Good Neighbor Podcast: Union
Bringing Together Local Businesses and Residents of Northern Kentucky! Based in Union, KY....The Good Neighbor Podcast helps the residents of Northern Kentucky get to know local business owners as people. We allow the business owners and influencers in NKY to tell the stories of how they started their business and why. We hear about their families, their personal interests and why they love living in and serving resident of Northern Kentucky!
Good Neighbor Podcast: Union
Downward Dogs and Running Shoes: Jamie's Holistic Approach
Unwind and discover the transformative power of yoga with Jamie Magee owner of Just Breathe Yoga Studio in Independence, Kentucky. Drawing from twenty years of personal practice, Jamie has created a welcoming sanctuary where everyone—from complete beginners to experienced yogis—can find their perfect practice.
Forget what you think you know about yoga accessibility. "Everyone can do yoga," Jamie explains, dispelling the common misconception that flexibility or strength prerequisites exist. The studio offers a diverse range of classes, each meticulously described online so you know exactly what to expect. From strength-building vinyasa flows to deep-stretching yin sessions and restorative classes that provide your "permission to rest," there's truly something for every body and skill level.
What makes Just Breathe special is their commitment to meeting practitioners exactly where they are. Monthly beginner workshops cover yoga terminology and basics, while a diverse teaching team ensures students can find instructors whose style and energy resonates with them personally. Beyond traditional yoga, the studio continues evolving with upcoming Pilates classes and a running club that combines weekly jogs with targeted yoga for runners.
Ready to start your journey? Take advantage of new client specials like three classes for $30 or promotional codes for a free first class. Located at the intersection of Walton-Nicholson and Highway 17 in Independence, Just Breathe invites you to transform both body and mind through the ancient practice made accessible for modern lives. Visit www.justbreatheyogaco.com or call 859-727-2464 to discover how yoga can become your path to wellness, strength, flexibility, and mental clarity today.
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Mike Murphy.
Speaker 2:Thank you, charlie. Yes, I am Mike Murphy, host of the Good Neighbor Podcast. The podcast is intended to introduce Northern Kentucky residents to the local business owners that serve them, and we want you to know local business owners as humans and not just a logo on a business card. So the person I have with me today is a local business owner. She owns a yoga studio in Independence. Her name is Jamie McGee. She owns Just Breathe Yoga Studio in Independence, and so Jamie is going to tell us all about her yoga studio that I'm sure she's very proud of as well. She should be, and so, that being said, jamie, welcome to the show.
Speaker 3:Thank you. Thank you for having me.
Speaker 2:So tell us all about Just Breathe Yoga Studio, what you got going on there.
Speaker 3:Oh my goodness, I don't know if you have enough time.
Speaker 2:You tell the part of the story that you want. You want to make sure we know. Ok, we'll just go from there.
Speaker 3:All right. We opened our doors March 31st. We offer different styles of yoga. We are always looking for innovative ways to bring different things to the community. We're in the process of finding out what the community needs. You know what their wellness needs at the time.
Speaker 2:So when you say the different types of yoga, different disciplines, I have a little bit of a you know, a knowledge base of different types, Like I know, for instance, hot yoga, Okay, and then you know there are other types. So tell us what are the different categories of yoga?
Speaker 3:Okay, so hot yoga is not something that we offer. I know that's, that's a trend right now. Actually, at my age I'm not looking for hot yoga. I produce enough heat of my own and I'm sure there's plenty of women out there just like me. So that is, and it's a whole other animal, both financially and space-wise. But we offer vinyasa flows, we offer yin restorative classes. All of the instructors are very good at meeting you where you're at in your practice. So, although we do offer a beginner's workshop once a month, you can come to basically any of our classes. You let the instructor know before class begins that you're a beginner you've never been on a mat or maybe you've practiced a couple times and they will meet you where you're at and make sure that they offer plenty of modifications. You know, for your level, for your skill level.
Speaker 2:Okay. So when you're talking skill levels, if somebody is walking in and they're like I've heard of yoga, I know about yoga. I've never been to a yoga class. It's always intrigued me. Somebody who's just starting out, how do you handle?
Speaker 3:them. So you know we would. It depends on what class they walk into. There are certain classes that I would suggest for them More of a, maybe a gentle yoga and stretch, restorative yin. The best place to start if you've never been on a yoga mat would be like a restorative style class, where you are instructed on the pose but you hold the pose longer. So there's less poses that you know you would have in a class.
Speaker 2:There's less poses that you know you would have in a class and it would really allow your body to, you know, get acclimated to poses at a time. Yeah, okay, so when you're, you know, practicing yoga, is it geared towards building strength or flexibility, or both? Is there a mental aspect to it?
