To find balance and ease in motherhood, while running your own business, homeschooling one of three children, and making sure the other two are always where they need to be, is no easy endeavor. Namita, however, makes all of this look so effortless. And on top of that she finds time to meet a friend for coffee, miraculously host 20 friends for an impromptu BBQ over a long weekend, and somehow schedule an 8:30 am yoga class.
Born and raised in Kobe, Japan, Namita is half-Indian, half Japanese. She almost always prefers tea to coffee and is always ready to make plans or to pick up your kid when you are in a pinch (thanks Namita!) When you first meet Namita, she is approachable, kind-hearted and easy to talk to. You would never guess that this sweet yoga instructor was once an equity sales associate at one of Japan’s leading securities and investment firms. She holds a degree in Finance and Economics from Babson College, a leading university for entrepreneurship in the United States. And she just happened to launch her Tokyo based yoga studio while already pregnant with her first child (not kidding). She jokes with me about how she would race back home between classes to nurse her 2 month old and would hire a sitter only while she was physically teaching a class at her studio. Instantly, my admiration for Namita skyrocketed. She jokes, “I don’t know how I did that…” I would say it’s her clear, it’s through her dedication, resilience and love of what she does.
She casually chats to me about managing all aspects of her Tokyo based yoga studio, while balancing her 3 children’s busy schedules, and making time for herself, and I am seriously awe-struck. Starting her mornings between 5:30 - 6:00am, Namita gets a head start on her day while organizing her children’s plans and getting their things together. Before her family is up, she has breakfast ready, lunches packed and squeezes in an hour long yoga session before dropping them off to school and daycare. She then begins her days of teaching yoga classes and handling all the business aspects of her Tokyo-based yoga studio.
She humbly attributes much of her success to her team and her students. She says, “my students really pushed me to do more, and anything they suggested I tried...some things failed but a lot of things worked really well,” she admits.
Namita took a quick pause when her oldest was born to stop teaching classes for roughly 2 months and her loyal clientele patiently waited to resume classes with her. They urged her to hire more teachers and build out her studio. When talking about her studio, Namita always goes back to her students. “I always put myself in their shoes,” which makes it no wonder why she is so beloved by her students.
When I asked Namita, what she finds chic, she paused for a second before replying, “a woman who manages to balance it all- work plus motherhood, or any mom who adds more to her plate.” And this is 100% Namita, herself.
Namita- its been truly inspiring getting to know your story. I am literally in awe of all that you have accomplished and I can’t wait to see what’s next. Cheers to new friendships and many adventures! And best of luck in all your endeavors.
Stay inspiring, stay chic.
Xx
Simi
For more details on her studio:
https://www.namiyogastudio.com/
https://www.instagram.com/namiyogastudio/
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