We sat down for an interview with the owner and founder of Black Dog Asana, Maggie Franz.

What is Black Dog Asana?
Black Dog Asana is a comprehensive online yoga resource center.  We pull together articles, videos, write and post our own articles, review all kinds of awesome yoga products, as well as list companies and products that are doing awesome things in the yoga community.

When did you launch Black Dog Asana?
We’re a pretty young website and company.  We launched just a few months ago and are excited about our growth and the excitement around Black Dog Asana that has occurred over this short period of time.

Why did you start Black Dog Asana?
I’ve always wanted to own my own business and I had tried earlier with selling handmade gifts, but it didn’t go very far.  So I picked myself up and asked myself “What do you really love doing?  What are you passionate about?”, and the answer was yoga.  I want to share my passion for yoga.

What do you like most about yoga?
That’s such a hard question because I love so many different things about yoga – that’s the beauty of it.  If I had to pick one, it would be its ability to ground you, to bring you back into yourself without the baggage of stress or anxiety, worry or fear.  Yoga has done so much for me.  It’s really shown me my true self and the person I’m able to be without the grip of fear or anxiety.

For you what is the most difficult aspect of yoga?
It’s funny, yoga is very demanding physically but I can handle that aspect.  For me it’s the mental aspect, clearing the mind that is always difficult.  I’m almost always fighting monkey mind – when your mind is jumping from one thing to another like a monkey jumps from branch to branch.  I’m always thinking about the next thing that I have to do for the site or the next errand I need to run.  So for me acknowledging those thoughts and letting them go, and being present in the moment is the hard part.

What made you want to be a teacher?
I’ve always  had a passion for helping people and for teaching people.  I had played field hockey during high school and then for a season in college – the latter I didn’t enjoy very much and came home upset that I would no longer have the sport in my life.  I started assistant coaching a middle school team. then helping to run my alma matter’s indoor program and at that same time I became a certified ski instructor and started working teaching children.  I’m hard pressed to find something more rewarding than seeing the joy on a students face when they realize that they can do something.  Now that I love yoga so  much I want to begin to teach and help them share in my passion.

What are your hopes or goals for Black Dog Asana?
I have high hopes for Black Dog Asana.  I want the website to continue to grow and become one of the leading places people go for information about yoga.  I also want the site to have a teachers portal and to be a resource for other teachers as well.  I’d like it to be the platform to launch and sell future projects from and to just continue to spread the love and joy that is in yoga.  I also want to at some time down the road have a physical location for Black Dog Asana.  I’d like to have  my own studio that is on the larger size and can offer more than classes and workshops.  But I see that being a bit further down the road and making me work on my patience in the meantime – I’m one of those people that want to run before they can walk.

Can you tell us a little more about some of your upcoming projects?
Well the one I have posted on our homepage already.  I’m working on pulling together a healthy superfood inspired cookbook for the holidays – people have resigned themselves to gaining weight during this time of year and I’m not OK with that.  Aside from the cookbook, I’m working on writing a children’s book series that I would love to have done and published in the new year.  Of course it will star Murphy but there are some other adorable characters as well.  I’ve got my first yoga class that I’ll be teaching in my community in January and am working on picking up other classes as well.  Like I said earlier, its hard for me to turn my  mind off – I’ll always have some kind of new project that I’m working on.

Are you planning on obtaining any more certifications?
Of course!  I love learning and I want to know as much as I can about yoga, about teaching yoga, meditation and lots more.  I’m currently exploring what my next step will be but for the time being I’d like to get some classes under my belt before I actually take that next step.  I believe that you should never stop learning.

Maggie would like to thank everyone for taking the time to read this interview and encourages anyone who would like to know more about Black Dog Asana, yoga or anything else to get in touch with her.  She loves to hear about other people’s stories.

Founder, Maggie Franz