Speaker 3:Yes, there is a multitude of things that yoga helps. Yoga helps. There's definitely like your vinyasa flows, that's strength building. We are going to bring Pilates to our studio here soon, starting up a running club. But there's definitely some strength building and, like I said, a vinyasa flow a slow flow is still a vinyasa flow, it just slows it down. Those are good for beginners because there's time in between transitioning from pose to pose. That you can, you know, feel the pose in your body.
Speaker 3:Your yin classes restorative yin, then to yin classes those are more for stretching that really gets into your fascia tissue. It takes 90 seconds for your fascia tissue to loosen up. So you're going to hold poses in yin for like three minutes at a time approximately and that, will, you know, give your body time to really get into that tissue. That's tight and obviously with with stretching, you know that helps, like with your joints and things like that your mobility, your range of motion. Restorative classes are your permission to rest.
Speaker 3:In restorative classes you are going to be completely supported by props, whether that be yoga blocks, blankets, bolsters we offer eye pillows, you know, to just totally black out and your body, your muscles, being supported by these props, gives your body permission to rest and get the rest that, unfortunately, we don't give ourselves permission to do. And then, as far as the mental, every class typically starts with like a meditation, like a grounding um where you clear your mind. Um, the only thing you're focused on is the four corners of your mat, the four corners of the room that you're in. A lot of the instructors will walk you through um, like a, a guided meditation for things for you to focus on, to clear your mind of all of the other thoughts that race through it throughout the day.
Speaker 2:So you're using some other terminology that I've never really heard.
Speaker 2:Now it doesn't really matter, because you know you're the expert. If somebody comes to you, they're just coming to you because you know they're at a point in their life where they're just coming to you because, um, you know they're at a point in their life where they're just needing, you know, exercise, flexibility. You know, maybe, maybe the mental part of it, because some of it, you know, I have to say it kind of sounds like, um, the mental discipline that you can get from like martial arts. There's maybe some of that happening within the yoga world as well. So you are kind of there, just kind of guiding them on their journey and telling them, if you've never done it before, here's where you start, and then you just kind of grow and you build, which I think means that if you say, if you have 20 people in a class, you have 20 different levels of you know people, wherever they might be in their journey, everybody's at a different place, so you have to be there, I imagine, to just sort of facilitate them growing in that journey. Is that correct?
Speaker 3:That is correct. A few things you said prompted a few things in my mind. At the beginner's workshop and I am the one who does the beginner's workshop myself as the owner of the studio and we do cover yoga terminology. That's part of our beginner's workshop because I think fear of the unknown, you know, happens for a lot of people. So I try to help them with encouraging. Like you know, I try to help that in the beginner's workshop by maybe explaining what some of these terms you're going to hear in the studio mean, so you don't feel uncomfortable for lack of a better word, dumb right when you go to yoga, or intimidated maybe?
Speaker 3:Right, more intimidated. You know. I think confidence is power and the more confident and comfortable you feel you know walking into the studio, the better you know you feel. So that was one of the things that kind of came across my mind when you were talking. But, as far as you know, each of our classes, so our studio, hold 18, 20, if we, you know, can squeeze them in there. Yes, essentially you could end up with 18 different levels of people that walk into the studio for one class. One thing I do encourage people to do is to read the class descriptions. I am a huge believer and I've shared this with every one of my instructors, whether they write their class description or I write it for them and give it to them. I am a huge believer in making sure that the description that is provided online is exactly what the person can expect when they walk into the studio. So there are no surprises.
Speaker 3:I have been doing yoga and Pilates for 20 years myself. I have taken everything that I have loved over the last 20 years imported into this studio, and I have taken everything that I didn't necessarily like imported into the studio. Right, and one of the things that I have come across in my years is walking into a class and thinking I'm getting one thing and I get another for me. And I don't want that to happen to someone, because my worst fear is this A beginner walks into a class and it's not on their level and they're so scared of yoga and I can't do that, and they go away and they never try yoga again. I've heard that multitude of times from people. I tried it. I can't do that. It's not that you can't do it, everybody can do yoga. It's that you weren't in the right class. You see what I'm saying.
Speaker 3:And then my other fear would be someone is a very skilled practitioner who's deep into their practice and they walk into something that they thought was going to meet them where they're at and it's more beginners and they're bored out of their minds. And I'm not going back to that yoga studio because that is not where I'm at Right. So I do encourage people to reach out to me. They can, you know, tell me where they're at in their practice and I will suggest to them where I think they should start. If they don't want to start with the beginners workshop, I'll give them the classes that they can, you know, start with. But I'm always here. I'm always open for questions and comments, suggestions, concerns. I'm more than happy to talk with anybody.
