I left my first yoga class halfway through feeling pretty defeated.

Jade Wonzo, Jade Light Yoga

I was not expecting my yoga teacher to admit this right up front in our interview. How refreshing!

It was hot. It was hard. I was uncomfortable. But I went back. And back. And back. Because it gave me this feeling of peace and calm all the way home.

Jade Wonzo, Jade Light Yoga

Jade Wonzo was working in the corporate world when she discovered yoga as a place that she could, as she puts it, “shut down.” Within a few years, she had quit her job to train as a yoga teacher, a skill she hoped to put to use in the gym she and her new husband were opening in Palm Beach County. 

Jade never did end up teaching there, but was picked up by LA Fitness and pop-up studios here and there, becoming part of the yoga community. As she was training and teaching, however, she noticed that she stood out.

I was often the only person in the room who was brown and curvy.

Jade Wonzo, Jade Light Yoga

In addition to being bi-racial, Jade has struggled with her weight, topping off at 240 pounds at one point. She knew that there were others like her, just waiting to be invited into the calming practice of yoga.

How many people have shown up at a yoga class only to be the only one who looks like them? It’s a lonely and frustrating place to be.

Jade Wonzo, Jade Light Yoga

That’s when Jade quit trying to fit in and started teaching yoga the way she wanted to be taught. Her mantra is Yoga For All.

Everyone wants to be seen, to be heard, to be loved. And I think people see me and can identify with me — as a woman of color, as a large woman, as a mother.

Jade Wonzo, Jade Light Yoga

Jade’s son is three. The gym she began with her husband struggled through the pandemic intact, but the marriage did not. Jade is honest with her students about her struggles.

I’m in the process of a difficult divorce and my son recently had brain surgery. If it wasn’t for this practice, what I’ve gone through would have broken me.

Jade Wonzo, Jade Light Yoga

Instead, Jade gets on her mat and comes back to herself, showing up and sharing her journey with her students and her thousands of social media followers. Check out the stunning pictures and her candid posts on Jade’s Instagram and Facebook pages, and sign up to receive emails on her website.

And come join me in Jade’s 11AM Saturday morning class through the Palm Beach County Library, which runs through August. To register, click here.

Next time: tips from Jade Wonzo on how to get the most out of yoga.