Who’s Behind the Counter: Vicki Bannister and Alecia Flynn at Rolling Brook Yoga

Catonsville Patch:  How long have you been in business in Catonsville?

Vicki Bannister:  We opened Rolling Brook Yoga almost a year ago, at the end of May.

Patch:  Why did you choose Catonsville?

Alecia Flynn:  We both live here, and we both started teaching yoga out of our homes.  So we were developing our local student base out of our home studios.

Bannister:  I’ve been a resident of Catonsville for 26 years.  I raised my kids here and I was involved in the community through their activities.  After the kids were grown, I wanted to renew that sense of connection.

Flynn: We took some time deciding on this space; we kept coming back here though.

We feel a part of this neighborhood. A lot of our students walk here.

Patch:  What do you like about being in Catonsville?

Bannister:  Our students and teachers who aren’t from Catonsville often say that it is such a warm and welcoming place.

Flynn:  Plus, I think there are a lot of Catonsville residents who are into yoga.  With our farmer’s markets and small village, there is more of a focus on a healthy lifestyle.

Patch:  What services do you do?

Bannister:  We have yoga and pilates classes and workshops at all levels.

Flynn:  We also have yoga for smaller children and workshops for school-age children.  And we have introduced meditation and would like to expand that as our clients get more into it.

Patch:  Is there a particular style or school of yoga that you teach?

Flynn:  It is general hatha yoga.  We embrace the term “alignment-based yoga.”

Bannister:  We are not followers of a particular school but when we choose our teachers, we look for people who can lead our students into deeper body awareness.

Patch:  What is your busiest time of year?

Flynn:  Fall tends to be pretty busy.

Bannister:  Winter would be the more quiet time, but we had a lot of drop-ins this winter, which we welcome.                                             

Patch:  What’s one of the hardest things about your work?

Flynn:  To maintain a balance between my devotion to the business and to my family.

Bannister:  There’s nothing hard.  I’m doing what I really want to be doing and it’s my passion.

Flynn:  And her kids are all grown!

Patch:  What are you proud of?

Flynn:  It warms my heart to have even that one person come up and say, “I needed that,” or “I feel so much better.”  Or if they haven’t been here for a while and they come back and say, “I really missed my yoga.”  It’s not me, it’s the yoga.

Bannister: I have a couple of classes that are gentle yoga, very restorative, and just today, one of my students said, “I want to let you know that I’m really loving this.”  I have to pinch myself that after being in business management for over 25 years, I have been able to make this transition.  It’s huge.

Patch:  What’s your favorite thing about your work?

Bannister:  We both feel like we are constantly growing through our teaching.  I like the business end a lot, but I love the teaching.

Flynn:  That’s the part I love the most too, not just the teaching, but also seeking out new information to share with my students.

Patch:  Do you have any specials or loyalty programs for customers?

Flynn:  The first week of a session we offer free classes.  The next one will be May 29-June 3.  People can come into our classes at any time during the session and we will prorate the fee.

Bannister:  We give a 10 percent discount to students over 60.

Patch:  What is one thing you think is needed in the business community?

Bannister:  We’re always saying that a natural food market would be wonderful.

Flynn:  I’d love Frederick Road to be more pedestrian friendly.

Patch:  What's the best piece of advice that someone has given you when it comes to running a business? 

Flynn:  My Dad gave me a lot of good advice, but the most useful has been to plan, plan for everything.  We didn’t like writing the business plan, but we did it, and we still refer to it. Planning for the long term—that I got from my Dad.

Bannister:  Be clear about your intentions, but listen to what your clients have to say.  That’s what my former employer taught me.

Patch:  What are you looking forward to?

Bannister:  In honor of our first year anniversary, we are doing more community outreach.  Our first fund-raiser will be for the Catonsville Emergency Food Ministry, which supplies food, used clothing, and even financial help with utility bills for people in need.

Flynn:  We’re just starting out; we’re looking forward to everything!