say, we're here from Andrew. So it seems very simple and easy. Was it simple and easy, Andrew?
0:07:30 - (Andrew McElroy): Yes and no. A lot of things fell into place, I would say so, yeah. So with the inspiration of the auto shop in Ojai that had been converted, we definitely were looking for a space that could be converted easily and at a financial rate that made sense for us. And so it was really kind of difficult here in Joplin City at the time just because a lot of commercial property was off the market to find something that would be easy to make into a yoga studio but still maintain the historical character of it and the business. Then the building went out this winter, and so we just saw it on Facebook and literally called the landlord and said, hey, we want to see the space. And it had heated floors. It had, you know, a lot of the things that we would have been having to purchase and kind of get installed.
0:08:20 - (Andrew McElroy): And so we were like, hey, it was made for it. The timing has lined up. So, yeah, yeah, it's been. Been really neat to be in a hundred year old building and just kind of be able to restore some aspects of it and kind of bring it back to life.
0:08:34 - (Colin Johnson): That's cool. Tell the listeners where you guys are located.
0:08:37 - (Ally McElroy): Yeah, so we're located at 221 Cherry street. We're right across from the new Johnson city visitor center, right across from, like, yee haw brewing and white duck taco. And then pretty close to shamrock on west walnut.
0:08:52 - (Colin Johnson): Southern crafts. Just over the. Just up the hill a little bit.
0:08:54 - (Ally McElroy): Yeah.
0:08:55 - (Andrew McElroy): The up in alley cats are our back door neighbor, which is even better. So when you're doing yogurt, you're smelling the Philly cheesesteak and french fries after class.
0:09:03 - (Colin Johnson): They're great alley cats. Philly cheesesteaks are the best.
0:09:06 - (Ally McElroy): They're so good. They're so good.
0:09:08 - (Colin Johnson): And I'm excited that yoga folks are eating Philly cheesesteaks. Cause typically you're like, no, we're eating like, hemp buns and tofu. You know, we're very organic and healthy, and so thanks for that.
0:09:21 - (Andrew McElroy): You have groovy Grover's down on west wall.
0:09:24 - (Colin Johnson): That's right. We love Nikki. She's great. She was a wild card on here. We had a blast on the podcast Groovy Grover. So, yeah, if you haven't heard of Nikki Giles and Groovy Grovers, there's a. I don't know what episode it was. Mitchell probably put it in the show notes for her. So. So do you yoga as well?
0:09:43 - (Andrew McElroy): I do. So I did.
0:09:45 - (Colin Johnson): You have to do that cause you're, like, videoing the classes and that kind of stuff, and you're like, well, I'm learning a lot about yoga. How did you get into yoga?
0:09:51 - (Andrew McElroy): So I got into yoga during COVID Actually, I did, too. Meditation and Pranayama was kind of the things that living in a studio apartment, I was spending a lot of time going into our walk in closet, shutting the door, and chilling out. Tell us more about that. And Allie's classroom on room and all the stress factors of the studio apartment. And so, yeah, I kind of got into it that way and really started diving into the philosophy behind a lot of yoga.
0:10:19 - (Andrew McElroy): And then back this past year, I was like, you know what? I might as well get certified, too, and start teaching and just kind of share the wealth with people.
0:10:28 - (Colin Johnson): So, for listeners, talk about yoga a little bit, what are some of the benefits and why they should come learn how to do it with you guys?
0:10:35 - (Ally McElroy): Yeah, absolutely. So yoga is really great for not only your physical wellbeing, but also just your mental well being. So it's one of the only physical forms of movement that offer both of those benefits, which is really cool. Anything to add?
0:10:53 - (Andrew McElroy): Better than running? I meant I'm finally enjoying running, but at the same time, I don't enjoy running.
0:11:01 - (Colin Johnson): That's right.
0:11:01 - (Andrew McElroy): Yeah, I'm lying.
0:11:05 - (Colin Johnson): The only time I like to run, something's chasing me, or I'm trying to race one of my boys or something. That's kind of fun. Or they make me do it at the gym, which is awesome, too. So, yeah, so philosophy behind yoga, where did it. I mean, just maybe origin story for that. Where did it come from? Where do you guys. Because you guys are certified now, you should know all this. This is your final exam. Tell me all about.
