Meet Morgan Jackson: Yoga Instructor (500 RYT) & Nutritionist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Morgan Jackson and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Morgan, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
Honestly, the thought process behind starting my own business came from feeling like it was time to take control of my professional life. I worked for a studio for 3 years, and while I had some amazing experiences, met some wonderful people, and grew not only as a teacher, but as a student as well — I realized towards the end of my tenure there that it would be in my best interest to shift out that environment. I began to crave more freedom in how I was teaching, how I was connecting with my students, and how my time and energy was being managed. I spent my 20’s working in big corporate jobs for companies like Hostess Brands and Alcon, on teams with 10 – 20 people working side-by-side, day in and day out. After stepping back to have my three children, I re-entered into the world of yoga, again working amongst a team of up to 40 other teachers. There is something so beautiful about collaborating with other professionally, especially when everyone truly loves what they are doing, but inevitably, large groups begin to fracture, and the challenge of keeping so many people happy and together is one that most often times proves to be too much. I wanted to create an environment that was simple, caring, and kind. An environment that truly lifted others up. An environment where my successes and my failures where were no ones fault but my own, where I was responsible for me and only me. While there are obviously many new responsibilities and hurdles that come with being your own boss and starting your own business, but the ability to be able to choose exactly what I do, who I do it for, and most importantly, who I do it with, have far outweighed any obstacle that I have come in contact with thus far. The action of creating something new from scratch has given me a renewed sense of inspiration and excitement, and I am truly looking forward to see what lies ahead for me, my family, and my new business.   

