Meet Zenia Ellis | Yoga Instructor and Chemist

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

Hi Zenia, how has your work-life balance changed over time?
When I first started my journey work life balance was nonexistent. All I did was work and my “life” was sleeping. I was constantly pushing my mind and body to extreme exhaustion to the point I was having mental break downs twice a week. I had this idea in my head that I needed to become successful to be happy and my short cut to success was all work no play. I thought if I took out the play and worked double I would find my happiness twice as fast. Though when I started my yoga journey I realized that ‘work life’ balance was a lie. There is no such thing as a work life balance because it is all life. Every thing you do is life. Now everyday I wake up with the intent of finding joy or happiness in everything I do and trusting the process. I rest more and work just as hard and I have never been happier.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
My Brand is all about finding purpose and happiness through yoga. As I was growing up I was never truly happy I just was. Though from the outside I looked very happy and content because I was afraid of the judgement my feelings would bring.. I was talkative and nice but on the inside I was wondering how long I would have to keep up this facade. I was experiencing constant panic attacks and depression. Everyday felt like an up hill battle and I was at the discretion of my mental health. Then I was forced by my therapist to go to yoga. I honestly thought it was stupid. All this talk about healing by just sitting and breath. Sounds unrealistic to me. None the less I went to one class and didn’t hate it so I started to go to more and more classes until I realized yoga was changing me. I had this realization one day after work when I was super stressed and near tears and the first thought that popped into my head was I need to go to yoga and after yoga I knew what I needed to do. Yoga finally gave me the calm space my mind needed to think. Yoga gave me the opportunity to look into myself without the noise of the world. I finally realized I wasn’t happy with my life because I wasn’t happy with my self and I was floating around this world with no purpose. I was stuck in the human race just running to complete tasks striving to fit that cookie cutter when my soul was not meant for that cookie cutter my soul wanted yo be free it be itself. I realized I had been suppressing a lot of emotions and thoughts because I didn’t think it was what was expected of me and in the end it was eating me alive. Making it impossible for me to be happy. Through more and more yoga I finally found her. I found my true self hidden behind all the expectations and social pressures and found a girl begging to shine. I finally let her out and don’t get me wrong I got a lot of backlash. I had people tell me “you are so different” “what happened to the girl I use to know” “why are you so much more sensitive” it was hard to be myself Somedays. Then I started teaching and had students coming to me thanking me for my authentic personality and positing energy. I had people tell me I made them feel welcomed and accepted. I had people say that they were finally seeing glimpses of there old selves. And then it hit me. I finally found my purpose in this life and it is to love and give as much positivity as I can to people to help them find their true selves. I want to give people a space to feel safe to find their happiness and share their emotions. I want to be the reason they find just a minute of breath in their day to keep going. Therefore I created my brand “Yoga with Zenia” centering around happiness and purpose I am always here for my students and want to help them create the life they deserve! Starting from the Inside!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I am an outdoorsy person so hiking would be my go to. The Superstition Mountains would be a must. Hiking hole in the rock Tempe. The desert botanical garden. These are all places people must see in Phoenix.

Food wise I am a spur of the moment kind of person but I would have to take people to snooze and over easy for breakfast otherwise it would just have to be in an the moment kind of thing.

Also downtown Gilbert is a must. Downtown Gilbert is so trendy and one of a kind I love showing people!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Honestly there are so many people I want to thank. Every person I meet has helped make my dreams come true. Without the people I meet on the daily I would just be a person sitting in a room. But a person I want to thank more than anyone is my partner Paul Krajicek. In my life he is the first person to ever tell me I deserved better than the mental torment I put myself through. He was the first person to convince me that the only reason I needed to do something was because it makes me happy. He honestly was the first person to show me what it meant to live for myself. I spent my life living my life to make everyone else happy and he showed me that it is my life and the only person that needed to be happy with my life is me. I will forever be grateful for him he was there with me through my most painful growing period and helped me through. He truly was the push off the cliff I needed

Website: www.yogawithzenia.com

Instagram: @yogawithzenia

Facebook: Zenia Ellis

Image Credits
Sarah Robinson