0:11:30 - (Ally McElroy): Yeah, so it's from, like, an eastern practice. It goes back, like, hundreds of years. Thousands of years, probably. Yeah. And it was originated from India, so it was just meant to be a practice that turns you inward to balance the body, like, all together, which is cool.
0:11:50 - (Colin Johnson): Yeah. And I was just having lunch with the buddy Jeremy. We were talking about how you want to do things, but your body fights you at times. Right?
0:11:58 - (Ally McElroy): Yeah.
0:11:59 - (Colin Johnson): And then. So you've got this inner, like, conflict a little bit. And so I would say, like, meditation. And then the practice of yoga is probably really good to kind of harmonize those two because you're forcing yourself to do things sometimes you don't want to do. But then there's weird, like, I can't, you know, put my leg behind my head like some other people? And you're like, why not? You know? And so you start thinking about, why not? And it's because my tendons are tight or whatever, and. But that's really just me battling myself. Right? Is that what you guys come across a lot of times? Like, definitely you're fighting your body on some level.
0:12:34 - (Andrew McElroy): Exactly. And I think that that's one of the unique things about kind of the yogic philosophy, is that you're really looking at what is the balance between change and stillness and so, or, like, flow and stillness and so, like, how are you matching those two, and how are you being in each of those states in a good, peaceful manner where you're not fighting against it? And I think, especially now, like, so much is changing so quickly around us, so it's, like, hard to be still at the same time, but it's also very hard to adapt to the change. And so I think yoga does build that mental fortitude to help you kind of be better about dealing with things in your day to day life or getting ahead of Bruin.
0:13:15 - (Colin Johnson): Like, I'm gonna yoga run and it's gonna be great. I'm gonna tell myself it's gonna. Yeah, because I think it's interesting that you, you know, when you're sitting there, because you can, it's like, you know, breathe into this pain that you're feeling. It's pain if you, I'm quoting, air quoting. But it's just your body resisting, like, that pose or something like that. And talk about this would be a good just question for you all. But how do you overcome difficult positions and then how do you relate that to maybe difficult situations in life? Like you were saying, andrew?
0:13:47 - (Ally McElroy): Yeah, absolutely. So I think there's, in the yoga asanas, which are called, like, the postures or the poses that people do, there's really easy poses that feel, like, very challenging. So you could do something called, like, staff pose, which is just, you're, like, sitting on the ground, your legs are long in front of you, you're just sitting up straight, and like, that's it. But everything is really active.
0:14:12 - (Ally McElroy): And, like Andrew said, like, it's super hard to be still and overcome that. So I think it all comes back to your breath and just sitting with it and being okay with it. And then it passes.
0:14:22 - (Colin Johnson): Yeah.
0:14:23 - (Ally McElroy): And then you're like, okay, I made it. Yeah, here we are.
0:14:27 - (Colin Johnson): I think it's just interesting, the mind body connection there. You gonna talk any more about, like, how to apply that to your life? Maybe?
0:14:34 - (Ally McElroy): Yeah. So I think the same thing, like, as business owners, we face so many challenges all the time and we have to overcome these challenges by, like, recognizing them, saying, okay, here it is. We're going to sit with it, breathe through it, figure out a solution and overcome it.
0:14:53 - (Andrew McElroy): Yeah, I was about to say when we're waiting on a space to open up in the downtown Johnson City market and we're like, okay, getting anxious to have a space for the studio, but then being like, hey, you know what, the time will be right. And when it is right, it's right. And we got an awesome space for it. So, yeah, this works out somehow. I don't know.
0:15:13 - (Colin Johnson): I feel like the Lord is blessing you. I'm thinking of, you know, laying out for you. What does the future look like for salerness age?
0:15:21 - (Ally McElroy): Yes, we have a couple of different ideas. We really are interested in bringing people from outside the area to come to Johnson City and also to come take our yoga classes. So we teach online and we have an audience that's national and international, which is really, really cool.
0:15:39 - (Colin Johnson): That is super cool.
0:15:40 - (Ally McElroy): So we're always encouraging our students to come and, like, practice with us in the studio now that we have one. So one thing that we want to do in the next, I don't know, a couple years or so is lead, like, off site classes. So go up to like, Rhone Mountain and do a hike and then do a class or something like that would be really cool vision for what we have just to bring more people into.
0:16:01 - (Colin Johnson): The destination of experience. Yeah, I like it. That sounds cool. Yeah.
