The Power Of A Name…

When I decided to start my wellness business, I knew in my heart of heart that it would be named Yoga & Honey! So for me this was one of the easier business decisions I’ve had to make, but I will say, naming my programs, membership, and trainings now that has been more challenging.

I’ve always loved names and words, I find there is so much beauty and magic in a name, and if there is a name with a story…even better! It’s the story behind the name that can bring it to life, give it personality, character, and depth. The story behind the name allows you a glance behind the curtain, it gives you a step within the inner circle; to know the story you become a part of it! Here is the story behind Yoga & Honey.

When I was a kid I had this record called Hugga Bunch - a day full of hugs. It was based on the popular 80’s toys & tv special, the Hugga Bunches. Now I don’t remember much of the story from the record, except one very specific piece of information that has stuck with me for literally 40 years…The main human character in the story was named Melissa (probably why I listened to the thing so many times, lol) and within her adventure with the Hugga Bunches she learns the meaning of her name! She is told the name Melissa is Greek for honey or bee - honeybee. In my child mind, I was now Melissa the honeybee, lol.

Well now, as soon as I heard that, it stuck like the stickiest honey you’ve ever touched! Not only is honey amazing, it conveys this sweet, warm, soft feeling, and the Bee is one of the most magnificent and vital creature for our planet. Needless to say, I’ve always had a resonance with the word honey & bee!

And another wee step inside the circle - honey & butter on fresh toast is one of my all time comfort foods, mainly because if brings back visceral memories of standing in my Grandma’s kitchen. I miss her dearly.

So this is my Honey story…now the Yoga story…

In my early twenties, to say I was lost would be an understatement. I was young and trying to figure it all out, I had just moved to a new part of the city, started a new job, I was secretly battling pretty bad depression & anxiety, but I was ready to make a shift to get back to a healthier place. I was running daily and going to the gym and one day a dear friend (Hi Kim :)) suggested casually, ‘Hey, you should try yoga. It’s like dance but not dance.’ Kim and I had danced together as kids…well we had a few years of Tap dance together, she was a beautiful dancer, I was okay at best, lol. But I loved the idea of flowing movement in my body so I gave yoga a shot! Lucky for me this was the early 2000’s in Vancouver and yoga was just starting to pop off! Studios were everywhere!

After my first class, I remember walking out into the fresh air, the sky looked bluer, the trees greener, my body felt fluid and easeful and my breath moved in and out without stopping and constricting in my chest…this was new! After that I was hooked, and it wasn’t one style of yoga that got me it was ALL of them. It was the community, the teachers, the physical work, the breath, the heart, the quieting of my busy, critical, self-harming mind, it was the blossoming of love and tenderness towards myself, it was the Yoga working as I continued to show up. Yoga quite literally saved my life.

The name Yoga & Honey is a name filled with the deepest of gratitudes - gratitude for the little girl who had a record with her name in it, gratitude for memories of a love filled kitchen and warm honey on bread, gratitude for friends and simple words that change everything, gratitude for my teachers, my students, my Sadhana, and gratitude for the Yoga that has shaped, healed, and transformed my life. Yoga & Honey brings together two very important & magical times of my life, and I am so grateful to share it forward through my business, my offers, my service.

So there we have it my friends, the story woven behind Yoga & Honey ~ I truly hope you’ve enjoyed and find inspiration when choosing a name for your next creation. Next week I’m digging into the process I take when choosing a name that doesn’t come through so clearly! Like when I named my membership HIVE!!!

In gratitude,

xo

Melissa