Name: Kate Murphy
Family: Jim (husband), Garrett (5yo) & Bennett (3yo)
Hometown: Fort Worth
Age: 38
Company: Nanda Yoga
Position: Owner/Founder
How do you choose to give back to the community? We offer free kids and family yoga classes throughout the community as well as donate back to our schools where we have Nanda Programs.
What advice would you give to yourself at age 15? To live with no regrets… each decision that you make takes you one step closer to being the person you are meant to be.
Where did your first paycheck come from? I was a children’s gymnastics coach at West Austin Youth Association (WAYA) throughout college
What other profession would you like to try? I would love to be a Pediatric Occupational Therapist
Tell us about an influential person in your life. How did they influence you and why are they important? I don’t have just one person that influenced me… my entire family holds a special piece of my heart and each of them helped to shape the person that I am today. My grandparents and parents always provided me with opportunities to travel, grow and learn. They always encouraged me to be kind, loving and passionate. They showed me how to work hard, be true to myself and most importantly they loved me fiercely. Now I am grown and have a family of my own. My husband and sons are my daily inspiration. They encourage me to continue growing this dream and provide me with unwavering support and love.
What did you want to be when you grew up? I wanted to be a child psychiatrist and work at the Container Store
What movie, TV show, book, stage play or video game influenced you growing up? I didn’t really have one in particular.
Tell us one thing about yourself that most people would be surprised to find out? I used to run a hostel at the foot of Mt. Blanc in Chamonix, France or that I spent a summer as a chef on a boat through the canals of Holland and our boat sunk at the end of our journey.
What is your ideal vacation? Being in the mountains. There is something about being close to nature that restores my soul. I love the active, healthy and chill vibes of the mountains. It’s a beautiful balance that provides you with a little bit of everything you need to create the perfect vacation.
Favorite food or restaurant? My favorite restaurant is either Tokyo Café or Japanese Palace.
Favorite drink? If it’s a grown-up drink it would be Ranch Water, if it’s a PG drink it would have to be a Blue Bell vanilla milkshake.
Favorite movie: One of my all-time faves is “The Big Chill”
Favorite sports team: Texas Longhorns
Favorite song: Me and Bobby McGee by Janis Joplin
Tell us about your prop? I brought a picture of my family along with some of my favorite kids yoga props. My family has walked beside me on this journey of opening the yoga studio and my boys are the heart and soul of this operation. I included some yoga props because at Nanda we teach kids to PLAY yoga, after all that is the language of a child. And I think it is so important to showcase what we really do in classes. They are fun, energetic and creative.
Children’s yoga is all about teaching children to PLAY yoga! Our classes are filled with exciting adventures, creativity and imagination. We provide various props for children to explore that helps them understand the basic foundations of mindfulness, movement and meditation. We use pom poms to strengthen our feet, singing bowls to help us feel present, Wobbel Boards for balance and finally feathers, Hobberman Spheres, and pinwheels to practice our breath. These are just a few of my favorite props that we utilize in our classes and they help tell a little piece of our yoga studio’s story.