0:16:06 - (Ally McElroy): So that's one of them. And then down the road, we would love to open maybe like a retreat center of some kind in between Johnson City and Asheville, just because the area is so beautiful. And there's not a ton of retreats from here.
0:16:20 - (Colin Johnson): No, yeah, there's not.
0:16:22 - (Ally McElroy): Yeah, sounds.
0:16:23 - (Andrew McElroy): And that makes, you know, Asheville and Johnson City both the base for that. So yoga studios in Asheville and yoga studios here can kind of do a thing here in town and have people experience what these cities have to offer, but then also get up in the mountains and the mountain air and relax.
0:16:39 - (Colin Johnson): And get some fresh air. Yeah, it feels good in nature. Yeah. So talk about being outside and doing yoga versus being in your studio.
0:16:49 - (Ally McElroy): Yeah. So I think a lot of people love to practice indoor and outdoor, which is one of the really unique things about our space is we have outdoor patio classes, which no other studio in town has that ability, which is super cool. But yeah, I loved practicing and teaching outside when we were traveling full time. I would literally just like, roll out in the van and roll my mat out and put up my little laptop and everything and be like, here we are. Let's teach here at Grand McDonald's parking.
0:17:18 - (Colin Johnson): Lot on our way.
0:17:20 - (Ally McElroy): Stop. It might be the Grand Canyon. You never know.
0:17:22 - (Andrew McElroy): Yeah.
0:17:24 - (Colin Johnson): Bike job's a little different today.
0:17:26 - (Ally McElroy): Yeah, yeah. But it was really cool in that aspect to, like, build the community around it. People being like, where are you today, Allie? Like that sort of thing. So that was cool. But, yeah, for here, I think it would be really unique and cool to offer both of those experiences. So we're being able to do that in our space is really unique.
0:17:46 - (Colin Johnson): Awesome.
0:17:47 - (Ally McElroy): Yeah.
0:17:47 - (Colin Johnson): Let's say somebody's listening. They're thinking about getting into yoga, coming to visit you guys. How would you encourage them to just come try it out?
0:17:56 - (Ally McElroy): Yeah. So I think a lot of people have the misconception that you have to look a certain way, you have to have a certain body type, you have to be flexible, all these things, and that's just not the case. Yoga.
0:18:08 - (Andrew McElroy): Or you have to do hot yoga.
0:18:10 - (Ally McElroy): We don't have a hot yoga suite.
0:18:13 - (Colin Johnson): You could out on the patio. 03:00 in the morning July handbill as hot as you are.
0:18:21 - (Ally McElroy): Yes. Yes. I got totally off track. What was I saying?
0:18:27 - (Colin Johnson): Talking about beginners coming.
0:18:28 - (Andrew McElroy): Yeah.
0:18:29 - (Ally McElroy): Beginners coming. Yes. So, yeah, a lot of people have the misconception of, like, they have to do certain things in order to come, but it's just not true. Anybody can come take a class.
0:18:40 - (Colin Johnson): Come as you are.
0:18:41 - (Ally McElroy): Yeah. There's a lot of different styles that we offer that cater to different people and what their goals are and what they're looking for, which is really cool.
0:18:48 - (Colin Johnson): Yeah, talk about different goals and like that. Cause I'm going, oh, I think it's just stretching and being centered. So what would be some different goals that one might come to you with and go, hey, I want to do, I don't know, become an NBA basketball player.
0:19:03 - (Ally McElroy): Yeah.
0:19:04 - (Colin Johnson): So that's Mitch's goal.
0:19:06 - (Ally McElroy): So we have students that come in and they're like, I want to get really toned, or I just want to build a little bit of muscle, but I don't want to look super, super buff, like the crossfit dudes and stuff like that. So we're like, okay, you should take a yoga sculpts class, because we do, it's kind of like a combination of bar pilates and yoga where we use light dumbbells. And you go through the yoga flow, but you experience cardio. You do a flow with your standing weights, you do the core workout, all these different kinds of movements, and that gives you what you are looking for.
0:19:42 - (Andrew McElroy): For the toning and a big thing that we've had a lot of clients coming to us for. They're looking for kind of injury reduction or kind of coming out of maybe a surgery or something that has happened that they're trying to recover from. And so we do a lot of restorative yoga, yin yoga. So really kind of offering yoga types that allow somebody, once they've kind of gotten that PT done and the doctors give them the go to start doing some more physical activity, they don't want to jump right back into it. And so this is a great way.
