Every mom — human, bulldog, or otherwise — knows how tough the distance can be when the pups leave home. Luckily for mother/daughter duo Natalie Norton and Dolly Hemcher, yoga sessions at our studio have become a regular highlight of freshman Dolly’s trips home from college.
“I really miss her,” Natalie says of her daughter, who goes to college several hours away. “Going to bulldog brings us back together when she comes home for breaks. We both love the music and the uncomplicated total body workout. After bulldog, we usually plan a few more hours shopping, getting coffee, or having lunch while we are relaxed and happy!”
Dolly echoed her mom’s feelings about the importance of QT at bulldog. (A mother and daughter in total agreement? Don’t be alarmed.) “Whenever I am home from school on breaks, the first thing on our list is to get to the yoga studio,” she says. “I love coming to bulldog because it makes me feel like I’m really home again.”
These two may be studio regulars now, but Dolly admits to being a total rookie when she first checked out our digs last year. A lifelong competitive athlete, she says “yoga was always something my coaches would force us to do on the occasional Friday light practice. I always felt like it was a waste of time and never really felt the benefits.” (It’s OK, Dolly. We know you love us now, so we’re only a little offended lol.)
When she hurt her knee during a race after high school graduation, Dolly was sidelined from her usual activities, so she started to reconsider her previous anti-yoga (gasp!) stance. Obviously, we proved her wrong. “I never believed that yoga could actually be a good workout until I went to bulldog and could barely make it through my first class,” she says. “I’m always used to being better than my mom when it comes to working out, but this was so not the case in the studio!”
We’re psyched we could help Natalie look good in that first class, but we’re even more psyched to be an extension of this awesome family (if they’ll have us, of course!). Natalie is the proud mama to four, and she hopes her younger daughters will one day join Dolly as bulldog yogis. We’ll be ready and waiting for them.
“Dolly and I have always been very close,” Natalie says of the oldest daughter in her crew. “Our relationship has been full of love and respect. I am so proud of her and how she flourished this year. My hope is that she always knows she can can come to me and trust me not to judge her, but to support and encourage her to be her best.”
Happy Mother’s Day, Natalie — and to every one of you awesome bulldog mamas! We’re the luckiest to have ya.
We’d love to have you join us for our Mother + Daughter class on 5/13 and our Invigorate Moms That Rock class on Mother’s Day (5/14). Check ’em out on our class schedule.
Do you practice yoga with your mom? Tell us on Facebook + Twitter!
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