Speaker 2:Okay, so you've got decades of experience. Now I assume that means that you have family that has watched you do this through the years. Has yoga rubbed off on your family? How about your husband? Has yoga rubbed off on your?
Speaker 3:family. How about your husband, your kids? Do they do yoga at all? Nope, can't get my head. Actually, my husband was having lower back pain and he went to physical therapy and they sent him home with you know, sheets of exercises to do. And I said, honey, all of those are yoga poses. You've got a built in you know physical therapist with you know, built into the house here I can show you all those poses, I can help you.
Speaker 3:So he's trying to convince me to do this, create this class for men who have lower back problems, and based it on these exercises that he was sent home with um, the physical therapy place, um, my daughters, um, I've tortured them with having to be my students, um, but as far as trying to get them to practice on a daily basis, now, you know, my biggest thing is I want to do yoga when I don't necessarily need it. I don't want to try to start when I do need it.
Speaker 2:So I know there are a lot of professional athletes where yoga is a big part of their routine. Yes, without yoga they wouldn't be the they wouldn't have the ability to do what they do professionally.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I'm hearing more and more about just, you know, college level, professional level. They've got their own yoga instructors that are incorporating it. Actually, it's funny you said that this Thursday. So we are in our dead period as far as school sports are concerned right now and the so my youngest plays volleyball at Simon Kenton High School and the volleyball coach there encourages them to continue conditioning right even during dead period.
Speaker 3:So I extended an offer to all of the volleyball girls for this Thursday to come join us at the studio for for back to back classes. One is called Booty, which is just a blast. It is yoga poses, cardio, a little bit of dancing, like I think the girls will really enjoy, and then we're going to get a break and they're going to enjoy some better blends and then restorative yen, which will help them stretch and stuff. So that is something we're offering this Thursday. Actually, both classes for fifteen dollars. It is open to the community as well, but it was just something we put together in honor of the dead period for the high school, you know it's a good idea, yeah, and we put together in honor of the dead period for the high school.
Speaker 2:You know it's a good idea, yeah, so. So if we're going to talk about your youngest, we might as well shout her out. That would be Piper, correct? That is Piper, okay, piper. And then Maya is your other daughter, correct?
Speaker 3:Yes, yes.
Speaker 2:Yep so.
Speaker 3:Piper is going on 15. She's going to be a sophomore at Simon Kenton High School and she is big into volleyball so she plays school ball. And then our club season just ended, so it's kind of a year-round thing Club. We're doing that from January to June and then we start up school in July, takes us through the beginning of November.
Speaker 2:What's Maya got going on? Takes us through beginning of November.
Speaker 3:So what's Maya going on? Maya just graduated from nursing school in December and she is in labor and delivery at St E.
Speaker 2:Wow. Well, I mean, you know, I've I've known plenty of, uh, young ladies that have um more gentlemen too that have gone through nursing school, and that's very common. Top of the list is I want to be in the labor and delivery ward. So the fact that she got to be in labor and delivery, um good for her.
Speaker 3:We are so blessed, so grateful, yeah, for her to walk right into that after graduating. We were just yeah. Yeah, nursing school is not easy, so no, I watched her go through it and I'm super super proud of her for sticking with it and getting through it. And, yeah, we are super proud of her.
Speaker 2:Good job Maya.
Speaker 3:All right.
Speaker 2:So then your husband, who we talked about earlier.
Speaker 3:Darren, is that correct? Darren, yep, yep, Darren.
Speaker 2:Darren Darren, I think talking to you earlier, he owns his own business, is that correct?
Speaker 3:He does. It is called McGee Mobile RV Service. We started that company in 2021. He was in construction management for 35 years of his life. During COVID, he got furloughed and we decided to accelerate our retirement plan. So when we retired, we were going to we still are going to travel and Darren's going to work on campers, um, and I'm going to teach yoga in the community center of the campground. Um, but anyway, um, I think COVID gave him a minute to realize that he needed a career change. Um, so we started that business in 21 and we are going strong. We're in our fifth season, so we come to you, we come to your driveway, we come to the campground, we come to storage units. We can typically get to you a lot quicker than a dealership can.
Speaker 2:So, yeah, so when someone needs you, they need you and they're just so happy to see you when you show up.
Speaker 3:Yes, yes, well, they're a little aggravated because you know it could ruin your whole trip if you can't get it going. But Darren is really good about he's. He's really good about getting a lot of people going.