0:20:11 - (Ally McElroy): To kind of lead.
0:20:12 - (Andrew McElroy): Yeah.
0:20:12 - (Colin Johnson): In between. Yeah. Like the recovery and then full on working out hard.
0:20:17 - (Ally McElroy): Yeah, exactly.
0:20:18 - (Colin Johnson): Come see you guys.
0:20:19 - (Andrew McElroy): Yep.
0:20:19 - (Colin Johnson): I didn't know that you offered opportunities to get big and like, like super strong, like Mitch or like cut, like, you know. Yeah, I mean, absolutely. That's all new information to me. That's really cool.
0:20:33 - (Ally McElroy): Yeah.
0:20:33 - (Andrew McElroy): And this may be putting a challenge out there to some of your listeners, but the people that struggle the worst are crossfit guys.
0:20:43 - (Colin Johnson): Because, yeah, you're always tight hamstrings or so.
0:20:46 - (Andrew McElroy): So go to your cross. I think they come and do some yoga. We'll stretch you out and it'll be tough those first two sessions, but eventually you'll be like, hey, I can do better. Crossfit, right?
0:20:57 - (Colin Johnson): Movements can be better.
0:20:59 - (Ally McElroy): Absolutely.
0:21:00 - (Colin Johnson): I liked it. Anything like, you'd be like, oh, well, you shouldn't come to yoga if you have, like, chronic, any kind of pain, anything like that. Or you're just like, we'll take everybody and we can help work through that.
0:21:11 - (Ally McElroy): Yeah, we'll take everybody we offer. I don't know. Our classes are very accessible, which is really unique. We are very specialized in, like, prenatal classes, so we are one of the only studios in Johnson City that offers prenatal classes.
0:21:27 - (Colin Johnson): That's cool.
0:21:28 - (Ally McElroy): So we've had a lot of pregnant moms reach out and be like, hey, this was the need for us. I'm so glad that you guys are providing that, which is really cool. So I would say no matter where you are, come on, come on. We'll figure it out.
0:21:41 - (Colin Johnson): We'll figure it out. I like it. And the prenatal is great.
0:21:44 - (Ally McElroy): Absolutely.
0:21:44 - (Andrew McElroy): I was just saying we also partner with several pt places around town. And so, you know, if you come in and have something that is a concern of yours, we're going to say, hey, let's slow down. Let's not try that posture or let's, you know, modify that for you. And then also, can we make that recommendation and be like, hey, this. This wonderful pt place out in Boones Creek. Like, this would be a great place for you to go and kind of get that work done and make sure that you're getting that taken care of so you can come back and do yoga at a regular interval or even, you know, yoga sculpt.
0:22:16 - (Colin Johnson): I like it. Yeah? Yeah, that's cool. All right. Besides living in a van together, what have been some difficult challenges about your business that you've had to overcome?
0:22:29 - (Ally McElroy): Didn't go challenges? Okay. Yeah. The first one, I think, was the time crunch. So we saw our building come up or come available, and literally probably within 2 hours, I had saw the post or whatever and called the owner, the landlord.
0:22:49 - (Colin Johnson): Is that my friend Joe Wardberg?
0:22:51 - (Ally McElroy): Yes, yes, yes. So called in and was like, hey, I saw this. Can I come see your building? And he was like, yeah, come on. So then that turnaround was four weeks until we had to open. So then we had to turn our location, that was a farm store, into a yoga studio in less than four.
0:23:10 - (Andrew McElroy): Weeks, which was a lot of sweeping, a lot of mopping, didn't.
0:23:13 - (Ally McElroy): All the dirt out. Yeah, a lot of dirt. A lot of dirt. I feel like we're still cleaning the dirt out, but it's so much better then.
0:23:21 - (Colin Johnson): But the earth is your one.
0:23:23 - (Ally McElroy): That's right. It's really grounding. Really grounding.
0:23:24 - (Colin Johnson): It's good for you. That's right. You can't just have piles of dirt sitting around and be like, if you want to ground yourself, talk about, like, grounding, which is a cool thing. So talk to our listeners a little bit about grounding because it's cool.
0:23:35 - (Ally McElroy): Yeah. So grounding is a practice that you can do just to help you get recentered and refocus. There's a lot of different ways that you can ground yourself, whether that is sitting on your couch in the morning, having your cup of coffee, and just being quiet and breathing. It could look like you driving your car down the street and you hear a song. Come on. And you're like, okay, that's my song to cue me to ground myself. So I'm going to come back to my breath.
