Meet Anna Ferguson of World Peace Yoga and Our Collective Heart

Today we’d like to introduce you to Anna Ferguson.

Hi Anna, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I attended my first yoga class in college with a friend. I was guided through a series of challenging movements and poses that culminated with lying in stillness. I remember feeling a deep sense of peace, not anything I had previously experience through “exercise.” It was the deep peace and relaxation at the end of each class that brought me back to the mat and eventually led me to pursuing a yoga teacher training course to solidify my practice and go deeper. At the time, I had no intention to teach yoga. I was curious and knew there was more to this practice than I was receiving in my 1-hour class, so I dove in, and I am so glad I did!

Being introduced to and the consistent practice of meditation, yoga, and mindful living has made and continues to make the greatest impact on my life. It is hard to imagine what my life might be like without my meditation or yoga practice. Without a doubt I have less stress and more joy as a result of these practices.

Today, my yoga practice is like brushing my teeth. It’s something I do every day without question in different forms, not just through the poses. This was/is the true value for me in participating in a yoga teacher training course. The bonus is the ability to share and guide others.

It was the overall calm, peacefulness, and joy that the practice of yoga, meditation, and a plant-based lifestyle brought to my life that inspired me to co-found World Peace Yoga studio over 18 years ago. I also founded Our Collective Heart, a 501c3 non-profit dedicated to enhancing mind-body-soul health and living a life of connection, fostering liberation through compassion for all.

While yoga and the message of world peace continue to grow throughout the world, there are still many people who have yet to experience the profound and healing nature of yoga. This is why I wrote the book World Peace Yoga: Yoga for People Who Breathe and created the non-profit, Our Collective Heart—an effort to share, make accessible, and connect more people to these nourishing practices.

Currently I live in Cincinnati, Ohio with my eleven-year-old son Noah. I teach weekly classes online and in Clifton at World Peace Yoga as well through the University of Cincinnati.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Every road has bumps along the way. The one thing consistent in life is change. I believe it is our personal outlook and how we handle the changes life presents that make the process of change a challenge based in fear, lack, or defeat or a challenge where there is an opportunity to learn and do something differently from a place of joy and inspiration. I have certainly experienced lows and highs in my business and personal life. I do my best to embrace challenges with ease and patience over stress and frustration, however no one is perfect, and we all have our moments.

I do credit my strong sense of purpose, passion, and intention, as well as the community of people I surround myself with for the ability to rise above the challenges and difficulties of working in a competitive, aggressive, and high stress culture. This allows me to maintain a greater sense of calm and peace and live more authentically and from the heart.

Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
The practices of yoga are for any living breathing body. The only requirement for yoga practice is to breathe. You don’t have to look, dress, or be any way but yourself. This is your practice, your choice, your consent. You are invited to come as you are, allow for pause, and be open to change. The practices of yoga have the ability to move our lives in a positive way, deepening awareness and mindfulness, and it is important that all are welcome and have access. This is what we mean when we say we offer, “yoga for people who breathe.”

Created and operating in Cincinnati on Ludlow Ave. since 2005, World Peace Yoga is a modern yoga studio inspired by ancient wisdom and practices. We allow for evolution and growth, not perpetuating systems of violence and exclusion or old paradigms, traditions, ideologies, lineages, and philosophies rooted in oppression. We allow for fluidity, nuance, and being part of emerging conversations to create a kinder culture and more peaceful world.

Our Collective Heart provides educational opportunities to improve all aspects of human health and living an embodied life via a variety of activities, experiences, and study connected to physical, mental, and spiritual well-being, fostering compassionate, sustainable, and nourishing communities for the benefit of all beings and the earth.

I am elated to share that Our Collective Heart has officially launched two self-paced yoga courses for people interested in deepening their yoga practice on their own time, schedule, and budget. Make sure to check out the Compassion for All Yoga Teacher Training certification and Yoga for the Common Good course.

Special offerings include:

**Compassion for All Yoga Teacher Training for 200-hour Certification
Begin your journey to become a certified yoga teacher with our heart-centered, self-paced training offered through Our Collective Heart for only $450 (payment plans available). This compassionate and transformative program is available fully online giving you the flexibility to learn and grow from anywhere, whether you’re just starting or deepening your practice. More details here: https://ourcollectiveheart.org/compassion-for-all/

**Yoga for the Common Good: Relational Activist Training
Ignite your passion and inner warrior. Connect, slow down, let go, and live authentically. This training explores yoga on and off the mat to activate the common good. More info here: https://ourcollectiveheart.org/compassion-for-all/

**FREEdom Month of Yoga
Interested in letting go of stress and bringing more peace and calm into your life? Sign up for our FREEdom Month of Yoga – 30 days of FREE unlimited classes including mindfulness practices such as meditation, yoga basics, vinyasa flow, and yin-restorative yoga. Offered both in studio + online. Link to sign up to FREEdom Month of Yoga: https://worldpeaceirl.com/world-peace-yoga/first-month-free/

We also offer weekly community/free/donation-based classes, such as the weekly Yoga at Burnet Woods and Trailside Nature Center.

We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
The biggest risk for me is to NOT be myself and live authentically. Operating a small business and non-profit is not easy and a risk within itself, but for me personally, I think the bigger risk is doing work that depletes my energy simply for a paycheck. It is important for me to feel inspired and motivated through the work that I do and in my day-to-day life to create a kinder, gentler, and more peaceful world. Being of service and making choices in line with my morals and values often goes against the grain, but I’d rather risk being different and living authentically than sacrifice my values.

Pricing:

• First 30 days FREE at World Peace Yoga
• Receive a 200-hour Yoga Certification for $450 through Our Collective Heart-Compassion For All Yoga Teacher Training
• Free Community Yoga every Saturday at 11:00 am at Burnet Woods/Trailside Nature Center
• For World Peace Yoga to both sustain and thrive, your financial participation is deeply appreciated so we are able to continue, for years to come to inspire people to connect with their most authentic self, provide wonderful teachers, ongoing weekly classes and free community classes, special events, and more. That being said, we realize that not everyone has the budget for yoga classes. If you find our rates out of your budget, please email us for financial accommodation. It is part of our practice to make yoga accessible to all.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://worldpeaceirl.com/world-peace-yoga/first-month-free/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/worldpeaceyoga
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/worldpeaceyogah
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@yogaforpeoplewhobreathe
• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/user/31c3fxubpowlqpp6k43blnbjq6mq
• Other: https://ourcollectiveheart.org/compassion-for-all/ , Insight Timer (Free Guided Meditations with Anna Ferguson): https://insighttimer.com/annafergusonpeace