A joyful journey
Joy Nicholson creating health and happiness through yoga
Talk about getting your feet wet.
Joy Nicholson’s introduction to stand up paddleboard yoga (SUP) didn’t quite go as planned.
During a yoga festival six years ago in Quebec, the Truro woman joined a class of about 15 to learn the discipline on the water. After participants positioned themselves on boards, the class went into a “pretty typical yoga pose,” Joy recalled.
Then, chaos.
“I completely lost my balance; I took the whole row of people down, like a row of dominoes,” she laughed, during a recent interview with Saltwire Network.
Not only did Joy leave the festival with a fun story, but with the realization that paddleboard yoga was an avenue she wanted to pursue. About three years ago she started offering SUP on Shortts Lake, near Brookfield, through her self-owned business, Joyful Yoga.
“It’s lovely; people lose their minds, they’re blown away by how calm and grounded and connected they feel.”
Joy has been practicing yoga for the past 15 years in downtown Truro. In addition to SUP, she also offers studio and outdoor yoga for all ages and abilities and chair yoga for seniors. She started her business after working for the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) where she taught yoga to adults with mental health issues. During her time with the CMHA, she also gained business experience by opening an art gallery for artists with disabilities.
“I learned so much about launching a business that it kind of taught me that I could do it again,” she said. “It was a huge stepping stone for me along my journey.”
Before opening her awardwinning studio at 64 Inglis Place, Joy offered free yoga sessions in Victoria Park to gauge interest in the community. It would prove popular and make her decision to pursue it as a business venture an easy one.
“When I found my yoga studio space I sat down one day in the sunshine on the patio, where all good stories begin,” she laughed, “and I called each individual student to tell them I was opening up my yoga studio, and I was just met warmly with wide-open arms; the community was ready for a yoga studio.”
Joy especially enjoys offering outdoor classes at the park and at the Shortts Lake tennis courts during the spring and summer. She admits the last year-and-a-half has been challenging because of the COVID-19 pandemic, however, the recent easing of gathering restrictions in the province is welcome news.
“People are ready to get back on their mats,” she said. “There’s been a lot going on in the world and when we get on our mat it gives us a minute to sit still and digest what’s been going on and to find a place where we feel a little bit safe and just create a little moment of peace so that we can go back out there in the world and do better and help improve things, so people were ready for yoga.”
Joy is thrilled to have a career she is passionate about and one that gives her an opportunity to create health and happiness for others; where clients can leave a class feeling refreshed, relaxed and inspired. It also has self-benefits, she adds.
“It makes me a more patient mother, a smarter business owner, a happier wife, a better sister, a more compassionate daughter; it’s not just touching your toes, it really does change the way you think … and it tends to make you connect with the community more and make you more compassionate and more active within your community, as well.”
For information on Joyful Yoga, including classes, visit joyfulyoga.ca. You can also find them on Facebook and Instagram.