By Avery Wood
Bronwyn Ison, owner and founder of Evolve Yoga in La Quinta, has accomplished many things; she is a TV and live event host, and her yoga studio has been recognized by many of the valley’s publications and news networks, including Palm Springs Life Magazine, Desert Health News, Coachella Valley Weekly, KESQ, and KMIR, with Palm Springs life recognizing Evolve as “Best of the Best” and Coachella Valley Weekly recognizing it as “Best Yoga Studio.” In addition, she was chosen as a Lululemon ambassador and was named as an “Action Hero” by Women’s Health Magazine. Ison’s latest venture is expanding her yoga practice to an online platform.
On bronwnyison.com, clients who want to explore “yoga, wellness, and balanced living” can do so from the comfort of their own home, on the road, or anywhere convenient for them. Ison was inspired to start this new venture when some of her clients from out of town told her that they had nothing like her classes near their homes and wished they could take her classes online. “I have approximately 50+ classes on there that range anywhere from beginning yoga to more advanced classes… there’s gentle yoga, there’s restorative yoga, there’s Vinyasa, all levels, there’s yoga for trimming and toning, yoga for weight loss, yoga for balance… they’re all categorized so that [clients] don’t have to do a lot of searching around,” she says. “The great thing about the online is that they can do back to back classes , they can choose the class that they’re in the mood for, they don’t have to wait for a scheduled time at a studio, and they can do it in the privacy of their own home, they can do it in their office… on the go.”
What Ison thinks sets her studio apart is her concentration on “overall wellness and balance inspiration that I think a lot of people are looking for.” As Ison was beginning this venture, she asked for feedback to determine how to create the best online content. “I surveyed a lot of people so that I would be able to deliver exactly the service that they were looking for. So I went based upon my current students and what they had to say… and what’s different… you don’t always have the same class every time and I’m really there to help inspire people.” Ison says that many of her clients that were not able to visit the Coachella Valley this season have expressed gratitude at being able to have her yoga classes nonetheless. She also has some clients that both attend her classes and subscribe online. “It’s really great because it helps adjust people to what their lifestyle is… still being able to get their yoga and that work out in that they’re looking for.”
One of the objectives of this project is to make the classes accessible to busy people who might want to do yoga but have limited time. According to a press release, this service was “developed to support the needs of men and women who desire to achieve balance, optimal health and mental clarity, Bronwyn Ison online yoga classes are a simple, on-demand solution, accessible anywhere, anytime. The monthly subscription service offers yoga classes for all levels from beginner to advanced. For the on-the-go working professional to the traveler at heart, and for busy, time pressed moms or college students, the online classes impart a message of inspiration while working to reduce stress which is the catalyst for many illnesses.”
Ison has had a good national response, partly due to the many places from which tourists come to the valley. “It’s all about who people are going to identify with. If they feel like they are going to identify with me and they like my classes then they’re going to stay on with me,” Ison says.
In addition to the in person and online classes, Ison has a column here in CV Weekly where she discusses more aspects of balanced living. She also has a youtube channel where she breaks down yoga moves and demonstrates how to get in and out of the position.
The subscription service is $15 a month after a 7 day free trial and can be accessed at bronwynison.com or e-volveyoga.com.