0:24:01 - (Ally McElroy): So there's just a lot of ways that you can come back. And recenter, I think a lot of it comes back to recognizing that you have your breath to always come back to gotcha.
0:24:11 - (Colin Johnson): Yeah, I've heard or read some stuff too. And seen some videos about getting barefoot in the grass, tapping into the earth energy kind of deal. What are some other ways to do that?
0:24:21 - (Andrew McElroy): Yeah, one of the practices that we actually offer at the studio is qigong. So it's a chinese form of tai chi that is really focused on grounding. And so you're barefoot the entire time, and you go through all these kind of postures and stuff with your hands, but you're standing there and you're really just focused on grounding down. And mark that teaches the classes, I mean, he does a wonderful job, and we're hoping to kind of open that up with some going to maybe, like, Willow Springs park and offering free classes out there, just kind of introducing that. Because that's one thing that while we have several martial arts centers, kind of the slower, kind of yin flow type practices definitely are kind of missing. And so Qigong is definitely one way to do that. And I think there's actually a lady in Jonesboro that also offers it.
0:25:11 - (Andrew McElroy): And so just kind of great practice just to be barefoot in the grass outside and just really focusing on your breath and being where you are on your 2ft.
0:25:22 - (Colin Johnson): Yeah. My wife and I are like, we have literally thousands of spiders in our dress because they pop out all the time and we're like, I don't know that I want to be barefoot in my yard, but I do get. I do do it occasionally, but I guess I'm hopefully not hurting the spiders. And they run off before I get them. Let's say somebody's wanting to open a yoga studio in somewhere else, and they're in a van right now listening to our podcast.
0:25:46 - (Colin Johnson): How would you advise them? What would you tell them to do?
0:25:49 - (Ally McElroy): Yeah, so I would recommend doing your research, knowing your audience and seeing if the need is there. I think a lot.
0:25:58 - (Colin Johnson): Why is market research?
0:25:59 - (Ally McElroy): Yeah, absolutely. I think that's, like, what I feel like I did a lot while we were traveling and just seeing, like, is it even a need to teach online yoga classes? Is it a need to open up another studio? Like, is that actually there? But what we found is that typically here in Johnson City was like, there was this whole group of people that just wanted to do yoga to meet a new friend, or, like, they just moved to the area and they don't want to take a super, super hard class, but they do want to work their body, but they also want the community as well.
0:26:31 - (Ally McElroy): Yeah. So that's one of the cool things that we've been able to provide. But, yeah, for someone opening a studio, that's my number one thing, is make sure that you do your research and then build a community around it, and the rest will figure itself out.
0:26:48 - (Colin Johnson): Gotcha.
0:26:48 - (Andrew McElroy): And that's one thing I was gonna say.
0:26:49 - (Colin Johnson): Does the NBA have some other stuff?
0:26:51 - (Ally McElroy): Yeah.
0:26:51 - (Andrew McElroy): Yeah. And that's definitely one thing that growing up here in Jackson City, you know, watching over the years as downtown has revitalized and changed so much in the last 30 years, is you have to come into a market the size of Johnson City willing to work with the other businesses, including the ones doing what you're doing.
0:27:10 - (Colin Johnson): Sure.
0:27:11 - (Andrew McElroy): And so, you know, if. If we had to come in and try to do exactly what Vidya, or downtown yoga center was doing, it wouldn't have worked. We would have just been fighting, and it wouldn't have made sense. And so instead, we looked at kind of what they were offering, and we said, hey, you know what? Hot yoga is awesome.
0:27:26 - (Colin Johnson): Yeah.
0:27:27 - (Ally McElroy): They do it really, really well. I let y'all do a row.
0:27:29 - (Colin Johnson): Exactly.
0:27:30 - (Andrew McElroy): They do yoga teacher trainings. They do it extremely well. We don't need them for it. Well, we can hire their yoga teachers that are being trained, because they're wonderfully trained.
0:27:39 - (Colin Johnson): Yeah.
