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

Hi Cameo, how do you think about risk?
When taking risks, you have to keep a focus on the potential gains. Yes, you can fail, but what if you succeed? When you dream big, a lot of people will tell you it’s impossible, or to wait, but life is too short to wait or to doubt yourself. The bigger the dreams, the bigger the rewards. You will never do anything amazing if you’re too afraid to try. I took a risk moving to a new state with no job, no place to live, but a strong determination to make something of myself, and if I had listened to everyone who was telling me to wait a little longer, to be realistic, I would have never been able to achieve the goals I set out for myself.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
We an Infrared Hot Yoga Studio, in Westlake Village CA. We are woman owned, by myself and two other amazing women. We believe in creating a space where every body is welcome to come and feel safe, vulnerable and seen.

We faced incredible challenges in our first week of being open. A pipe burst in our ceiling which flooded our entire studio, causing thousands of dollars in damages. We had to close our doors after only 5 days, and stayed closed for 3 months as we made repairs to our space. Though this was a very challenging time, we really leaned into our community for support. We jump started online content, we created an online retail store, and made sure to stay connected with everyone through social media. We received so many messages from our yogis who said no matter what they would stick it out with us, and they did. That really made a difference, it let us know that this community needed us, and that kept us pushing forward.

Some main lessons I have taken away from this, is to release control. Everything will work out, and though it can feel like it’s impossible for things to work out, it always does in the end. Another lesson is to accept help from others. Sometimes we get so headstrong and determined to figure things out on our own, that we can become burnt out. We must allow those around us to help us, support us, and lend helping hands. We all win in the end.

I want people to know how amazing, and life changing a yoga practice can be for you. You do not need to be flexible, or able to touch your toes. Yoga is made for every body and every age. You can start yoga in your 70’s, and you can be a professional athlete who lifts hundreds of pounds. We have a little saying in the yoga community, “if you can breathe you can do yoga” because it’s true. Yoga is nothing more than breathing through a physical practice. If you do nothing more than sit on your mat and breathe for a full hour, you have done yoga.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Whenever someone comes to visit me here in LA, the first place I take them is to a beautiful hike I love in Malibu. It has incredible views of the mountains, the ocean, and on clear days you can see the islands. I love to be outdoors so that’s what my guests see too. Some of my favorite places to gather with friends is Crossroads in WeHo. They have incredible food, that most people could never guess is vegan! If you don’t eat vegan while in LA you’re missing out. We have some of the absolute best places to eat here. California is also known for our amazing beaches, and point dume is my a place favorite place to bring people. You will see dolphins, whales, maybe even a few celebrities. Ojai is also another beautiful place, the people are kind, the energy there is so peaceful and they have beautiful hot springs. We truly have it all here!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Without the support of our amazing yoga community, and all of our staff members, we would not be where we are today. We started from a small space we sublet, to building our own state of the art facility because of the community who believed in us, our vision, and our goals.

Website: Www.theyogaritual.com

Instagram: Theritual_wlv

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.