PARENT YOU SHOULD KNOW
Shannon Phelan
BY HEATHER M. ROSS
M eet Shannon Phelan, business
owner, yoga instructor and
mother of two. Phelan teaches
yoga independently in Gaithersburg at Opus
Yoga, Flying Buddha Studio and Great Seneca
Yoga—the last of which she opened herself
in March 2020.

“I started Great Seneca Yoga as a way for
people to access yoga at home because we all
really needed it—I needed it,” she says.

The timing, of course, was at the start
of global pandemic, and for yoga-goers like
Phelan, attending class in person was suddenly
not that easy. Virtual classes made yoga more
accessible—and people really showed up.

“I had people from all over the country
come to classes,” Phelan says. “In one class, I
had people from five different states.”
Now, Great Seneca does not just exist in
a virtual setting. In June, Phelan converted
her family’s garage into a studio space where
she holds classes every day. She lives in
Gaithersburg with her husband, Paul, and her
daughters McKenzie (16) and Anna (14).

want it to be... Rather than trying to reach for
perfection all the time, be in the moment as
it is and accept it for what it is. The idea that
we’re ever going to have perfect harmony
among stress, and work, and life and kids isn’t
really realistic.

One thing I’ve had to learn to do is learn
the word “No.” “No” is a complete sentence.

Because of the flexibility (pun intended)
that my work allows me to have, I have the
opportunity to say yes to a lot of things.

Journaling helps a lot, too, because you get
[thoughts down] on paper and can see what
similar threads are. Getting [something] down
on paper, looking at it— then I can start to
move things around. Just because it’s always
been this way doesn’t mean it always has to
be this way.

What kinds of challenges did
you face starting your own
business during the pandemic?
I did continue to teach with the studio I was
teaching with [before opening Great Seneca],
but it was on Zoom as well. The challenges
have really been… convincing people that if you
can breathe, you can do yoga. So many people
say, ‘I can’t do yoga because I’m not flexible,
and I can’t sit still.’ They need to first believe
that they can do it. My yoga is very accessible.

It’s down to earth. I meet people where they
are, with what they need. I do hybrid classes
now that I have [an] in-person space.

How do you balance your work
life and home life?
I think that we are always falling in and out
of balance. I don’t think balance is something
truly attainable in the way that we as a society
24 Washington FAMILY FEBRUARY 2023
What do you enjoy most about
being a parent?
It’s a shock to the system to go from being a
person to having these human beings who now
rely on you for everything. I love being a mom,
and I love watching my kids grow. The part
that I love most is seeing them where they are
now. A lot of people are woeful when kids get
bigger because, ‘Oh, they aren’t little anymore.’
For the most part, I’m in awe that there are
these human beings and I got to be part of their
journey in this world.

I can’t wait to see them grow and become
the adults that they’re going to be. We’re
getting close, and we can really see this
development of what they’re going to look like.

They’re human beings in their own right, and
I get to facilitate. (‘You’re going to go out into
this world, and you’re going to be a person and
do great things.’ ) That I got to be a part of that
is my favorite part.

What’s one thing you hope your
kids learn from you?
That you can always pause, take a breath and
say something different than what you feel.

Sometimes in the moment, you might be upset
and angry and say something you don’t mean,
but if they can take away anything, I want them
to take a pause and just act better than [they]
feel. I think if we did that more as a society,
people would be a lot kinder to each other. ■
WHAT IS YOUR FAMILY’S FAVORITE …
Meal Burgers and Tots or Mom pasta (olive
oil sautéed bell pepper, smoked
sausage, sun-dried tomatoes over
penne pasta with fresh parmesan)
Vacation spot
Kiawah Island, South Carolina
Way to Spend a Weekend
Taking our dog Luna for walks,
going to Anna’s basketball games
or McKenzie’s performances (but
usually there’s lots of laundry on
weekends, too!)
Dessert Anna’s homemade
cupcakes (blueberry lemon!)



PARENT YOU SHOULD KNOW
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ED 2 0 23
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