Conversations with Cory & Kristin Birdsong

Today we’d like to introduce you to Cory & Kristin Birdsong. Them and their team share their story with us below:

Cory & Kristin Birdsong are both native Kansans and have always wanted to own and operate a small business together when they finally settled down for “retirement”.

Cory recently completed an almost 21 year Army career which has included transitions to multiple states, challenging job opportunities and multiple overseas deployments. His career passions have always been training, mentoring, and coaching soldiers.

Cory found yoga during the end of his career as a way to put himself back together both physically and mentally. Regular practice provided deep relaxation, reduction in stress and mental clarity. It also gave him significant reduction in physical pain and increased core strength and flexibility.

In addition to this, having lost almost as many friends to suicide as to actual combat, it is both of their desire to provide a venue that allows an outlet to assist not only the local community but also veterans of all services and others struggling with physical and mental health issues. Cory completed 200-hour teacher training in August of 2019 and now teaches and manages the studio.

With this knowledge and desire, we decided to venture into the business of owning a yoga studio. Thus, Honor Yoga Kansas City North is now a reality. We soft opened in January 2021 and will have our Grand Opening at the end of May. We have a beautiful 3200 sqft 3 studio space that operates seven days per week. We currently offer over 30 classes per week in studio as well as online live streaming and video on demand classes. We are so proud to offer the Northland world-class yoga instruction, whether it be in person or in the comfort of your own home.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Well, every small business has struggled this past 18 months. And we can say we are no different. We had a significant setback in timeline due to the pandemic. We had a period of time in which our funding was placed on hold and we were unsure if the economics of our country were going to prevent us from fulfilling this adventure. We have also had to deal with emergency orders to include capacity restrictions, distancing and masking when we did open (all the usual things nowadays). Most important to us was to increase our sanitation and safety measures (temperature scanners, air scrubbers, hand sanitizer, electrostatic sprayers) to make sure our space was safe and clean, which also increased our project costs significantly.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
We spoke about Cory in the intro. Kristin has been a neonatal nurse practitioner for 18 years and is currently practicing within four hospitals in the greater Kansas City area.

I think what we are most proud of is that we built a space that we know will enrich our community. It may not be an ice cream shop or a popular burger joint, but we know we are providing services that help people find peace, calmness and maybe some sense of ease in the crazy times we are living in. I think we can all agree we all need that more than ever.

If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
We both grew up in the Midwest. Cory was probably more quiet and reserved but very independent. He was a state athlete in swimming and track. Kristin was more extroverted and social but academic in most of her pursuits. She was involved in softball, piano and cheerleading.

Pricing:

• Our intro offer has changed to 2 weeks Unlimited for $48
• We also have Summer Special membership pricing right now
• Unlimited $108
• 6 x month $88
• 4 x month $68

Contact Info:

• Email: info@hykcnorth.com
• Website: https://kansascitynorth.honoryoga.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/honoryogakansascitynorth/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/honoryogakansascitynorth
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/honor-yoga-kansas-city-kansas-city
• Other: https://g.co/kgs/Z9vnMo