BELLA VISTA -- After leaving a career in film, stage and celebrity public relations, Cat McGowan found her way to Bella Vista, where she became the owner of Fire Fly Yoga and Reiki School.
She moved to Bella Vista 4½ years ago after going through a divorce and wanting to leave Los Angeles.
"I basically had to find a new career," she said.
Her first experience with yoga was when she was in her early 20s. Her friends had suggested she try it because she had been struggling with depression, anxiety, and back, neck and hip pain due to previous car accidents. She did not think she would like it because she thought she was not flexible enough and couldn't sit still, but her experience surprised her.
She fell in and out of classes over the years and tried many other kinds of exercises, but never understood why she felt so good after yoga classes. Upon moving to Bella Vista, she was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder from a traumatic experience, she said. She started going to yoga classes, and they were the only thing that made her feel better, she said.
"I was on therapy and anti-anxiety meds. Therapy helps, but it's a long process to heal when you're doing talk therapy. The pills are just a Band-Aid," she said. "Yoga was amazing. I wanted to investigate why did this form of exercise make me feel so much better every time I went. I would be having a panic attack on the way to class but leave feeling calm."
This path eventually led her to yoga teacher training at Yoga Gypsy in Springdale and Bee Well Yoga in Rogers.
McGowan began taking yoga teacher training classes and, upon acquiring some experience, began building clientele, teaching private lessons in people's homes. She also looked into reiki training.
"Reiki is a Japanese energy healing system," she said. "In Eastern healing we are two bodies, the physical and the energetic body. In Western medicine we only focus on the physical. Reiki is an energetic healing."
Becoming certified in reiki, McGowan began teaching small groups in her home. Then the covid pandemic hit, she said. She lost all her clientele and was out of work for eight months because of covid. Then she taught some with Bee Well Yoga in Rogers and with the Bella Vista Property Owners Association.
"Slowly, when things opened up again, my clients started contacting me to set up lessons," she said. "What I was building fell apart when covid hit and I had to build again."
She began looking for a home for her business and found one at 1719 Forest Hills Blvd. She signed a lease and was supposed to open in September, but due to covid and high demand for materials and distribution issues, the opening was pushed back to October. Then the city inspector said the bathroom needed to be rebuilt, so the opening was pushed to November.
"I've had a lot of bad luck, but it's also been a great blessing in disguise," she said. "I was pre-selling vouchers, and on the day I opened I had enough members to cover the rent. That's probably unheard of for a brand-new business, especially because yoga is not a necessity."
The school offers a variety of classes, including slow flow, chair yoga, power flow, yin, beginner class, restorative and sound bath. There is a masseuse on staff, and all staff members are reiki trained.
Sound bath requires minimal stretching and mostly involves lying on the floor listening to various sounds. McGowan plays sounds such as gongs, crystal bowls, sea drum, rain stick, etc.
After one of McGowan's sound bath classes, Nancy Spielvogel of Bella Vista said, "I could feel tingling up my arms. Sometimes it feels warm. At the end I always feel calm and energetic."
Angela Horton of Bella Vista said of sound bath, "Every time I come in it's completely different. I might have a meltdown but I'll be stronger later. It's worth it. It's also a supportive group if you're looking for a place to belong."
Members of a power flow class, the school's most advanced class, also weighed in on their experiences.
Kery Miller of Bella Vista said, "I like the calorie burn because I burn sometimes 200 calories in a class. I'm building on those harder poses. I did it in Little Rock and then I moved here and found this, so I'm happy she's here."
Jim Klinger of Bella Vista said he likes yoga in general for the flexibility it brings. He said he attends about eight times a week.
"What's so great about it is you have everything from this slow flow sound bath to power flow. You can pick and choose based on your abilities," he said.
McGowan said her school has a wide range of ages and abilities.
"I think I speak to a wider range of people and make it much more accessible," she said. "My mission is to make yoga accessible to all people and they're coming for them, not for me. The big part of me sharing yoga is because of what it's done for me. I rarely take a medication for my issues. I haven't had a panic attack in a long time. My back, neck and hip pain from previous car accidents, I don't even feel any pain as long as I'm still practicing."
McGowan also runs a nonprofit organization, Fire Fly Yoga Warriors Inc., which she created to fully fund Bella Vista police officers and firefighters for free yoga classes. She received a $1,000 grant in the Momentum Pitch Competition by WinRock for minority women business owners, and she donated those funds to the nonprofit, she said. So far, she has raised $2,500 for the organization.
She is seeking Bella Vista police officers and firefighters who are interested in yoga or who suffer from back pain from their work and gear or may suffer from extreme stress or sleep disorders, she said. Anyone working for the departments, including dispatch and administration, may inquire at info@fireflyyogareiki.com or call 479-323-2200. Any person or business who would like to sponsor police or firefighters for yoga will receive a 100% write-off on their donation, she said.