Today we’d like to introduce you to Amanda Hoff.
Hi Amanda, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I’ve always known I was meant to be a teacher. For a long time, I thought that meant teaching in a traditional classroom, and I did exactly that. I became a middle school teacher and spent years teaching teenagers, which I loved. But somewhere along the way, yoga completely changed the direction of my life.
I first really fell in love with yoga over a decade ago in the heat of a Bikram studio. Over time, my practice evolved and I found Vinyasa, where I discovered this completely different side of yoga that allowed for creativity, movement, exploration, and self-expression. Eventually, my two worlds of teaching and yoga came together. I completed my 200-hour yoga teacher training with Authentic Movements, and once I started teaching yoga, something clicked. It felt different. I remember realizing, “Oh, this is the work I’m supposed to be doing.”
The way Salty Soul came to be is probably my favorite part of the story because I am a huge believer in manifestation. For me, manifestation isn’t just wishing for something and waiting for it to happen. It’s allowing yourself to believe something is possible, saying it out loud, and then being open enough to recognize opportunities when they show up.
I had started talking to my husband, Kyle, and our family about how much I wanted to own a yoga studio. I was putting that possibility out there and really allowing myself to imagine that life. And then, just weeks later, Gina Puccinelli, who is a bit of a local yoga legend and one of those people whose superpower is connecting people, approached me. She told me she felt like she needed to offer something to me. Her friend owned Seaside Yoga Sanctuary and was looking to sell the business, and Gina had this feeling that it was supposed to go to me.
From there, things started aligning in a way that was pretty wild. I expressed that I wanted to officially open Salty Soul Sanctuary on my birthday, December 2. When I told the previous owner, she shared that she had also opened Seaside Yoga Sanctuary on her birthday. It was one of those little moments that made the whole thing feel even more meant to be.
So on December 2, 2023, we officially opened Salty Soul Sanctuary.
And one of my favorite parts of this entire experience is that I get to own Salty Soul with my husband, Kyle. This may have started as my dream, but it very quickly became something we were building together. We have very different strengths, which makes running a business together both incredibly helpful and honestly just a lot of fun. There is something really special about getting to build something you believe in alongside your best friend, especially when that something becomes such a big part of your family’s life.
Today, I wear a lot of hats. I’m a business owner, marketer, manager, problem solver, cleaner, planner, and about 100 other things depending on the day. But first and foremost, I still consider myself a teacher. Teaching yoga and HIIT Pilates is where my passion really lives. I love owning and growing Salty Soul, but when I walk into the studio to teach, I get to take off my business glasses for an hour and go back to the thing that brought me here in the first place.
And I think that’s a big part of what Salty Soul has become. It’s a business, yes, but it was born from teaching, practice, community, and this belief that sometimes when you get really clear about what you want, say it out loud, and stay open to what comes next, some pretty incredible doors can open.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I’m naturally a pretty positive person, and I actually welcome challenges because they excite me. So I don’t know that I would describe the road as “difficult.” Have there been challenges? Of course. But to me, that’s part of what makes owning a business fun. There is always something to figure out, improve, rethink, or create.
I also think I might answer this question very differently if I were running Salty Soul on my own. Whenever something comes up, I have Kyle to bounce ideas off of, problem-solve with, and sometimes just say, “Okay, what are we going to do about this?” Things flow a lot more smoothly when you have a solid partner beside you, and I’m really grateful that we get to do this together.
If I had to name the biggest struggle, though, it was honestly just doing the thing.
Before we officially opened Salty Soul, I was full of fear. Not necessarily the kind that makes you want to stop, but the kind that feels like a fire in your belly. All of those false ideas of self-doubt and imposter syndrome would add fuel to it: Can I actually do this? Am I qualified to do this? What if it doesn’t work? Who am I to think I can own a yoga studio?
The biggest challenge was learning to move forward while that fire was still there instead of waiting for it to disappear first.
And then something really interesting happened. We unlocked the doors on opening day. I taught our first class. We welcomed our first members into Salty Soul. And that fire in my belly immediately went out.
I’ve honestly never felt it again.
And strangely, a part of me hopes I feel that fire again one day. Because now I know what it means. It probably means I’m standing at the edge of something that scares me because I haven’t done it yet, and there’s something pretty exciting about that.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Salty Soul Sanctuary is a yoga, Pilates, and wellness studio in Carmel-by-the-Sea, but I think what we’re creating goes beyond the classes on our schedule.
