Today we’d like to introduce you to Josephine Lugovskyy
Hi Josephine, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I was originally trained as an economist! I got the PhD in economics from the University of Kansas in 2012. I was the first in my family to finish college and I understand I was the first Chicano to complete the PhD program in economics at KU at the time. I worked as professor of mathematics, then finance, then economics before turning into a government economist in 2016. I worked for the US Census Bureau for a couple of years before moving back to Kansas in 2019. As it turns out, KU was looking for a lecturer in economics at the time, so I took that job and spent almost 5 years working as a teaching professor until shifting career paths altogether in 2023. I always tell people, it was a long path to take to wind up back where I first started!
While working at the Census in 2018, I started experiencing some serious health problems and found out after a few months of real physical struggle that I had an aggressive form of rheumatoid arthritis. It completely changed my life. For a while there, I was unable to do basic things due to severe inflammation of the joints. I was put on a combination of medications which further deteriorated my health and caused me to experience significant weight gain. It ended up taking 2 years to find the exact medicinal cocktail that worked for my system. After working with a team of doctors at KU Med and a very patient rheumatologist, I’m happy to report that the RA is now in remission and I am managing day-to-day.
This life experience, combined with the pandemic and other factors of higher education, pushed me to do some serious soul searching about what I wanted this new lease on life to look like. I decided to move away from economics into a more holistic path. I resigned from KU in fall 2023, cashing out my retirement account so I could travel and learn languages. I was prepared to go back to school to become a translator and interpreter (I had been accepted into the masters program for translation and interpreting at NYU) but decided before that to finally get the 200 hour registered yoga teacher certification, a bucket list item I intended to do since I started yoga in 2011. I traveled to Thailand in January 2024 to pursue this goal, intending only to teach yoga on the side while I worked on this new masters degree. Well after seeing the serious lack of diversity and inclusion in the field of yoga, I felt called to open my own yoga studio where I could do everything I thought the current field of yoga was missing – offer affordable classes that were accessible by all body types and levels of fitness.
I opened Chingona Yoga KC in September 2024, We are an inclusive, minority-owned yoga studio located in the Volker neighborhood of Kansas City, just down the street from KU Med. We offer 4-5 affordable yoga classes daily, 6 days per week with our primary demographic of beginner and intermediate level students.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I think the biggest obstacle that comes with owning and operating any small business is the access to capital. In my time as an economist, I was very aware of the entrepreneurial research that discusses the overwhelming lack of access to capital (start-up loans and investment monies) that almost all minority business owners tend to face. Unlike our wealthier peers, we don’t come from families of means where we can just get a few hundred thousand dollars from a relative. I had cashed out my retirement to pay off some prior debts and start on my new path as an interpreter, not to open a yoga studio! But where there is a will, there’s a way. I was able to obtain financing from an alternative loan financier and, with the skill sets of some self-employed family members (construction contractors), I was able to covert an old chiropractor’s office into a quality yoga studio in just a few month’s time!
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Chingona Yoga KC LLC is a minority-owned and operated yoga and Pilates studio. Currently, I am the lead and only instructor (we are in the process of hiring a second instructor). We offer multiple yoga and Pilates classes 6 days per week, operating in the evening hours Monday through Friday and Saturday mornings. We currently offer hatha-style, vinyasa-style, and restorative/yin-style yoga classes along with mat-based Pilates. For now, all classes are in-person at the studio, but we are in the process of setting up virtual live and on-demand classes. We will also begin to offer hot yoga classes (classes heated by an infrared heating apparatus) in the new year. We also sell yoga supplies! Mats, blankets, and t-shirts currently, though we are in the process of developing our own wrist weights (for Pilates classes) and bolsters for sale soon.
I would like people to know that this yoga studio is unlike other yoga studios in that we prioritize beginner and intermediate-level yoga students! Unlike other places, all of our classes are accessible by all levels of student, even if you’ve never done yoga before! Classes are taught with props for increased accessibility and are priced affordably. Single class passes are available for just $15 no matter what. We offer class passes, unlimited subscriptions, and gift cards. We do not offer memberships, so there’s no tricky fine print if you choose to take a break from yoga. Anyone can try us out for just $5 with the New Student Cinco! Check us out online through the website or by downloading the app from the Apple or Google Play Store.
What does success mean to you?
I define success as happiness. Being fulfilled by what we are doing, enjoying the time and not feeling like it was a chore or busy work.
For me, success for Chingona Yoga KC would be to see steady foot traffic, having students in all the classes, and being able to pay all the bills with studio earnings alone! But at the end of the day, having students new to yoga really experiencing the many positive affects of a consistent practice, that would be a success in my book.
Pricing:
- $5 The New Student Cinco: for all students new to Chingona Yoga KC
- $15 The Single Class Pass: for all drop-in classes for all students
- $35 – $75 The Unlimited Series: Unlimited class for a week or month in duration
- $25 – $150 Class Passes: Set number of classes available for purchase, with discounts for buying multiple classes at once
- Gift Cards: Of multiple denominations that can be used to purchase class passes or merchandise
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.chingonayogakc.com
- Instagram: @chingona_yoga_kc
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61561140531802
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/chingona-yoga-kc-kansas-city
- Other: https://www.wellnessliving.com/yoga/kansascity/chingonayogakc/
