Meet Angel Papadakis: Owner/Operator of Kefi Yoga

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

Hi Angel, how do you think about risk?
Without risks you seldom get the rewards you seek! For me, not taking any risks would most likely lead to regret of not taking on the adventure in the first place for fear of what it might bring. Following the tenets of my yoga practice, it’s about enjoying the process and not being too attached to a certain outcome. That’s not to say I don’t have goals. Goals are important, however, I believe that as you embark on your journey being mindful that your path may digress from where you thought you were going to go and that’s ok. The key is to enjoy the path.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
After graduating law school and practicing law in LA and San Francisco for a few years, I wanted a change. The legal world was stressful and contentious. I found the corporate environment stifling. I grew up in my family’s Greek dinner house where every night was like hosting a party. Throughout my youth and teen years, I also trained in ballet and contemporary dance studios and choreographed in and around the greater Los Angeles area. These were more creative, fulfilling environments for my personality. I never felt truly authentic in the law firm lifestyle. After half a decade amongst blue blazers with gold buttons and a couple of children, I needed to heal my body and mind. I started practicing yoga more diligently than ever before and decided to obtain my teaching certification. I love the positivity cultivated in the yoga studio and helping others find that in their bodies and minds. I worked for a chain studio and although I loved teaching in the studio, I saw the same stifling corporate conditions weighing on the students and instructors there. During the pandemic, I and all the instructors I knew were laid off. With this extra time, I started weighing and balancing how I could provide students and instructors with a better experience that what I had found in pretentious studios throughout Los Angeles. I’ve learned that when people go to a studio to take a yoga class, they are looking for genuine connection and inspiration. At Kefi Yoga, we provide that. We are concerned with caring for the well-being of our students and making them feel comfortable so they can explore the full potential of their yoga practice both mentally and physically. We have already fostered a great sense of community just by our donation based offerings during the pandemic in public parks, private homes and other places. Our goal is to continue to do this and build on it. We are currently on the precipice of opening our doors to our small space in Torrance and are excited to face the new challenges there. The trend now more than ever when it comes to yoga studios is the sterilization of yoga teachings by corporate entities that provide large facilities, luxury amenities, and in some instances even disallow the use of Sanskrit in their classes (the ancient Indo-European language of India which was used in the foundation of yoga teachings). All of these factors tend to limit the capacity for intimate connections among the students and between the students and their instructors. I think it’s more important than ever to support small businesses in this post-pandemic society where people are craving social interaction and unique local experiences to foster the community’s overall sense of well-being and resilience. We want to be one of the catalysts for that in our community. Further, we want to serve all aspects of our community from the very young to the very old. We will offer children’s and family yoga. We will have classes that truly work with beginners of all ages to allow them to approach the practice and have individualized instruction in ways that aren’t available in corporate classes.

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.
I would focus on providing them an experience that was unique to the South Bay. The geographic beauty of the coastline and beaches from Torrance all the way around the Peninsula and into San Pedro would definitely be the focal point. I would also take them to some great individually owned restaurants I know of here in San Pedro, including J. Trani’s and Sebastian’s. It’s rare to find these non-corporate dinner houses where the owners are in the kitchen cooking you amazing food and serving you with exceptional hospitality – giving you an experience you can’t have anywhere else. The Botanical Gardens in Rolling Hills is another gorgeous and unique experience I’d like to share with them as well as the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach. I would also take them Kefi Yoga of course for an amazing mental and physical experience on their yoga mats! Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My family, close friends, dear students of mine and fellow yoga instructors Sara Krish, Joseph Reyes and Chinatsu Kambayashi deserve the credit for this new endeavor. Throughout the COVID pandemic that shut down yoga studios throughout Los Angeles, displacing students and instructors, and putting many individually owned studios out of business, we would meet and practice yoga together. It was my saving grace. We were able to form community and a bond that created the beginning of Kefi Yoga. Without them, I certainly would not be opening my studio this month.

Website: www.kefiyoga.com

Instagram: @kefiyoga

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

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/kefi-yoga-torrance?osq=Private+Yoga+Instructor

Image Credits
Simon Ford, @qedimagery