the whisper
I founded b, (formerly B Yoga) in 2014, but the vision began long before that - when I was living in Australia completing my MBA in 2003. This is where I fell hard for yoga. More specifically, for the ritual and refuge that a yoga mat offered me.
I was captivated by the wellness lifestyle there. Yoga studios on every corner, bookended by juice shops, mango stands, crystal stores, and tarot readers. Wellness wasn’t something reserved for weekends or special occasions; it was woven into everyday life.
But it was the practice itself that truly changed me. Yoga grounded me. It connected me to my own needs while offering a physical and emotional release I didn’t even realize I had been craving. From that point on, I carried a quiet knowing: somehow, someday, I would find my way into the “business of yoga.” I wanted to merge my love of business, creativity, and wellness into something meaningful.
Of course, I had absolutely no idea how. But I had been touched by something undeniable - a subtle but persistent whisper of inspiration.
That whisper stayed with me for years.
that feeling
Eventually, life led me somewhere unexpected: into my family’s business.
After a decade in marketing, I ended up working for the company my father ran, a fifth-generation family business and, in many ways, a deeply traditional environment. I often felt out of my element there. I came from a CPG and marketing background, yet suddenly found myself operating inside an industrial, male-dominated world where I was frequently underestimated as “the boss's young daughter.”
Taking the role didn’t necessarily make sense on paper. But once again, I followed that feeling; a whisper.
it all clicked
In 2012, while visiting the company’s R&D lab, I came across an extraordinary rubber compound with unprecedented grip. I remember touching it and half-joking that it would make an incredible yoga mat.
But deep down, I knew instantly (yet subconsciously): this was it.
After endless prototyping, bootstrapped funding, and years of trusting that whisper, the b, mat launched in Spring 2014 to rave reviews and aligned to a time when independent brands were more compelling than ever. It’s been an incredible ride ever since.
a sister brand
Four years later, after what I can now clearly recognize as a magical period of growth, I acquired Halfmoon - a brand I had long admired. B Yoga and Halfmoon became sister brands: Halfmoon, the wise older sister; B Yoga, the younger, spirited one.
Bringing together two businesses, two cultures, and two teams from opposite ends of Canada was an enormous undertaking. In many ways, my naivety fuelled the decision. But ultimately, these two Canadian brands became one unified platform - allowing us to more powerfully champion wellness through connection: to nature, to community, to ritual, and to ourselves.
the overwhelm
While growing the business, I was also growing my family. After birthing a business baby and then two actual babies, I found myself in a deep state of overwhelm. My eldest daughter was diagnosed with a genetic condition. Less than two years later, my second daughter arrived. At the same time, the business was growing rapidly.
Everything in my life felt intense, beautiful, demanding, and nonstop. In many ways, work became an escape for me - especially from the complexity and emotional weight of becoming a mother to a child with exceptionalities. That reality is layered. Tender. Ongoing.
Somewhere along the way, I lost myself a little. I was constantly operating in overdrive - something that had been programmed into me from a very young age. I pushed hard, all the time. My nervous system was fried, even while I was building a brand rooted in wellness and grounding. Eventually, I realized something had to change.
discovering change
I began trying to create more space in my life. I worked with a life coach. I meditated. I moved my body differently. I reduced meetings. I scheduled pauses into my day. I took walking meetings. I set reminders on my phone to slow down. At one point, I even stepped away from the CEO role for over two years.
I tried everything. At the time, the progress felt almost invisible. COVID overlapped this already intense time, and layered even more uncertainty and overwhelm onto an already strained nervous system. There were moments when healing felt impossible. But slowly - almost imperceptibly - things began to shift. Tiny changes accumulated. Space slowly emerged.
And eventually, so did I.
today
Today, my nervous system no longer feels constantly inflamed. Today, I operate from a place of deeper trust, groundedness, and gratitude. I still have moments where I’m surprised by the spaciousness I now feel because, not that long ago, it seemed completely unattainable. What I’ve learned is that there is rarely one breakthrough moment or magic solution that changes everything.
Real change happens incrementally. Quietly. Patiently.
Through commitment, awareness, and the willingness to keep returning to yourself. I used to believe space was something I had to earn once everything else was done. Now I understand that space is the thing that makes leadership, creativity, and life itself sustainable.
the pause
In many ways, I was led back to myself the hard way. Life forced a pause. A redirection. An invitation to dig deeper and ask whether my priorities, my values, and my purpose were truly aligned.
And yet, there was magic in that, too. Pausing the business really forced me to recenter both myself and the company. I was retethered to my WHY. It was SO so hard navigating this time but ultimately extremely rewarding.
Our community carried us through. There were moments when they believed in this brand more deeply than I did. Their connection, loyalty, and trust helped guide me back to what mattered most.
Back to alignment. Back to gratitude. Back to purpose.
my wisdom era
Despite the missteps, I wouldn’t change any of it. The same naivety that created challenges also gave me the courage to begin. Without it, I never would have built this business, this brand, or this community that I love so deeply.
That willingness to leap before fully knowing, to trust instinct, to dream without being paralysed by “what ifs” - it became one of my greatest strengths. Of course, it also led to painful lessons, mistakes, and moments I would never choose to repeat. But I wouldn’t erase them either. They became my teachers.
And now, something in me feels different.
For the first time, I feel less fuelled by naivety and more guided by experience, perspective, and deep gratitude. Maybe this is my wisdom era. I feel it deeply. And so here I am - grateful for the journey, grateful for the becoming, and grateful for everything that brought me to this point.