0:27:40 - (Andrew McElroy): And so definitely just working with the businesses and even the ones that are exactly what you do, partnering with the new businesses, the businesses that have been here for ten years, ones that have been here for 100 years. But I definitely think that's a really critical thing, that a lot of people, you kind of get tunnel vision when you're building a business, and you're like, hey, this is what I have to do, and this is my profit. This is my bottom line. This is what I got to do. But at the end of the day, your real goal is to make the community better.
0:28:08 - (Andrew McElroy): And, yeah, you want to make that profit so you can keep making the community better, but at the end of the day, don't get focused on that. That's the wrong goal. It's about building up what Johnson City actually is.
0:28:20 - (Colin Johnson): We stay around the office a lot. If we help enough people get what they want, we'll get what we want.
0:28:24 - (Andrew McElroy): Exactly.
0:28:25 - (Colin Johnson): We work great with all the other agents in the area because we understand we have a sandbox that we're all playing in. Right. It's the same sandbox. And so how do we play well in it? And, yeah, so if somebody's offering hot yoga, you come around the corner, and you got cold yoga, like meat locker. We can do that. Like, you just cold? Yeah, like cold plunge. We just do the whole thing in the meat locker. I don't know.
0:28:46 - (Colin Johnson): It may not take off. It's just, you know, sometimes they come to me and they're just. They're not great. So not all ideas are great. How. How should our listeners connect with you guys? Directly?
0:28:58 - (Ally McElroy): Yeah. So they can connect with us through social media. That's probably the easiest way. Okay. Our Instagram and our Facebook is all the same. It's at Saluna Sagestudio. And then you can check out our website@salunasage.com.
0:29:11 - (Colin Johnson): Dot salunasage.com. and Saluna stage. At Saluna stage for Facebook and Instagram and all that fun stuff. If I wanted to sign up for a class, same. Go to those spots.
0:29:24 - (Ally McElroy): Yep. We have our online studio that you can stream from anywhere. And then we also have our in person schedule, so you can just find the class for you and then sign up through our website.
0:29:33 - (Colin Johnson): How many people are watching online? Like, you're all, like, weekly or daily? I don't know how. Tell me all about that. Yeah.
0:29:40 - (Ally McElroy): So we have two different things. So we do live classes where people can join us live, or we have on demand videos. So our on demand library is subscription based, but we also have it where you can, like, rent single videos if you want, or just purchase the single video.
0:29:58 - (Colin Johnson): Netflix?
0:29:58 - (Ally McElroy): Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. So it's like Netflix for yoga.
0:30:02 - (Colin Johnson): Yes.
0:30:04 - (Ally McElroy): Yeah. So all the classes are 30 minutes or less. We're doing a series right now for vacation. So all the classes, again, 30 minutes or less. And all you need is a yoga mat. So we have all of our different yoga styles and stuff like that, which is super cool. And then we also do live classes. And those get anywhere from 50 to, like, 150 people live. Crazy.
0:30:28 - (Colin Johnson): 150 people are showing up.
0:30:30 - (Ally McElroy): Showing up on a screen, and they're practicing in their house or outside or wherever they are, which is so, so cool.
0:30:37 - (Colin Johnson): That is cool.
0:30:38 - (Ally McElroy): Yeah.
0:30:38 - (Colin Johnson): That's a lot of people.
0:30:39 - (Ally McElroy): It is a lot of people. It kind of overwhelms you sometimes.
0:30:41 - (Colin Johnson): How. How often are you hosting classes in person at your studio?
0:30:45 - (Ally McElroy): Yeah, we offer them seven days a week. We have anywhere from two to five classes a day. So our schedule is all on our website. We update it and everything like that.
0:30:56 - (Colin Johnson): That's awesome.
0:30:56 - (Ally McElroy): Yeah.
0:30:57 - (Colin Johnson): What? Did I forget to ask you about your business? That I should have asked.
0:31:04 - (Ally McElroy): You didn't ask me what my favorite yoga pose was.
0:31:08 - (Colin Johnson): Hey, howie, what is your favorite yoga pose?
0:31:10 - (Ally McElroy): My name. My yoga pose is shavasana. Cause you get to lift yourself up.
0:31:13 - (Colin Johnson): Did you let me go to sleep? That's my favorite, too. Andrew. Whatever. What's your favorite pose.
0:31:18 - (Andrew McElroy): Oh, yogi squad.
0:31:22 - (Colin Johnson): I just sit there and that's a good place to text. Do a podcast where you're just yoga squatting.
0:31:29 - (Ally McElroy): That's right.