Speaker 2:Yeah, well, he gets to be their superhero in the moment. I mean right, he's the saver of vacations.
Speaker 3:Yes, yes, he is Good. Now he's the saver of vacations.
Speaker 2:Yes, yes, he is good. Now, one thing I want to bring up is people might notice in our background, you and I, we have the same, the same picture behind us. We're not in the same room, we're not now, but um, we just we noticed that we each had the same uh photo in the in our background, so we just thought it'd be fun just to kind of you know that's the universe.
Speaker 2:I'm telling you the universe speaks exactly, yeah we just have to make sure not to make it look like we have horns coming out of our heads but we're, yeah, okay, so back to business. Talk, um, so, uh, if people say, all right, I'm in independence, yoga sounds pretty cool. I would like to try it. You know, jamie seems like a very nice woman. I want to go and I want to try a yoga class. How do they reach you?
Speaker 3:Let me start by telling you where we're located. We're located at the corner of Walton, nicholson and 17, where 16 and 17 meet. We're in like a reddish, brownish, brick and mortar little strip mall. There You'll notice there's a Sunoco station and it's called TikTok Food Mart. I call it TikTok, but it's like an AmeriStop. So, that's where we're located. You can reach me. Definitely, call me or text me. Should I give my number?
Speaker 2:Yeah, go ahead, Okay okay 859-727-2464.
Speaker 3:Feel free to email me at justbreathyog at yahoocom, or you can visit our website as wwwjust breathe yoga cocom yeah, yeah, I'm sure that's tough to find a good url that hasn't already been taken, so yes, yeah, so we got. Yeah, we're the wwwjustbreathyogacocom. Um. I did also want to mention we are partnered with ClassPass. I know ClassPass is huge, um right now, so you can find us on ClassPass as well.
Speaker 2:Okay, so that's a separate site that they can go and they can schedule themselves, right? Yes, okay.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:Um, do you have such a thing as a like a rate sheet in terms of the per?
Speaker 1:class.
Speaker 2:Is it dependent on the type of class? How do you? How do you?
Speaker 3:how do you the way our pricing works on schedule bliss is where you'll where you'll find our schedule. Racing Works on Schedule Bliss is where you'll find our schedule. So we have two new client offers and you can take advantage of both of them once. So we have our first new client special is three classes for $30. So we want you to come in and try different classes, different instructors, and then, if you feel like you want to continue, you know, continue your journey.
Speaker 3:We have an unlimited pass for 69 for a month where you can continue to explore and continue on your journey and then from there you will go, you know, into either a five we call it the casual yogi five class pass, which is good for a year. So you've got five visits you can use in a year. We've got the 10 flow and breathe class pass. You've got 10 visits, you know you can do for a year. We've got an unlimited monthly where you can come unlimited times but come to every class a month and then we do have a drop in, you know, if you just want to drop into classes. But if you visit our website, we have, you know, we're always running some sort of special as well. So I know in June we had $8 Thursdays in June, right? So every class on Thursdays in June was $8 each.
Speaker 2:Okay, I know there are various different offers that you might run specials, whatever. Given the nature of a podcast, we never really know when somebody is going to be watching this or listening to the audio version. So I guess we would just sort of like to let people know if they're listening to this podcast. They can call you up and just sort of inquire about whatever special you have going on in the moment, you know. So I know you want people to at least come and try a class and just learn what it is that you do and go from there. Learn what it is that you do and go from there. So I'm not saying that they can call you and get a free class, but we certainly want them to call you or come in and meet you and just start their journey, whatever that might mean for them, Correct?
Speaker 3:Yes, and actually give me a call, and if you are a new person, we do have promos where you do get your first class for free.
Speaker 2:Okay.
Speaker 3:So right now we have a flyer out there that has a promo code it does expire July 5th, but it is promo code flyer 2025. And you can get your first class free. And then, in the declarations of independence, we have a promo code where you can get your first class free. The other thing we have to go on is our referral program. So if you are, if you are already coming to just breathe or you you know, begin your journey with us and you refer someone, all you have to do is email me or text me or call me and give me your name and the person you referred and you get a free class put on your account. Oh nice, so we do have that referral program.
Speaker 2:I just realized I'm not even sure like how long a class lasts. What's the typical length of a class?
Speaker 3:Typical class is 60 minutes.
Speaker 2:OK, 60 minutes. How about your staff there? Who do you have on staff? We'll shout them out.
Speaker 3:Absolutely Cause I am. I am so grateful for my instructors. I have got the best team. I wish I could be on the schedule more teaching myself, but I've got a great team to do it for me. I'm. I'm handling the business side of things right now Takes up all of my time I have got. Do you want me to use first names, last names?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean that's going to make sure you know they're working hard and you're very proud of them and you're blessed to have them. I want to make sure that they get their props.
