Their Stories

Joanne VandenHengel

Finding peace in the posture

Joanne VandenHengel was one of the first women I met when I arrived in Pittsburgh at the beginning of my road trip. My head was spinning, so I took a class at her 3rd Street Yoga Studio in Carnegie, Pennsylvania to try to settle down. I had no idea that meeting her would begin to chart my journey.

My story isn’t so different from many Baby Boom women. I took part in the hippie days and worked for peace and civil rights. And then, like so many from that era, I married and had children. I became a teacher because it allowed me to be home for my husband and two sons.

Early on, I had contemplated starting my own business, but I knew it would have rocked my family’s equilibrium. So I graded papers, went to my sons’ games, baked brownies and was happy. And then one day, I realized my youngest wasn’t going to be home forever.

I had been wife, super-mom and school teacher for 30 years. Throughout all of that craziness, I found peace in the posture. Yoga had been my rock. I wondered if I could merge my love of yoga and my desire to have my own business. Why not let my impending empty nest motivate me instead of make me sad?

I kept my teaching job and took yoga teacher training on the weekends at the Himalayan Institute in Honesdale, PA. It wasn’t easy, but after thirty years of teaching, I walked away from security to become an entrepreneur and opened the doors to 3rd Street Yoga in the summer of 2003. I had much to learn about running a business. But the rewards have turned out to be worth it. Freedom, passion, and new meaning.

Joanne’s story doesn’t end here. After she opened 3rd Street Yoga, Joanne and her husband ended their marriage. And then, on September 17, 2004, the rains came and Chartiers Creek overflowed and flooded Carnegie. Joanne’s studio was ruined, along with many other businesses. It seemed her dream had been washed away.

“After months of cleanup and soul searching,” Joanne said, “3rd Street Yoga and I are making our way back. Having gratitude when things are going well is easy. But when we are swept clean, that’s tough work. I am giving it up to the universe to guide me these days. At fifty-three, I finally grew up. And I still find peace in the posture."

Read more about Joanne’s transformation and how she helped Bryant chart her course in Journeys: 50,000 Miles of Wise Women. Learn more about 3rd Street Yoga at www.3rdstreetyoga.com.