I had just started working at lululemon in Chicago when Troy and his brother Ryan came into my store and we instantly started talking about yoga. They were both in the middle of yoga teacher training at Yogaview and I was deciding between there and another studio, which ultimately they convinced me that Yogaview was the best (shoutout to Claire Mark & Quinn Kearney for making us the teachers we are today). For over the next year we ran into eachother in yoga classes at Yogaview (I flowed in the row behind him & was in awe of his practice EVERY time) and we followed one another on social media. Troy was the hot handstand yogi man I always wanted, but didn’t think existed. After a few heartbreaks and getting my pup Benito...that same night (1-29-15) we ran into each other again at a yoga event called Vibe Up. We stared at each other from across the hotel and finally spoke and hugged. Truly in that moment, I felt such a deep connection to him and knew he was something special. So, for the first time in my life I made the first move and messaged him on FB asking if he’d like to teach yoga at lululemon (of course I had alterior motives lol). When he responded, he said yes and asked if he could take me out sometime. Our first date 2-5-15 we spent 2 hours talking & shoveling my car out of 5 ft of snow. I was so impressed by his willingness to help me, that I paid for lunch at this cute French restaurant in Lincoln Park. His brilliant intellect shocked me and we sat and talked for hours (& if you know Troy that is one of his least favorite things to do ha!) But we had so many similar interests, we both couldn’t believe it!

I first met Ellery in 2014, when my brother, Ryan, and I walked in to a lululemon. I was looking to buy a new yoga mat, as I had just started a yoga teacher training at Yogaview in Lincoln Park, Chicago. I noticed Ellery working there almost immediately. She had come up to us asking if we needed help. She was interested in doing a YTT herself. We told her that Yogaview was by far the best studio in the area for practicing and learning how to teach. We left the store having said that we would hope to see each other around. I recall telling my brother that we need to hang out with the girls from lululemon, Halstead, in order for me to get to know Ellery better. Ryan worked at the lululemon off Rush street. Weeks and months passed by, and on occasion I would see Ellery at Yogaview. We had remembered each other from our first meeting, and had since followed one another on Instagram. We’d like each other’s photos and that was about it, until the night of the first VibeUp event at the Godfrey hotel. I was with my brother supporting him in his live art. Ellery arrived that night, and I went up to her to say hi. She supposedly had caught me checking her out from across the lounge, and I won’t deny it. She had left that night saying goodbye and we hugged. I got a message from her the following weekend, asking me to teach her handstands and teach the community class at lululemon. I responded to her the next day saying I would love to help her learn handstands and I would teach the class. She gave me her number. I asked her out soon after, but her car was buried in snow. I helped dig her car out and she offered to buy me lunch. We ate at Le Pain in Lincoln park, and talked the entire time finding many common interests. The following day I asked her to come celebrate my sister’s birthday party at Summer House, and we ended up kissing for our first time after the party. I taught my first ever yoga class the next day and since then we have been together.