Today we’d like to introduce you to Kim Tupper
Hi Kim, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
Yoga has always helped me find ease in my body and mind, and allowed me to slow down and calm the businesses in my life. I started practicing yoga when my children were very small. I’d listen to podcasts and follow along in my bedroom during nap time. I instantly felt the power of vinyasa flow classes where I moved in sync with my breath. I noticed my body felt less tense and my mind settled. I felt spacious and more at ease. The practice ebbed and flowed for me as I explored various studios and different physical modalities. Eventually I landed on running as my primary form of exercise and trained for many half marathons and eventually a marathon. However, I always found myself coming back to yoga as I began to understand the power of the practice. As my running waned due to injuries and my children grew, needing less of my attention, I felt called to shift directions in my life and explore why this practice was so powerful. I wasn’t quite sure where I would go with it but decided on a local YTT program in 2019 at Yoga Off East in Durham, NC. It was scary and profound all lumped together. I started my teacher training in person and then completed it online when Covid hit. I started teaching in January 2021 online, then eventually in studio. Once we were back in studio full time and students started landing in the physical space, I learned more about the power of the practice and the importance of community and connection. This discovery propelled me into a partnership with Kathryn Smith, owner and founder of YOE, through a studio expansion in 2024. We spent a good deal of time talking through what a partnership would look like and best ways to expand the current studio on 9th Street in downtown Durham. We had many shared visions for Yoga Off East and eventually felt confident that a partnership was the best way forward. We started working through a partnership in 2023 as well as a new location for the studio expansion.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
My partnership with Kathryn has been incredible. Our visions, hopes, and dreams for YOE have been so very aligned. And while our partnership was formalized in June 2024, we really had been working on it early in 2023 when we had honed in on a specific location for the studio expansion. We spent nearly 10 months focused on an original new location for the expansion, but eventually we realized that the new location would not be the right space for our community. It was really quite devastating. In fact, we decided it was best to take a pause on formalizing the partnership and expansion, and reevaluate after taking a few weeks away from the discussion. When we reconvened a couple of months later, we determined we were both 100% in for a partnership and just needed to find the perfect location for the expansion. That’s when we found ourselves at American Tobacco Campus – where we felt supported by the ATC community and in awe by the beauty and conveniences the new location would offer our teachers and students. We have been so pleased with the transition and expansion and love our new yoga studio.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Yoga Off East’s new location and curated space sets it apart from other local studios. We are in the heart of American Tobacco Campus, a historic and renovated warehouse area in downtown Durham. There is a grassy courtyard just outside our studio with a rolling “river.” People are always seen walking or relaxing at tables and in chairs throughout the courtyard area. Our studio has very high ceilings with huge glass windows in the practice room that let in tons of light and offer a sense of spaciousness. We have custom-designed retail shelves, cubbies, reception desk, and tea bar in our lobby area. In addition, our custom-made community table is inviting and cozy for folks to visit and sip tea before and after class. We also installed a dividing wall between the practice room and lobby built by Raleigh Reclaimed that is made of powder coated blue steel with windows to allow the light to filter in. Finally, we have a 4’x8′ moss wall that offers a sense of nature and grounding within the space.
We are often described as a mellow studio with many slow flow and restorative classes. Even our vinyasa flow classes tend to be a bit more slow and gentle, though we do offer several upbeat and faster paced classes as well. We are also one of the few studios in the area that is predominantly non-heated, which many of our students really appreciate. We do have infrared heat panels, but use them sparingly and no warmer than 85 degrees.
Our studio reflects connections with amazing artists and yoga teachers such as Amanda Giacomini from 10,000 Buddhas in Californina – she painted the mural in our practice room, and Elena Brower, a well known yogi and artist, who we commissioned to paint a 3’x4’ piece of art that is on display in our reception area titled “Boundless”. In fact, Elena will be visiting our studio in March for a week-long event, which we are super thrilled about.
We offer various workshops and events including kids’ yoga, sound baths, Kundalini yoga, and various series on yoga with illness, etc. Our plan, in this new location, is to host larger events given the additional space we have access to at American Tobacco Campus and the outdoor courtyard area.
Most importantly, Yoga Off East has a special community of teachers and students who remain dedicated to the practice and creating connections with one another. The relationships we’ve seen grow and develop within our community has been life changing and heart warming for many. Our hope is that each person who walks through our doors feels seen and heard.
Networking and finding a mentor can have such a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
Surround yourself with people you trust and who you can rely on. Folks who have an amazing wealth of experience and different ideas. Be willing to listen, to sit with what you hear, learn and grow. Be flexible and be able to pivot when necessary.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.yogaoffeast.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yogaoffeast/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yogaoffeast
- Twitter: https://x.com/yogaoffeast
