Teamwork Makes the Dreamwork

Teamwork, balance, and gratitude. These are common themes that jump out when taking some time to get to know Leah and Manny Hartofelis of Breathe N Flow Yoga. If you pay close enough attention to their story, you will uncover some pretty valuable life lessons and perhaps, a little inspiration.

Leah grew up in Long Beach, New York and was still living there when she and Manny met. She had a family centered childhood. Her father was a martial arts instructor who from an early age taught Leah the importance of movement, breath, and power of the body and mind. Leah also remembers her father as a musical man and when he was not playing a guitar, he was teaching her about movement and breath. 

Manny on the other hand grew up in Queens and though not far from Long Beach, the demographic and environment were a lot different. At around 11 years old, Manny’s mom remarried and he moved to Long Beach with his mother.  Manny recalls this move as not being easy on him, though he enjoyed living in Long Beach. In no time, he had friends and found his favorite places to hang out along the Boardwalk. While living in a beach town was more his style, it certainly was not always easy to assimilate with the residual tares left from his broken home-though he attributes this experience with one of the reasons he became the father he is today.

Both Leah and Manny grew up not far from each other, even went to the same high school, but somehow never crossed paths. They both had their own interests, Leah in gymnastics and friends, and Manny listening to music and riding up and down the beach with his buddies. Then, in 1994 and a couple of years out of high school they met at a St. Patrick’s Day house party where Manny was living at the time. Leah recalls her friend warning her about her friend's roommate (Manny) and how she should not take his stand-offish and disinterested vibe personally. Taking offense easily was not something Leah did, but she ended up feeling the exact opposite of Manny that night, after all. Most of the night, Leah and Manny sat side by side on a couch, with very little interaction, but somehow she remembers “feeling seen by the person who does not see anyone.” And while Manny does not recall this part of their “how we met story,” Leah remembers Manny handing her a bottle cap each time he opened a new beer, a small token of his admiration perhaps, or maybe just a cute and flirtatious signal that he in fact did “see her.”

After the St. Patrick's Day party, Leah and Manny started spending a lot of time together and after about three months, Manny moved back to Queens to help his grandparents with their daily living. This made for a different routine for Leah as she began commuting from work in Mineola, to Queens to see Manny, and then back to Long Beach where she was still living. Shortly after moving in with his grandparents, Manny moved back to Long Beach, and in no time at all, Leah and Manny got their first apartment together in Oceanside. During this time, both Leah and Manny were working full time, and Manny also going to school full time. Manny remembers “bumming around” before he met Leah, who “saw something in” him that he “didn’t know he had.” 

Together they just seemed to work out, both were incredibly supportive of one another, they loved each other, and above all somehow just knew that in order to build a life together, they needed to have firm foundations as individuals first. While they knew that they were right for each other early on, there was an unspoken understanding that there was no need to rush marriage or having children. They both knew what each other wanted and set their intentions and trust in each other and the universe and hoped for the best, which is exactly what they got. A few years after moving in together, they were married. Two years later in 2001, their first child, Nicholas was born. 

Hard work is an understatement when it comes to Leah and Manny. Not only did they each work and go to school full time, but sometimes even carried multiple jobs at once. Over the years Leah carried various jobs, from being a paralegal to a flight attendant, and then also in real estate. When Nicholas was born their routines were shaken up a bit. At this time, Manny had graduated with a degree in computer sciences and was working in midtown for a high end online jewelry store running their IT department.  Leah was working as a paralegal, taking her six weeks of maternity leave, then right back to work.  

At this point in their lives, things were moving swiftly along in their path to having a life they envisioned. Then 9/11 happened. Fortunately, though Manny was working in the city, was able to meet up with his mom who worked close by and safely evacuate, walking home from Manhattan with his mother over the 59th Street Bridge. Meanwhile, Leah was at home with their six week old son worried beyond belief. Needless to say, when Manny finally made it back home late that night, Leah held him close, overwhelmed with deep sadness and also gratitude that she was fortunate enough to have her husband home safe. That was one of the last times Manny would be headed home from a nine-to-five in the city.  

After 9/11 there was no going back to city life, Manny had decided that being closer to his family was far more important. Around this same time, the jewelry business he worked for had closed down, so Manny got another IT job running the IT department for a national mortgage company that was much closer to home. These changes came with another set of new routines for both Leah and Manny, especially when in 2006 they had their second child, Lucas.   Leah went back to work as a paralegal while Manny maintained his IT position at the mortgage company, and every blessed Wednesday when Manny would pull up from work, Leah got her “me” time, where she “booked it to the door as he pulled into the driveway” to have her one hour yoga class at a local gym. Every Wednesday, Leah could count on having  her little slice of sanity and sanctuary.