0:31:31 - (Colin Johnson): I love it. All right, so last time, Saluna sage.com or at Saluna Sage on the studio.
0:31:38 - (Ally McElroy): Yep, at Saluna Sagestudio on the instagrams. Yeah.
0:31:43 - (Andrew McElroy): And if you're downtown for a festival this summer, just swing on by. It's right by the visitor center. Come check it out. It's very neat. And then just walk across the street and yeah, if the wait time at one of the restaurants is long, just come to a yoga pass.
0:31:57 - (Colin Johnson): Favorite downtown restaurant. Ooh, you can go and then we'll ask Andrew.
0:32:03 - (Ally McElroy): I love timber. Yeah, I went there for my birthday a couple months ago and they had a dessert that was s'mores sundae or something. I have never had a dessert take me to a place, but their dessert made me feel like I was camping, which was the coolest experience. Go to timber.
0:32:23 - (Colin Johnson): Go to timber and ask them for one.
0:32:25 - (Ally McElroy): So hey, yes.
0:32:26 - (Colin Johnson): Alright. Said you made this thing and you probably don't have it anymore, but you should make it for it.
0:32:30 - (Ally McElroy): That's right.
0:32:32 - (Andrew McElroy): I have to say mid city. Oh, it's always the one that whenever I'm coming down and getting a beer at Johnson City brewing or somewhere like that, it's just go get me a plate of fries or a burger. It's just awful.
0:32:44 - (Colin Johnson): They have good veggie burgers too.
0:32:46 - (Andrew McElroy): Their vegan menu is fantastic. If you're ever like, I'm interested, but I don't know if I want to try go to mid City because their vegan menu is fantastic.
0:32:56 - (Colin Johnson): Yeah, and they're good. Dessert too. Yes. Okay, cool. What gets you fired up where you're like, let's go.
0:33:05 - (Ally McElroy): I really love collaborating with other people and other businesses. So one of the collaborations we've done lately is with peers marketplace.
0:33:14 - (Colin Johnson): Oh, yeah.
0:33:14 - (Ally McElroy): And we just did like a cute little, like real online that was like, hey, if you need a post yoga snack, here's where you're gonna go. And it's just those collaborations like that are just super, super fun for me.
0:33:25 - (Colin Johnson): That is fun because you're helping other people.
0:33:27 - (Ally McElroy): Absolutely. I love it.
0:33:29 - (Andrew McElroy): Well, say I really enjoy and just, I mean love, like, thinking about it all the time is kind of the stuff that we can do at the yoga studio itself, you know, since it's a hundred year old building. Like, how is my touches now in 2024? Like going back all the way to you know, 1919 when the building was built. Like, what am I doing now to kind of bring life back to this building? And so that's just really a lot of fun for me.
0:33:56 - (Colin Johnson): Like, re pointing the brick so it doesn't all fall apart.
0:33:59 - (Andrew McElroy): Exactly. And getting contractors that know what they're doing when it comes to historical stuff like that.
0:34:03 - (Colin Johnson): Yeah, that's fine.
0:34:05 - (Andrew McElroy): And so, yeah, it's just been a lot of fun to kind of reimagine kind of what the things that need to be done around it to keep it going for as long as the building stands. So.
0:34:15 - (Colin Johnson): That's awesome. Yeah, that's awesome. Well, thanks for coming on the podcast. Thanks for what you're doing. Thanks for being a part of downtown and revitalizing older buildings and putting up with my buddy Joe Ward. Yeah, I think it's fun, and I love that we've had another yoga studio on here, and I think it's cool that you do collaborate and you work together, and it's what makes Johnson city awesome. Right. It's the people here that just make it.
0:34:38 - (Ally McElroy): Yeah.
0:34:38 - (Colin Johnson): What brought you back after traveling all over the world? You chose to come back here.
0:34:43 - (Ally McElroy): Absolutely. Yeah.
0:34:45 - (Colin Johnson): Yeah. Well, I hope you guys enjoyed the conversation. I know I did. And if you're thinking of moving here, getting out of your van, buying something that's bigger than 77 would love to help you do that. So connect with me. I'd help you move here. We can sell a house for you wherever you are in the country, too. I can connect you with a great agent and help you build wealth through rental property, too. So if you guys want to get into rental property, we should do that.
0:35:07 - (Colin Johnson): All right, thanks so much and have a great day. Bye.