From the beginning, I never wanted Salty Soul to feel like my studio. One of the things I say often is, “It’s not mine, it’s ours.” Kyle and I may own the business, but the people who teach here, practice here, work here, and continue showing up are what actually make Salty Soul what it is. That sense of community is probably what I’m most proud of brand-wise.
We offer a wide variety of yoga and mat Pilates classes, and I think one of our strengths is that we don’t believe wellness or movement needs to look one particular way. You can come in and take an athletic, sweaty Vinyasa class, slow everything down with Yin or a more restorative practice, take Pilates, experience sound, or simply choose the class that meets you where you are that day. Our instructors have their own personalities and teaching styles, and I love that. I don’t want every class at Salty Soul to feel the same.
We also take Salty Soul outside of the studio. We offer private yoga and Pilates experiences throughout Carmel and Pebble Beach, beach sessions, special events and workshops, and experiences with local partners like Folktale Winery. Carmel is such a beautiful place, and we love creating opportunities for people to practice in some of the places that make this area so special.
What sets us apart, though, is probably less about what we offer and more about how we approach it. We care deeply about the experience someone has from the moment they walk through our doors. We want you to be challenged without feeling intimidated. We want beginners practicing alongside people who have been doing yoga for 20 years. We want you to know your instructor, and we want your instructor to know you. We want people to walk into a room where they may not know anyone and, over time, realize they’ve become part of a community.
There’s also an element of exploration woven into everything we do. I don’t believe the purpose of a practice is to become really good at yoga or Pilates. The physical practice gives you this incredible opportunity to pay attention, get curious, challenge yourself, learn how you respond when something is uncomfortable, discover what you’re capable of, and hopefully carry some of that awareness back into the rest of your life. The work we do inside the studio should support the life we’re living outside of it.
And we’re not done growing. There are some really exciting things happening behind the scenes at Salty Soul right now that I can’t officially share just yet. What I can say is that we’re continuing to explore what wellness can look like for our community and how Salty Soul can grow beyond what we currently offer. We have some big things coming, and I’m very excited for what’s next.
At the end of the day, I want people to come to Salty Soul because they’re curious about the classes, and keep coming back because they’ve found a practice they love, they feel the difference that practice makes in their lives, and they’ve found a community they want to be part of. I want the practice itself to be meaningful enough to keep bringing you through the doors, while the people and the space make it feel like somewhere you belong. That, more than anything, is what I hope we’re known for.
We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you?
I don’t believe in luck, at least not in the traditional sense of something happening completely by chance. I believe much more in karma, intention, action, and trusting that certain things unfold the way they’re meant to.
When the opportunity to own the studio came into my life, you could easily look at the timing and call it incredibly lucky. I had just started saying out loud that I wanted to own a yoga studio, and then suddenly someone approached me with an opportunity to do exactly that.
But I don’t think it was random.
I think I was ready. And because I was ready, I had started creating space for the invitation before I even knew what that invitation would look like. I was consciously putting effort toward the life I wanted, I was open-minded about how it might come together, and most importantly, I was paying attention when an opportunity presented itself.
That’s how I think about “luck” in both life and business. You can’t control everything that happens around you, but you can control how you show up. You can do the work, set intentions, stay curious, remain open, and create space for possibilities that you may not even know exist yet.
Sometimes the right opportunity appears at exactly the right moment, and from the outside, that can look like luck. For me, I see it more as an intersection of karma, preparation, intention, action, and timing.
I was ready for something new. I consciously made space for it. And then the invitation came.
Maybe some people would call that luck. I think it was exactly how it was meant to unfold.
Pricing:
- Drop-In: $30
- Locals 2-Class Pack Intro Offer: $40
- Locals 2-Week UNLIMITED Intro Offer: $100
- UNLIMITED Monthly Memberships: $128-$175,with several options available depending on membership type and commitment.
- Pilates in the Vines at Folktale Winery: Drop-In, $38 (Sundays)
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.saltysoulsanctuary.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/saltysoulsanctuary/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/saltysoulsanctuary/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKzruA1GPi0
- Yelp: https://biz.yelp.com/biz_info/i9Jb5poQKTCdjrizHQDB4w