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I am a 500 hour registered yoga teacher who is also a nutritionist and trained chef. After I graduated from TCU (Go Frogs) with my degree in nutrition in 2007, I attended Le Cordon Bleu Institute of Culinary Arts in Dallas. I had thought that the combination of nutrition and culinary arts would be a powerful combination, and while I never ended up working in a restaurant, the skills did prove useful as I worked my way through Hostess Brands in Irving, and Novartis (formerly Alcon) in Fort Worth. During my collegiate and corporate careers, I practiced yoga religiously, starting with Bikram Yoga and shifting into Baptiste Yoga. Baptiste yoga is where I found true inspiration and happiness. The heat of the studio, the athletic flow of the practice and the overall environment of the studios where it was taught was unlike anything I had ever seen. I had been practicing a few years when I started being approached by different teachers that I should sign up for teacher training and become a teacher. At this point, I had just gotten married, was still working and pregnant with my first child (2013), so I put off the idea of becoming a teacher. I ended up leaving my job to stay at home with my son and a year later was asked again about teacher training. I thought harder about it this time but found out I was pregnant with my second child (2015), so I put it off again. Fast forward to 2017 and I decided to take the leap and go into my first 200 hour training. Well, wouldn’t you know that the third month of training I found out I was pregnant again…ha! So I completed my training May of 2017, did an apprenticeship for the studio all summer/fall, had my third child in November and started teaching full time in January of 2018. Shortly after starting to teach I began to work on the business side of the studio as well, in many different positions on their leadership team — meeting weekly to discuss the ongoings of running a yoga business and leading a large team through the daily rituals of keeping a successful business running. The business world of yoga was unlike anything I had ever seen or been apart of. I learned a lot during my time at the studio and it definitely gave me the tools and insight into what works and what absolutely does not work. Another fast forward into spring of this year where I faced my biggest challenge, leaving the studio after just completing my additional 300HR training. I think we can all empathize with the feeling that where you are in your professional life is no longer serving you. Some people have the luxury to leave their jobs and find something new, while others do not – I was one of the lucky ones. I quit my position in May, safely traveled all summer with my family and then came home refreshed in August, ready to conquer the world. I literally woke up on August 15 and started my instagram page, @MoJackYoga, ordered business cards and began the hustle of MoJack Yoga and Wellness. Not only do I teach private yoga lessons on site at peoples homes, I also create customized meal plans with corresponding grocery lists for anyone looking to revamp their culinary and/or dietary needs. After months of having to cook at home during this pandemic, inspiration of new and healthy recipes have been lacking for most families, including my own. While I love to cook and grocery shop, I know that isn’t the norm. My friends were always asking me what I was making that week for dinner, so I decided to incorporate menu planning, recipe creation and grocery lists into my yoga business. I send my clients a healthy menu for the week, the recipes and the grocery list that encompasses everything they need to make the recipe so all they have to do is print it off and take it to the store. I will customize their recipes based on dietary restrictions, likes and dislikes, and any sort of dietary program that are engaged in (think Paleo or Whole30). Lastly, something new and exciting that is happening within MoJack Yoga and Wellness is that I have teamed up with Artspace111 in downtown Fort Worth to begin teaching weekly yoga classes at their gallery. They have the most gorgeous outdoor space that will be utilized during our beautiful Texas days, but when the weather takes a turn, the classes will be taught inside the actually gallery, amongst all their beautiful and unique artwork. These classes begin November 10, will take place every Tuesday and Thursday, and are only $20!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Ohhhh I like this question! Obviously their trip with revolve around food since Fort Worth has some of the best restaurants in Texas! We would definitely go to Joe T. Garcia’s (fun fact – that is where I met my husband when we bothed worked there ages ago) for outdoor patio dining and margaritas. Since Joe T.’s is by the stockyards, I would have to take them to see the cattle drive. We would go shopping in Clearfork and eat at Rise (marshmallow soup, anyone?) and grab a champagne flight and a seasonal souffle for dessert, hit up a TCU football game, walk along the Trinity and then eat some more at my favorite restaurants — Woodshed Smokehouse (best salad, 3 Kale with cold bird, and ranch waters in town), Press Cafe (a favorite brunch spot), Gemelle (the outdoor patio and house pizza are DIVINE), Eddie V’s (steak and martinis), Hanabi Ramen (Kara Miso Ramen) and Hatsuyuki Handroll Bar (everything is delicious). I would take them for a sandwich at The Great Outdoors (#12 with the works) and then walk them across the street to the Kimbell, Modern Art museum and the Museum of Science and History. While on Camp Bowie, we would go shopping at Hale House and Initially Yours and grab a martini (or 2) at Lucille’s. We would have to go to the Fort Worth Zoo and feed the giraffes and then walk through the Botanic Gardens. Sundance Square is always a great place to happy hour hop. I would definitely take them to Artspace111 for some yoga (shameless plug) and we would have to stop at Kincaids for a jalapeno cheeseburger and fried okra. Notice how I’m trying to offset all the food with a lot of walking — balance is key, ha!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Oh wow! This is such a neat idea! Gosh, there are so many people who I can point to that have inspired this next step in my life. My husband was the first person who came to mind because he has been my number one cheerleader throughout the last 6 months. He supported my decision to leave my studio job when he could see it was no longing serving me in the way that it used too and was even more supportive when I said I wanted to start a yoga and meal planning business right smack in the middle of a pandemic, knowing long hours and weekend mornings away would be the norm for the first few months of this journey. One of my best friends, Brooke Hamblet, has also been amazing support and mentor in the yoga portion of my life. She taught me how to be teacher, how to navigate the through the very different business world of yoga, and how to see people with a certain softness that I did not have before (I can hear saying “try giving them a ‘generous explanation’ for their actions” as I type this). I feel lucky to say that I have too many friends to name (one because this answer would be 10 times as long and two because I would hate to leave anyone out) that have supported me during this shift in my life. They have used me for private yoga lessons, referred me to friends, asked me create their meal plans, told me I could do it even when I thought I couldn’t, lifted me up from a place of uncertainty and insecurity upon leaving the studio where I dedicated so much blood, sweat and tears and said “we’re here for you now and wherever you land”. My support group has never faltered in their love and belief in me, and that is truly what inspires and drives me the most, knowing that they are there for the good and the bad, and they will always have my back.

Instagram: @MoJackYoga
Linkedin: Morgan Jackson
Twitter: @MoJackYoga

Image Credits
Yoga photos taken by Natalie Baldin