Meet MJ Heart | Professional Yoga Teacher & Holistic Healer

We had the good fortune of connecting with MJ Heart and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi MJ, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
After dropping out of art school, I pursued another avenue of interest and graduated from massage school in 2008. Coming from a family of strong business ownership, it made the most sense for me to work as an independent contractor immediately. I offered my services at various wellness centers, spas, and did in-home visitation building up my own clientele. I was just 20 years old, but I quickly learned all the skills included in running and establishing myself as a business entity. Through the years I held various other odd jobs to supplement income, I became trained and certified in other forms of bodywork, healing, and went through a yoga teacher training at 23.

Fast forward to 2017 when I moved to Philadelphia leaving behind all of my classes, studios, clients, and jobs, I had no idea what I was going to do but I knew that the move was necessary at that phase of my life. I found a stable office job to supplement income and within just a few months, I began teaching at my favorite local studio, Palo Santo Wellness. I was offered more teaching jobs at various places throughout the city and before I knew it, I was ready to quit my office job and pursue the idea of being a full-time yoga teacher and holistic healer in Philly.

One year later, as I was building myself up, the pandemic hit and I, like so many others, was forced into a stillness I had never experienced, constantly asking myself – what am I going to do on the other side of this? It was during those months of isolation, teaching virtual classes with Palo Santo, that my role became pivotal in holding the community together through the tears, the fear, and all the chaos brought upon the city due to covid-19.

Due to my place in the community during that time and because the previous owners had moved to Arizona right before the pandemic hit, I was offered the opportunity to buy the yoga studio – and I accepted. It was a terrifying thing to do, but it never felt like there was any other choice. Palo Santo had become my home for healing, my community of supportive peers, and had been a space of deep growth for me emotionally, spiritually, and as a growing teacher and healer. Having had nearly 15 years experience working as an office manager, independent contractor, financial manager, studio manager, yoga teacher, massage therapist, and dance instructor and choreographer, I knew I had the skill set to accompany taking on business ownership and so I decided to make that my next venture.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Palo Santo Yoga & Wellness is a truly special space, this yoga studio isn’t so much a place of business as it is a space of community. We are centered around offering uniqueness and authenticity, from our students to our teachers there is always the idea of, ‘just show up as you are’ without being afraid of feeling judged or discriminated against. Our community is open and accepting of all peoples of all ethnicities, cultures, incomes, sexualities, identities, orientations, genders, or what have you – we radiate the feeling of home and love in our sacred city shala.

Being from a small town, I never truly felt like I could fit in anywhere. I am a highly creative person and spent most of my life drawing, painting, crafting, doing film photography, dancing 6 days a week, performing in theatre and various productions. I have had every color hair imaginable, shaved head, wild curls, and I am covered in bright tattoos from my face to finger tips. I am queer and pansexual and have never felt comfortable trying to fit into gender conforming clothes and makeup every single day to keep up an image. When I planned to move to Philadelphia, I started seeking community beforehand and once I stumbled into Palo Santo, I immediately felt accepted for all that I am.

From the moment I entered this yoga studio and wellness space, everyone was alternative and warm and open – I felt so accepted for who I was at that moment and over the last 6 years, that acceptance has allowed me to grow into my even more authentic self. This space has shown me true friendships, a sense of family I never had in my own blood, I have found deep healing and an even deeper self-love. Taking over the studio was an immediate call to continue upholding the feeling that I felt when I first walked through those doors – that everyone is welcome here, no problem is too small, and no voice goes unheard, even when it only whispers.

Everyone who walks through our doors has this immediate sense of calm, you can see their shoulders drop, their hearts open, the tension around their eyes soften, and without being able to put it into words – there is a new sense of home that radiates around the aura. Palo Santo is a truly special space, we have a huge amount of diversity in our offerings, our styles of yoga practice, the community events that we host, and the facilitators who come to share this space. It’s nearly impossible to put into words what the feeling is, but once you feel it, once it resonates, you will always know that you have a place to call home when you seek for it.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Living in South Philly means there is so much to do in just this one neighborhood, you never have to leave it, but Philly is such a walkable city that you can access so many sweet places in just one day. Starting on East Passyunk Avenue, one of the ‘foodie streets of America’ there are dozens of fantastic restaurants and shops to take up hours of delicious food and locally made treats. One of my favorites is Bing Bing Dim Sum for dinner and cocktails, Flannel is a sweet spot for brunch and local brews, but you can’t go wrong with a treat from Vanilya Bakery or a coffee meet up at Rival Brothers.

Strolling all the way down Passyunk Avenue, eventually you intersect at South Street which has some fun shops, old-school bars, and great people watching. Harry’s World or Garland of Letters are two places for esoteric books, singing bowls, crystals, and incense that I enjoy wandering into. From South Street you can meander right down to Spruce Street Harbor Park and Morgan’s Pier along the water that has pop-up food shacks and bars right on the water, if you can grab a space on the suspended rope nets at night, you can literally hang out over the river and watch the lights come on up and down the coast.

Center City is a quick subway ride or a casual walk down Broad Street, there’s always plenty of shopping on Chestnut and Walnut Street or shady spots to hang out in Rittenhouse Square. One of my favorite restaurants in Vedge which is an all purely vegetable menu, the waitlist is sometimes a few months out because it’s that good, but on the more casual side Goldie’s has the best tahini dairy-free milkshakes, falafel, and spiced fries. If you wander all the way down Walnut, you eventually come to the Riverwalk, a river-side park where you can hang out, picnic, go for a walk, etc… it’s a go-to in the warm season for most locals.

Most people think of South Philly for the all the sports stadiums and game arenas, but right across the street is FDR Park which is the biggest park in Philadelphia for locals to hang at. In the summer there are paddle boards you can rent in the lake, tennis courts, basketball courts, playgrounds, soccer fields, a giant graffiti covered skate park under the highway overpass, lots of picnic tables, walking trails… it’s one of the few places inside the City that we can go and feel like nature still exists, always worth a walk to in the warm season to hang with friends or check out one of the events they often have going on in the various areas.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Shoutout to the entire Community at Palo Santo Yoga & Wellness in South Philly! This space holds some of the most supportive, authentic, accepting, compassionate, and loving human beings you could ever hope to meet, I would not be where I am without the support of my people. And also to Damodar & Rachel Cordua, the founders of Palo Santo and some of my closest family at the chosen level – there are few sweeter people on this planet who hold space like these two souls.

Website: www.palosantowellnessboutique.com

Instagram: @yogapalosantowellness

Image Credits
Joe Longo Photography, Shawn Reid Photography