Exploring Life & Business with Melanie Yocum of Lightworker Yoga

Today we’d like to introduce you to Melanie Yocum.

Melanie, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I became a 200hr RYT Hatha Yoga Teacher in 2007 in Winter Springs, FL and I remember thinking, wow…one day I want to own a yoga studio. The studio where I trained became like a second home, and. a place where I found a deeper sense of self. I wanted to create something like that to help people the way that studio helped me. I began teaching yoga alongside my professional job as a High School English Teacher in Florida. And the dream of a studio always lived inside me. Flashforward to a life experience that moved me to Ohio where I continued teaching high school and yoga. I got married, had kids, and wanted to be home with them, so I stepped away from my high school teaching career, but kept my yoga teaching since it was so flexible as I was a mom of two young children. About a year after letting go of my career, the opportunity came to rent space from my father in law who owned a building in downtown Wapakoneta. So I took the chance and figured it out along the way. June 2nd will be our 7 year anniversary. We have grown an incredible community of Lightworkers -people who want to heal and do their own evolutionary work while understanding that their work also helps the collective to show up for themselves as well. We are all connected, so when one person heals, it sends a ripple of healing into the entire world. Community is a big part of what we do at Lightworker Yoga. It’s so much more than a studio with classes, it’s a community of empowered people empowering each other and helping each other along. It’s beautiful.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has not been a smooth road. The life of an entrepreneur never is. Yes, we are a yoga studio but we are also a small business. We took a big hit during and after Covid and the economy makes it challenging too at times. But, we focus on growth mindset and adapt to the changes so we can survive and continue to offer our amazing classes and space to our community. I believe that what we offer has the power to not just change one person’s life for the better, but also to make the world a better place.

As you know, we’re big fans of Lightworker Yoga. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
We specialize in BUTI MVMNT and all its modalities including, BUTI MVMNT, Sculpt, Bands, HotCore, Deep, and The Primal Flow. Two of our instructors are Advanced Instructors and we have an additional two Instructors. We will be hosting our very first training for BUTI MVMNT in October 2025 and Deep in March 2026.
We have Aerial and traditional classes like Hatha and Restorative. And we have recently welcomed on a new instructor for a high energy class called Pound. There truly is something for everyone at Lightworker Yoga. We host a myriad of workshops by our resident instructors as well as a few guest instructors from neighboring towns. We also offer retreats and healing appointments like Reiki and Somatic Movement.

What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
Wapakoneta, OH is such an amazing place to live. We have a thriving downtown community!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.lightworkeryoga.com
• Instagram: @yoga.lightworker
• Facebook: Lightworker Yoga