Today we’d like to introduce you to Ashley Smith.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
When I first walked into a yoga class, I had no idea it would eventually lead me to opening a yoga studio.
At the time, I was a mom of two young kids, carrying extra weight, struggling with anxiety, and honestly feeling pretty disconnected from myself. I wasn’t someone who saw myself as a “yoga person,” but something about the practice kept bringing me back.
Over time, yoga became so much more than movement. It challenged me physically, gave me tools to slow down mentally, and introduced me to a community that made me feel supported and seen. The changes were significant, I lost more than 50 pounds and eventually came off anxiety medication, but the biggest transformation wasn’t physical or mental, it was soulful. I found more patience, presence, confidence, and peace than I’d experienced in a long time.
As my own relationship with yoga grew, I started realizing how many people probably feel the same way I once did, intimidated, unsure they belong, or convinced yoga isn’t for them.
That’s really where Rising Tides Yoga came from.
I didn’t open the studio because I wanted to own a business, I opened it because I wanted to create the kind of space that changed my life. A place that feels welcoming instead of intimidating. A place where people can show up exactly as they are, whether they’re walking in for the first time, coming back after years away, looking for strength, community, healing, or simply an hour to breathe.
Today, Rising Tides is becoming exactly what I hoped it would be: a community built on the belief that yoga is for everybody and that transformation doesn’t have to look dramatic to be meaningful. We say often that a rising tide lifts all ships, and that really is the heart behind everything we do.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I don’t think building something meaningful is ever a completely smooth road and opening Rising Tides has been no exception.
Opening a yoga studio has been one of the hardest and most rewarding things I’ve ever done.
Rising Tides was built in the middle of real life; while working a full-time job, raising two active kids, managing a household, and trying to hold space for everything and everyone I care about. There were days I truly didn’t know if it would happen. Days where the numbers felt overwhelming, where the risk felt bigger than the dream, and where opening the doors felt very far away.
People see the studio now, but they don’t always see the late nights, the sacrifices, the uncertainty, the financial stress, or the moments of wondering if we were making the right decision.
Building something you care deeply about asks a lot of you.
But somewhere along the way, Rising Tides became bigger than me.
I’ve cried happy tears. I’ve been hugged after class. I’ve listened to stories of transformation, healing, and people finding pieces of themselves again. I’ve watched students encourage one another, celebrate one another, and create the kind of community I hoped existed when I first started dreaming about this place.
So no, it hasn’t been easy. There have absolutely been struggles.
But if you asked me whether I’d do it all again, every risk, every hard day, every unknown, the answer would be yes without hesitation.
Because what’s been created inside these walls has been worth more than I could ever put into words.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Professionally, I’m the Chief Communications Officer for a firm in Washington, DC, where I specialize in public affairs, strategic communications, public relations, and helping organizations communicate ideas that move people to action.
My career has taken a path I never could have predicted. I started in TV news, moved into the nonprofit world, and eventually into policy and nonprofit support, always centered around storytelling, advocacy, and helping people connect to something bigger than themselves.
At the same time, I own Rising Tides Yoga, and interestingly, I use those same communication skills here every single day. Whether it’s writing class readings, creating social content, building community, or shaping how people experience the studio, communication is at the heart of it all.
I originally got my degree in journalism because I had this very earnest, maybe a little naive, 20-year-old dream of changing the world. Back then I imagined that looking one way. I never pictured two jobs, owning a yoga studio, balancing family life, or building community through movement.
But what I’ve realized is I never stopped chasing that dream.
I just found a version of it that feels more meaningful and more aligned with who I am.
What I’ve learned through both my career and yoga is that so much of life comes back to alignment, not just in our bodies, but in our values, our minds, our work, and how we spend our time. It took me a long time to understand that.
What sets me apart is probably that I live in both worlds every day: strategy and soul, structure and creativity, communications and connection. I’m proud that I’ve been able to bring those things together in a way that helps people feel seen, supported, informed, and empowered, whether that’s in a boardroom, a community meeting, or on a yoga mat.
And honestly, that feels a lot like changing the world after all.
We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
I don’t actually think of myself as a natural risk taker.
People sometimes assume opening a yoga studio means you must love uncertainty or taking big leaps, but that’s never really been me. I’m thoughtful, I plan, and if I’m honest, I usually want to know exactly what I’m getting into before I commit.
Which makes opening Rising Tides one of the biggest risks I’ve ever taken.
I work a full-time job, raise two active kids, and was stepping into something completely new financially and emotionally. And this wasn’t happening in a vacuum, my husband already owns a small business, so we weren’t naïve about what entrepreneurship looks like. We knew the long hours, the uncertainty, the sacrifices, and the reality that small businesses ask a lot of the people behind them.
That almost made the decision harder, not easier.
Because choosing to open Rising Tides meant choosing to put two small businesses under one roof. It meant more risk, more responsibility, and believing we could carry both through the hard seasons.
There were definitely moments where I questioned if we should do it. Moments where I wondered if it was irresponsible or if the safer choice was to wait.
But my husband saw something in me that I couldn’t fully see in myself yet.
He supported me through every step and, if I’m being honest, sometimes gave me the push I needed when fear was talking louder than possibility. He reminded me that waiting until something feels completely safe often means never starting at all.
What I’ve learned is that risk isn’t about being fearless. It’s about deciding something matters enough to move forward despite uncertainty.
Opening Rising Tides taught me that bravery doesn’t always look bold. Sometimes it looks like trusting yourself. Sometimes it looks like trusting someone who believes in you. And sometimes it looks like building something together knowing exactly how hard the road may be and choosing it anyway.
I still wouldn’t call myself a risk taker. But I would say I’ve learned that some of the most meaningful things in life ask something of us before they give something back.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.risingtidesyoga.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rising_tides_yoga/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61581031937829
