Today we’d like to introduce you to Nikki McGowan.
Nikki, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
Red Cheetah Yoga began when I was finishing college in 2009 at the University of Miami. I had been doing yoga since high school to ward off injuries, and through my exercise physiology degree, I was doing an internship working with the football team and the coaching staff. I got the opportunity to teach yoga to the football team and women’s basketball team, and have since worked with track and field (my old team where I was a sprinter), the rowing team, and the soccer team.
I began Red Cheetah Yoga because I was amazed at the performance benefits from yoga, yet not all styles of yoga were ideal for athletes. So, from all the yoga I had done for years, I combined all the poses I felt healed my muscles and joints the best and created Red Cheetah Yoga’s groundbreaking Elemental Sequence.
Today, Red Cheetah Yoga still works with teams at UM, as well as with many CrossFit boxes in South Florida. Red Cheetah now has a book out, a 90-day goal setting and gratitude journal called the “Empowerment and Achievement Journal”, with more empowerment journals and yoga books on the way.
Through Red Cheetah Yoga I also lead crystal singing bowl meditations for anyone looking to get into a deeper, spiritual side of their practice.
RCY is now moving into weekend-immersion transformational seminars, called IMPACT, that combine fitness, yoga, meditation, and group transformational work that begins this March at IMT CrossFit in Kendall.
RCY’s intention is to help others realize their inner power and take action on what truly makes others feel alive and great!
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Running Red Cheetah Yoga has definitely had some bumps along the way. I definitely made mistakes while I was starting the company, all of which I’ve learned from tremendously. Yet where things may have fallen through for my company, there is always an opportunity to learn. I always have to keep my perspective and remember what an opportunity it is to be able to lead a yoga company that empowers athletes of all kinds from all walks of life. Every time I fall short for RCY, I take a step back and evaluate what I could have done better, and make moves to create integrity within my organization again. I never thought I would own a business or hire independent contractors to work with me, so every day I get to run my company and give it the attention I consider a blessing, despite all of the struggles. I am very blessed to have the company I have because there isn’t another one like it, and I am looking forward to future challenges because it will mean that RCY is growing and evolving.
Red Cheetah Yoga – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Red Cheetah Yoga is mobility-driven and empowered yoga for athletes. What began as a sequence to heal sprinters and football players has evolved into something greater: we now offer continuing education certifications for certified yoga teachers where they can get certified in Yoga for Athletes.
RCY delivers the Elemental Sequence to athletes from all walks of life all over South Florida, from teams at UM to CrossFit and similar gyms in the area. The Elemental Sequence is unlike any other yoga program you will encounter. It was made for athletes, by athletes, and RCY’s team of teachers all have some kind of athletic background. The RCY sequence is fluid and dynamic, stretching and strengthening. It is the perfect blend that athletes need for both pre-habilitation and rehabilitation of many common injuries.
RCY is also a leader in creating personal transformation programs. IMPACT begins this March in Kendall at IMT CrossFit. IMPACT is a 3.5-day immersion of workouts, yoga, meditation, and intense group transformational work. All participants are guaranteed to be transformed people on the other side of this incredible weekend!
RCY also has one book on the market with more on the way. The current title that’s available from Amazon is called the “Empowerment and Achievement Journal.” This book is a 90-day goal setting and gratitude journal that’s designed to give you guidance as you work daily to change your life, one step at a time. The book has five categories for transformation: personal, career, financial, fitness, and contribution. Establishing an appropriate 90-day goal for each, you tackle each goal one step a time every day. Combined with gratitude journaling, it’s a powerful combination to transform your productivity and sense of fulfillment in three short months.
I’m most proud of what this company has become in the last ten years. I had no idea what I was beginning when I started this company in college. At the time, I only wanted to help out my teammates at UM and have them experience the benefits of yoga in the way I had. I’m so grateful for the opportunity to be able to run certifications so I can hire new, empowered teachers to help spread RCY to athletes of all kinds all over the world, the books that are written and about to be written, and for IMPACT that’s coming up this spring. If someone had told me ten years ago that this is where my company would be today, I would never have believed them.
What sets us apart from others is the authenticity and delivery of what RCY’s teachers do. All RCY teachers teach from the heart and aim to inspire. So often the most profound healing comes from being inspired by teachers, and it makes the experience of the poses and breath that much more profound because of how the instructor shows up.
RCY is so much more than yoga. RCY is up to being at cause in the world, about making a difference, whether it’s through trainings, yoga for athletes classes, books, seminars like IMPACT, the soon-to-be app, and everything else that is in the future!
RCY has arrived to help people and the planet evolve into their greatest versions of themselves!
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
The proudest moment of my career so far has been starting this company at all. It was through the encouragement of a boyfriend a long time ago who pushed me to create an LLC. At the time, I wasn’t confident enough to even think I could run a business. Sometimes I still think I can’t! But now that I’ve been the sole owner for over a year, it has been the most empowering experience of my life. I love getting to help athletes and non-athletes alike achieve their dreams through yoga, meditation, and journaling. If it wasn’t for my ex-boyfriend pushing me to create a company, which in turn led me to create yoga for athletes certifications and workshops so I had empowered employees to hire, I don’t know where I would be today. I feel so fulfilled by Red Cheetah Yoga and how I get to expand it and create it on a daily basis, I can’t imagine my life without it. Starting this company in the first place was my proudest moment. I am literally brought to tears when I think of how it started with only me driving around to different CrossFit facilities and sports teams, and now I have yoga teachers working for me that all of my locations love. I never in my wildest dreams would have thought RCY would evolve to this level in just ten short years.
Pricing:
- Yoga for Athletes at FloYo in Coral Gables, Sundays at 5:15 pm, drop-ins $25
- Empowerment and Achievement Journal, Amazon $17.99
- IMPACT, a weekend seminar of fitness, yoga, and transformation, $695, enroll on redcheetahyoga.com
Contact Info:
- Website: redcheetahyoga.com
- Phone: 305-308-7584
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @redcheetahyoga
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/redcheetahyoga/
Image Credit:
Alejandra Estefania, Christian Diez
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