LOVE SPOTLIGHT: YOBK

To celebrate the release of our print issue themed LOVE, we reached out to our amazing community to share with us a few thoughts on love. This week we celebrate YO BK Hot Yoga + Pilates studio in NYC and Miami and Kate Durand owner and teacher. Kate is also co-owner of Novela Cafe Social and U Omakase. Pick up your free copy of Yoga Love Magazine at YO BK Hot Yoga today!

Share with us what you love about what you do:
I opened YO BK in 2015 in Williamsburg, New York as a place for students to take refuge, go inwards and lean into community. I wanted to provide to others what yoga brought to me. Through fun, varied classes and the incredible students and teachers that came through our doors, the community boomed and within a couple of years, we were bursting at the seams. I opened our second location in Greenpoint in 2018 and was able to keep the studios afloat during the pandemic through the belief that students needed movement, breath and community more than ever. During that time, we offered outdoor, online and on-demand classes. We expanded to Wynwood, Miami in 2021. The reach of my work is so much bigger than I could have imagined, and my greatest passion is to bring people together through a wide variety of programming, from classes to workshops, from Teacher Trainings to retreats (I am writing now from our retreat in Amorgos, Greece). I also feel very fulfilled placing people in roles where they flourish, and am proud to have six full-time employees in New York and Miami.

Share with us what you have learned about LOVE:
Love is letting go of preconceived notions and meeting people where they are in all their glory. Love is learning from other ways of being; it is expanding consciousness. I struggled against this in my twenties as a young business owner and am now very grateful to work alongside people who bring different strengths to our community. Romantic and platonic love are compromise, clear communication and listening. We learn from love.

What inspired you to support Yoga Love Magazine?
I chose to support Yoga Love Magazine because of the support it has shown our community and teachers. I appreciate the celebration of teachers from all backgrounds and the topics covered. Yoga has been built into a glamorous, fashionable hobby by the media when really it goes so much deeper and should be accessible to all people of all backgrounds — Yoga Love Magazine is one of the few publications that celebrates this truth.