Who We Are
“You are not a drop in the ocean. You are the entire ocean in a drop.”
*** LPY Core Values: Love, Acceptance, Support *** LPY Community Celebrates Diversity, Ensures Equity, Practices Inclusion, and Fosters a sense of Belonging
*** LPY Core Values: Love, Acceptance, Support *** LPY Community Celebrates Diversity, Ensures Equity, Practices Inclusion, and Fosters a sense of Belonging
LPY Yoga
Proudly women-owned
Est. 2012
When we look back at how the studio started we are sure there was some higher power bringing it all together.
Yolanda and Jillian were both members of the same yoga studio, Prana Power Yoga, where Lorraine was a lead teacher. And they both wanted to open a Yoga studio in Lexington, MA. As Jillian and Yolanda looked for spaces to open their business, they kept hearing of each other but never met. It was a sort of race for who would open the studio first as they both were looking at spaces in Lexington.
When Jillian signed a lease (or at least that was the rumor that was spreading), Yolanda sent her an email: “It is my dream to open a yoga studio in Lexington too… We should meet!”. They both went into this meeting with a healthy dose of skepticism and they both came out with the undeniable feeling that that was the right path! They even had the same business plan and the same teachers in mind. After just one meeting they took a leap and decided to open Lexington Power Yoga in October of 2012. It was like going on just one blind date and agreeing to be married! And What a Marriage!!!
While building out the studio Jillian and Yolanda heard Lorraine was ready to come out of maternity leave, and just one meeting with her was enough for them: this was going to be the Perfect Trio, no brainer!
When you get to know us, you will immediately guess that Yolanda is the brain of LPY, Jillian is its pulsing motor (heart), and Lorraine is its soul. We truly are Stronger Together!
In 2021, coming out of Covid, in a time when no one had faith that yoga studios would be able to remain viable, we opened up our second location in Woburn/Winchester. Remaining open (providing livestream classes) and viable during and after Covid, and supporting one another and the community through life changes and challenges is one of our biggest accomplishments.
Passion, care, purpose and enthusiasm are the main ingredients of our success, resulting in the amazing community we keep building every day through LPY. We hope that when you come to our studios, you can feel how much you are welcome, taken care of, accepted for who you are and what you need, supported and challenged.
Meet Jillian
Jillian McDonough
Studio Founder, Owner, & Manager; Yoga Teacher Training School Instructor; Yoga Instructor
Jillian came to yoga when she was an undergrad in college. It was the closest she had come to the feeling gymnastics had given her all of her childhood and teen years. She loved the heat, intensity, fun upside tricks and the fact that she could work the front desk and get unlimited yoga, since she was a broke college student.
After graduating and living in Boston for a few years she went off to graduate school at Dartmouth College to get her MA in Cultural Studies and Women Studies. Thinking she would go on to become a college professor she learned quickly that she preferred to be in the yoga studio over the library. During this time she built out her business plan for owning a yoga studio but became sidetracked when she graduated and got a full time position in a management rotation program at General Mills and opened her first small business called New England Vintage, which was a wedding planning and design company. This time gave her valuable life experience and when she confirmed that she didn’t like to sit at a desk or be told to work specific hours she took the leap and convinced her husband, Tim that a yoga studio made sense.
Although she didn’t know it all of these roads and experiences led her to her real calling and passion - small business ownership & yoga. LPY opened doors in Lexington in 2012 and Jillian and her husband Tim welcomed their first child, a daughter, the following month! From there 3 more fun and crazy boys were born in less than 5 years. Co-owning the studio with Yolanda & Lorraine has gifted her with the ability to do what she loves and raise her kids and that is truly a gift that keeps on giving.
Jillian completed her first 200 hour teacher training from Prana Power Yoga in 2008. It wasn’t until she took Lorraine’s 200 hour in 2014 though, that she felt comfortable teaching. She also received her 300 hour from LPY in 2016. She is a 500 hour experienced, registered yoga teacher and part of LPY’s 200 and 300 hour teaching training faculty. She is particularly interested in creative sequencing, breath work and the neuroscience of yoga.
Jillian is also extremely passionate about neurodiversity and learning. Having ADHD herself and kiddos with language based learning disabilities and ADHD has been a huge teacher in her life. In her spare time you will find her chatting up mom’s and advocating for kids with IEPs and diverse learners.
Meet Yolanda
Yolanda Taylor
Studio Founder & Owner; Yogi
The town of Lexington and LPY Yoga have been the places where I built my family, my community, my business, and so much that I am proud of and cherish everyday. My husband and kids have all become yogis, our community has been formed by and filled by many of the friends and colleagues that are part of LPY Yoga and this town.
I first started yoga after hip pain prevented me from returning to running marathons after having my fourth child. After countless appointments with a range of specialists, I discovered that hot yoga was the one “appointment” that had real and lasting relief. Over time and with a consistent practice, I slowly began to run again. I was hooked! When the zoning laws in Lexington changed to allow for group fitness in town, I knew I wanted to bring yoga to Lexington town center. As fate would have it, Jillian was embarking on a similar journey, and had circumstance not brought myself, Jillian, and Lorraine together, LPY never would have become what it is today.
Currently, I am the finance girl who works largely behind the scenes of the business. I balance a day job in the investment business, and practice yoga on the weekends and during the weekday evenings. And most importantly, I am tied in heart and soul to the community and to my dear partners, Jillian and Lorraine, who are lifelong friends, business partners, and inspiring women in my life.
Meet Lorraine
Lorraine Shedoudi
Studio Owner & Manager; Yoga Teacher Training School Director; Reiki Master; Meditation Teacher; Yoga & Yoga Sculpt Instructor
Lorraine has been practicing yoga for over 15 years and through practice found her passion to teach. Practicing and teaching inspires Lorraine and connects her daily to her true purpose. Lorraine was born and raised in Northern California and has always been fascinated by the mind body connection. She earned her undergraduate degrees in Anthropology and Psychology at University of California, Berkeley. While at Berkeley, Lorraine took her first yoga class and was captivated by the practice. After years of playing competitive sports, yoga brought her a new way to understand physical movement, wellness and compassion. Lorraine continued her studies and followed her passion of connecting the mind and the body by earning her Master's Degree at Boston College in Counseling Psychology.
While working as a substance abuse counselor in Boston, Lorraine brought mindfulness and meditation to patients struggling with addiction. The more stressful work became the more Lorraine used yoga to keep herself grounded. The yoga community brought a sense of connection to her daily life and she studied to become a yoga teacher. Lorraine is a natural student with a true passion for yoga. She has tirelessly taken workshops and trainings. Lorraine is working on her Reiki mastership under the direction of Pat Iyer. She has tremendous and daily gratitude for her husband, her son, her whole family, as well as her students and her friends. They are her greatest teachers; they inspire her and remind her to fully live in the moment.
Lorraine strives to bring yoga off the mat and into daily life by reminding students they are infinitely strong and can face life with balance and grace. She is also continually learning that each breath is a call to be present and content.
Meet Our Amazing Teachers
You’ll find passion, care, and enthusiasm in each teacher, each assistant, each event, and in our podcast episodes… Check it Out!
Two Yoke Girls - LPY Podcast
A glimpse behind the scenes of building LPY loving, developing, and strong community, of students and teachers.
Stronger together!
