Conversations with Rebecca Rankin

Today we’d like to introduce you to Rebecca Rankin. 

Hi Rebecca, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers.
I graduated with a degree in architecture from the University of Michigan and right before graduating, received a job offer out in San Francisco to work for a large corporate firm. It wasn’t long after taking that job that I just wasn’t satisfied. And to be completely truthful. I wasn’t satisfied even in college studying architecture. I was stressed and overwhelmed and yet, I chose to ignore the signs of discontent. I suffered migraines, I would be on the phone with my mother all the time in tears. I was overwhelmed with these feelings of uncertainty. Yet, I was going through the motions. I thought it was what I should do. Graduate from a good college, get a good paying job, and live a good life. And I was wrong. That formula didn’t work for me. 

I moved to San Francisco straight out of college. I remember I couldn’t wait. I was excited and was eager to jump into my career. And did I ever. I worked long hours on the weekends. I was in my early twenties at the time and I remember thinking “I live in this amazing city and here I am in an office on the weekend. And I’m surrounded by my colleagues who were in their 30s, 40s, 50s who are here overworking too – and I don’t want that for myself then and not as I got older. 

Now at the same time, I was learning who to navigate stress, mood swings, and feelings of overwhelm. I was learning to cope with the stressful demands of work, the stresses of being in a new city across the country from where I grew up, trying to make friends, and honestly just figure out what being an adult was. While at the architecture firm, I recall a colleague of mine suggesting that I try yoga as a way to cope with stress, which I at first brushed off thinking I didn’t need help dealing with stress and overwhelm. 

Then finally a friend of mine convinced me to go to yoga with him and so I decided to give yoga a try. Now at the time, this was the early 2000s, and still back then, there was a yoga studio in every neighborhood of San Francisco. So, I tried them all out and finally, I took a hot yoga class that was just the right thing that I was after. 

And it’s like the floodgates opened and I had this huge awakening. That this was more than just destressing or improving my relationship with my body. It was much deeper. It’s like I met my true self for the first time. I uncovered my true nature, I removed blocks, I awakened my intuition, and I was hooked. 

I started practicing yoga daily. I began prioritizing my well-being and opting out of going to parties and leaning towards the yoga community that I had become a part of. After a few years, I decided to go to yoga teacher training. I quit my career and my path to becoming a licensed architect. And it was this huge relief. I knew that my I just couldn’t fake it anymore. I couldn’t deny the fact that I was miserable working long hours in an office and my work brought me no joy. 

When I first signed up for my training which was a 9-week long intensive training down in Los Angeles I honestly, had no intention of teaching at first. I just wanted to learn more. I had this insatiable appetite to learn more and deepen my practice. And I knew that I couldn’t go back to working as an architect. I was only 25 at the time, but I had this deep knowing that my path was to follow my heart and it was saying to take the road of yoga and use that to follow the path towards wellness. 

So, then I became a yoga teacher in 2006 and taught in San Francisco for a few more years after that, then I started traveling the world teaching yoga, co-hosting yoga retreats, and teacher trainings. I lived abroad in the Netherlands for a bit teaching yoga there, and I haven’t looked back. It’s opened so many doors that feel in full alignment with my desires and passion. It’s allowed me to deepen my spiritual practices and to feel more deeply connected to the Universe and God than I ever did before. It’s become a lifestyle that helps me live intentionally and mindfully. 

For the women readers out there, do you ever go from feeling on top of the world one week, like you’re crushing your goals and saying “yes” to all the things, only to find the next week you’ve lost your momentum and you just don’t have the energy to take on anything more? Well, I help educate women in recognizing their cyclical nature and by doing so, empowering them to use their cyclical hormonal advantage to work with them, not against them through a term that has been coined as cycle syncing or cyclical living. I coach women 1 on 1 and small group coaching to create an action plan that helps them make more mindful lifestyle choices that will help them recognize their cyclical patterns, balance their hormones, and empower them to lean into their cyclical advantage 

Over the years, I’ve continued my studies in Women’s health and became a certified women’s holistic hormone health educator. I focus on helping women fully optimize their health and well-being by aligning their self-care practices to be in alignment with their cyclical nature. I help women use self-care practices to live in alignment with their cycle so that they can make more mindful choices and live a more purposeful life. My specialties include teaching movement, guided meditation, and breath work practices, stress reduction practices of sound and Reiki sessions, and strategizing action plans that incorporate movement, stress management, sleep, and nutrition for overall hormonal balance, 

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
As any small business owner knows, there are ebbs and flows to business. When I moved to northern Michigan from Pittsburgh, PA, I wasn’t planning on opening a yoga studio. I had just sold my studio back in Pittsburgh and I was very pregnant with my second child. Then once we got settled in the community, it felt like the next natural progression. I started offering classes at the community center and started playing with the idea of opening up a small studio in town. Well, within a day of voicing the idea of opening a studio, a space became available that was in our budget and all of a sudden, Yoga Bellaire was born. We opened in 2018 and were incredibly successful. We even won $10,000 in a business competition. Then COVID hit and that hit us hard as it did for any business that thrived on bringing people together. So, I had to pivot quickly. I began offering livestream classes right away and built up a library of recorded classes and created a Yoga On-Demand Subscription Membership. 

And that time really helped me expand my online presence and my personal business to launching my podcast and YouTube channel, creating online self-care courses, and my online coaching program. 

So, in a way, the struggles allowed me to pivot and expand in new avenues. 

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?
With nearly two decades of experience of holding space for people to have transformational experiences, I deeply enjoy creating special events like Sound Baths, Wellness Festivals, Women’s circles, Private group Yoga and Sound sessions, Yoga Retreats, and Wellness Workshops – both in-person and virtually. I think of all the Women’s Weekends and Bridal groups who I have created special yoga gatherings for, and I know that they will carry those memories in their hearts with each other. 

I also am proud to help women and those with female biochemistry better understand their cyclical nature and how to live in alignment with it through movement, meditation, and mindset shifts so they can make more mindful choices each day and live the life of their dreams. As a yoga and mindfulness leader of nearly 20 years, A Sound Practitioner, Reiki Master, and Women’s Holistic Hormone Health Educator, my lifework is to help inspire others to create a life of freedom by feeling good in their body and reconnecting to their inner guidance system to discover and live their true purpose. 

Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
My biggest cheerleaders along the way have to be my family. My husband, Seth Gernot, is my biggest fan. He is always encouraging me to follow my passion to help others. And my little ones are right there with him, cheering for me! 

Over the years, I have had so many amazing mentors and teachers along the way. My yoga teacher and mentor, Jason Crandell, was such an influential teacher of mine in how I teach and also, how I navigate the online space as a yoga and wellness teacher. Another yoga teacher and mentor, Tiffany Cruikshank, really helped educate me in how I can use yoga and self-care practices to support women and our cyclical nature. 

Contact Info:

• Website: www.rebeccarankinyoga.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/womensmoonwisdom/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rebeccarankinyoga
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@womensmoonwisdom
• Other: www.yogabellaire.com

Image Credits
Fresh Prints Bellaire