We had the good fortune of connecting with Janet Stone and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Janet, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?

What was your thought process behind starting your own business?
It was more of a natural evolution away from the film industry and toward a life I could raise my two daughters in. One that allowed me time to mother, bring them around the world, and surround them with loving, mindful people.

Social media impact: how does your business help the community or world?
My mission is to remind people that they are enough as they are, that all of the striving and pushing and endless attempts to “get there” can be set down. That we already have all that we are looking for within.

Risk-taking: how do you think about risk, what role has taking risks played in your life/career?
For me, it’s more of a risk to not lean out, leap, sell everything, and run toward life, the heart’s calling.

If you are a parent, what do you think is the most important thing you’ve done as a parent in terms of the impact on your children?

Model a whole, complete, loving, and messy human being and show them it’s okay.

What is the most important factor behind your success/ the success of your brand?
A bit cliche but entirely true: AUTHENTICITY

How to know whether to keep going or to give up?
Giving up is not an option…one just places one foot in front of the, one breath before the next.

Work-life balance: how has your balance changed over time? What do you think about the balance?
About 20 years in, my children were older and I’d say it’s where I’m finding more balance and the pandemic sure forced that exploration.

What makes you happy? Why?
Contentment. Because it’s the moment you lift your head up and see all that is already here, what we have in each breath, in each friendship and connection.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I came of age on some wonderful, wild hippie land in Northern California. Mine was a childhood spent rescuing orphaned animals (everything from raccoons to deer to birds to snakes), milking goats, eating homemade tofu, cleaning cages, baling hay, swimming naked, dancing freely, and feeling naturally connected to both the land I grew up on and the broader earth it was a part of—an experience that informs my life and my teachings to this day. A move to Oregon expanded our farming life and its accompanying attention to—and care for—the earth. It’s also where I immersed myself further into dance and became the lead dancer at a company. Our next move to Boulder, Colorado introduced me to all manners of moving over this great planet: mountain biking, snowboarding, windsurfing, and motorcycle riding. It also led me to my meditation teacher, Maharaji. I took work as a lifeguard and an EMT on an ambulance and continued my environmental sustainability pursuits. After a year-long solo move to Paris introduced me to late nights, museums, and pastries, I found myself back in Colorado to care for my vibrant 45-year-old father, who was battling brain cancer. The cancer won, taking my guiding light. My response was to run off to Hollywood where I spent nearly a dozen inspiring years in film and TV production, writing scripts, and working for the company* that made Seinfeld and Larry David’s Curb Your Enthusiasm. When I wasn’t working, I was connecting with, and healing, the loss of my father through mountain biking, surfing, and—above all—time on my meditation mat.
After nearly a decade of meditation as my primary practice, I took a break from Hollywood in 1996 and headed out on a life-changing solo journey around the world. Egypt, Southeast Asia, New Zealand, Nepal, Fiji, and India were a few stops along this sojourn of profound personal transformation. India, in particular, was where I found my greatest connection. It was there that I was able to explore the birthplace of my grandfather and several generations before him. I’d grown up hearing stories of this wildly foreign land and placing my own two feet on the ground there helped make sense of where I’d come from… though it didn’t prepare me at all for the internal seismic shift that took place in the halls of the Shivananda ashram, or wandering the land guided by every interaction.
Returning to Los Angeles, I steeped myself in the community that included Bryan Kest, Max Strom, and other teachers centered around Yoga Works, Sacred Living, and the dance home above Radio Shack (yep, it was that long ago).
Flash forward to my single mom life, raising my two daughters and cultivating a rich yoga sangha (community). I couldn’t have fathomed the power community could have—and could create—in its willingness to set down defenses and performances and to show up fully and courageously, again and again.
It is my life’s work to honor what has come before me and to offer the teachings with all the integrity, joy, and love I have.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Paseo Miramar hiking trail, Malibu Seafood, Little Dume beach

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Max Strom to waking up a part of me I didn’t see and nourishing this part and setting it free into the world with love and encouragement.

As a teacher, I make the effort as often as possible. I place myself into the hands of wisdom keepers of a different practice. So whether a hip-hop class, art form, or a South Indian martial arts I step toward it humbly and wholeheartedly.

And deep bows to Sadguru Swamy Hanuman Das and his senior teachers. Kalariyil Dharmikam Ashram

Website: www.janetstoneyoga.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/janetstoneyoga/?hl=en

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stoneyogaschool/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@janetstoneyoga

Image Credits
Images by Sara Davis: 2021-New-Year-Haramara-Retreat-Sara_254 2021-Path-Of-Devotion-Haramara-Sara_619 2023_NY-Haramara-Janet-Sara-Retreat_502 Image by Pete Longworth: (C)PeteLongworth-JanetStone-Waterfall-050 Image by Paul Hendrik: IMG_4671 Image by Nina Konjini: IMG_5948

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutLA is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.