Speaker 3:Absolutely so I've got and some of the last names I don't even know if I know how to pronounce, so maybe I'll just use first name I've got.
Speaker 1:Sarah.
Speaker 3:She's wonderful. You can see her on Monday evenings for just gentle yoga and stretch. I've got Stacy. That offers a slow flow once a week on Wednesdays Absolutely wonderful. I've got Jill. She's on the schedule several times a week. She offers one of our vinyasa flows. She offers a candlelit restorative class on Wednesday nights at eight o'clock. Give yourself that permission to just rest. I've got Miriam. She actually offers Reiki. So we do offer Reiki, which is like an energy healing type class. We collaborate that with restorative. She does that. Let's see.
Speaker 3:I've got Parker. He does vinyasa flows. He is our Thursday morning instructor and our Saturday at 8am instructor. I've got Jeff, who offers a vent again, and he is also heading up our running club. That's getting ready to start up in July. I heard a lot of buzz about that. Lots of people are loving that idea of having a running club. So they're going to run once a week and then they're going to get together for an hour of a yoga class once a week and strengthen those muscles that runners need to keep their lower, lower body going. We've got a new instructor coming on journey. She is going to offer Pilates. I know I'm missing somebody.
Speaker 1:I know I'm missing somebody.
Speaker 3:And I don't want to leave anybody out because they're all so great.
Speaker 2:They'll show you some grace. The point is, you've got a pretty substantial staff, oh my gosh Brandy.
Speaker 3:I can't forget Brandy Brandy, Brandy Brandy she is our booty expert. See her on Thursday nights. And Lindsay I can't forget Lindsay. Lindsay is just a beautiful person. She offers a slow flow on Wednesdays. Yes, they're coming to me.
Speaker 2:Do you think you have covered everybody?
Speaker 3:I hope Okay, because they all deserve it. They really, really do. Yeah, and if I could share why we have such a diverse group, your people find you right so you could have two instructors that offer the same style class and people just connect with one other than the other. So my goal at Just Breathe Yoga Studio is to give the community all these different personalities, all these different people and all these gifts. They each have such awesome gifts to offer and I think their people will find them and really connect with them. And some of my instructors teach elsewhere and people will follow them. You know where they go because they just they. You know they really connect with that instructor, so they'll go where that instructor is going to teach.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah. The universe brings us the people that we're supposed to have in our lives for various different reasons. So you're building community, you're helping people become better versions of themselves, and so we wish you all the best in those endeavors. And I want people in Independence Walton, northern Kentucky in general, to come and visit with you and see what you have going on there at Just Breathe Yoga Studio. One more time, give the address.
Speaker 3:The address is 11988 Joseph E Schmiaty Road, Independence, Kentucky, 41051.
Speaker 2:That's a mouthful, but people who live out there know exactly what you're talking about. Perfect, all right. Well, jamie, thanks for spending time with us and letting us get to know you a little bit better. And Darren and Maya and Piper oh, you got doggos too. You got those little doggies. I want to make sure you get to shout them out, because those dogs are an important part of your life, correct?
Speaker 3:They are my boys and my little girls.
Speaker 2:Your shirt is, you know, talking about dog hair. Dog hair is my glitter it is my glitter.
Speaker 3:Dog hair is my glitter.
Speaker 2:So shout your dogs out. I've got dogs.
Speaker 3:Sure, I've got an English bulldog named Buford, who is seven. I've got an English bulldog named Oscar, who is six. They think they're brothers, but Buford is actually Oscar's uncle. And then I have sweet little Eloise. She's our French bulldog, she is three and she rules the roost, okay.
Speaker 2:Well, you know, dog people love other dog people. So just by virtue of you being you know such a dog person, you're going to make some fans out there, you know, just by being a good dog mom, thank you All right. So thanks for joining us and letting us get to know your family and a little bit more about Just Breathe Yoga Studio. I'm looking forward to meeting you in person and maybe coming out and trying a class.
Speaker 3:Great. Good luck to have you. Thank you.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'll come visit you. I know you've met my daughter before, and so maybe I will bring her for a class as well, there we go. We'll come out and do you together, being the Good Neighbor Podcast. One thing that I'll always say to you as we sign off is everybody out there. Be good to your neighbors Until next time. See you everybody, bye-bye.
Speaker 1:Thanks for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast Union. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to GNPUnioncom. That's GNPUnioncom, or call us at 859-651-8330.