Say hi to Joel. I've been teaching Joel for many years. He's been practicing Bikram Yoga since 2011. I chose Joel for the Student Spotlight because one day he inspired me while I was teaching him. It was just he and I that day and in the middle of practice he started to tell me his story. Right now, in this time, I think his story needs to be heard.
Back before Joel found Bikram yoga, he was going through some hard times, including divorce. A friend told him about Bikram Yoga. He decided to give it a try. He loved it so much that he did it for 30 days in a row. That's quite the accomplishment for a beginner. He says it helped him mentally and physically. He experienced back pain for 20 years. His spine and hips were out of alignment. He believes this yoga fixed those issues. He thought he was going to have to live with back pain for the rest of his life. After practicing Bikram Yoga for a while, one day he turned a certain way and felt a strong crack. He believes at that moment his spine and hips aligned themselves. Now, he lives virtually pain free, but he knows that he needs to stick with the yoga to maintain that.
Joel explains that the yoga also helped clear his head and his heart. He was able to move on. Joel started a food truck business, Over Rice, a mix of Filipino and Hawaiian food. His slogan is "Always fresh. Always from the heart". Owning your own business and being responsible for providing a good product, managing employees and keeping your heart in it can be challenging, especially now with a pandemic among us. Joel says he sees so many other small businesses not putting their heart into it, getting stressed out, experiencing burn out, not taking care of themselves and eventually closing the doors. He says this yoga helps him stay focused with a clear mind. It helps him be creative. It helps him handle tense situations so that he can remain level-headed and make wise decisions.
Many people view yoga as a stretching exercise that helps you physically. It's so much more than that. It's a form of meditation. It's a reset button for your entire body including your mind. What I heard from Joel that day was that, when owning your own business there will be ups and downs. It's not always going to be great. You have to get up early while everyone else is sleeping and when it's storming out and get to work from your heart. Yes, taking class can be somewhat time-consuming, but the rewards you reap from it are time well spent. You might think running a small business doesn't leave any time for yourself, but as Joel says, making time for yourself can help your business.
If you’re interested in learning more about Joel's food truck, Over Rice, you can check out the website at OverRiceCFL.com.
email: overricefoodtruck@gmail.com
phone: (386) 416-9030
You can also visit them on facebook at @overrice.foodtruck.
Keep up the good work Joel!