Fitness was always important to Leah, having a body movement and spiritual martial arts background. For Leah, physical and mental health was a top priority, which is exactly why after having two babies, Leah made sure to keep her “mom bod” and mind in shape. During this time, gyms were not willingly accepting the growing popularity of yoga and often disguised it by incorporating pilates in the name (yogalates). It wasn’t until one Wednesday evening “in a cold gym” that Leah’s instructor Emiliya came ready to teach YOGA, which ultimately (not knowing then) would become one of the catalysts for how Breathe N Flow Yoga came into existence.

As Leah and Manny’s family grew, and each in their full time careers, they certainly found life to become more hectic, managing it was a challenge they worked out together. Manny and Leah seemed to understand each other on an unspoken level, they just knew what each other needed and took on whatever was necessary to support it. For Leah, the more invested she became in her family, the more she also needed to invest in herself, realizing more and more how important yoga was becoming in her mental, physical, and spiritual journey as a wife and mother. Manny saw first hand the positive impact that yoga was having on Leah, saw the effects trickle into their family, bringing peace and joy into her everyday life. This is why, around the time that Lucas was a toddler,  Leah started teaching yoga, originally as a side gig when she was not working or spending time with the family. 

“One day at a time, one breath at a time,” this is a mantra that Manny and Leah have learned to live by in order to balance their busy lives. From owning a business,  a home, and having kids, the two of them have always had an equal part to play. It was determined early on that Leah would not be the only one waking up in the middle of the night to change diapers, and Manny lovingly understood and always knew that he wanted an equal part in raising their children. As Leah put it, “I never expected to put in 100% of the effort, I knew that whatever I put in, he will put in the same amount of effort too.” 

While Manny always had the most interest in making sure that Leah had a space of her own to recharge, he too eventually saw the benefits of yoga and meditation and started doing his own research. Over time, Leah and Manny started setting their intention to someday open a yoga studio of their own, though they had not planned for it to happen as quickly as it did. In 2010, with two kids and a mortgage, Manny lost his job at the mortgage company when they had to close their doors. This left Manny faced to make the tough decision to go back to the corporate world or turn his and Leah’s “someday we would love to open a yoga studio” into a reality. They chose the latter. 

In August of 2010 Leah and Manny opened the doors to the first Breathe N Flow Yoga studio in Freeport, NY. The town of Freeport was excited to welcome their business. It was a diverse neighborhood with a strong love for their community. This strength spilled over into Breathe N Flow. Reflecting back, both Leah and Manny find that one of the greatest things about Breathe N Flow were and continue to be the communities that they serve, both diverse and supportive of one another. Manny recalled it in this way, “Having a space filled with people of all shapes, colors, ages, and backgrounds breathing and flowing together was pretty awesome!”

In the yoga studio, they both seemed to fall into their natural roles, Leah being the Yoga Mama who managed the front of house, teaching classes, workshops, and teacher trainings. Manny on the other hand was in the back of the house, running the behind the scenes business aspect and the guy “paying the water bill and making sure the lights stayed on.” Though, eventually after having an awakening experience at Wanderlust, and taking a deep dive into Sound Healing, Manny too began teaching at Breathe N Flow where he creates a whole body healing experience through sounds and vibrations. 

What is fascinating is the obvious deep connection that Manny and Leah have for one another. Much of their communication is unspoken.  They somehow have always seemed to know what the other needed from them, and simply would do it. They have an absolutely grateful attitude toward one another, each taking on or wearing whatever hat necessary to make their family and business thrive, while also making sure that each of their personal needs are met as well. Balance.

Leah and Manny do not recall ever having challenges in their relationship, rather there have been outside forces bringing challenges to their table, which they always faced head on as a team. While 9/11 was one of the first awful tragedies they faced together, later down the road they faced Hurricane Irene and Hurricane Sandy, both natural disasters that devastated their community and nearly took Breathe and Flow Yoga out. 

Being that Leah and Manny live in a coastal town, they are always at risk for ocean related disasters, one such disaster was Hurricane Sandy. The hurricane left not only their town, but surrounding towns in shambles. Homes and business were lost, and to this day many are still fighting insurance companies to regain those losses. Breathe N Flow was fortunate enough to avoid any structural damage, the water reaching as high as the back of the building, but never breaching the foundation. The community on the other hand was in crisis mode, suffering long lasting effects from the storm that ravaged their livelihoods. To help, Manny and Leah did not hesitate to open their doors for those in need, offering everything from free yoga classes to a warm place to take solace. While Breathe N Flow itself was not damaged, Leah and Manny felt the deep loss of others and did everything they could to wrap their community in love.

Hurricane Sandy was not the only natural disaster that ravaged their community, Hurricane Irene left civilians in similar dire situations.  Then of course there is the most recent natural disaster that has swept through the entire globe, the COVID-19 pandemic. While each natural disaster brought its own challenges, COVID-19 has been the one that took the greatest toll on their small business. Within a few months of the pandemic, Leah and Manny had to close up both of their studios and move to a more suitable location. Breathe N Flow Yoga suffered major financial losses at the hand of COVID-19 for the first time leaving Leah and Manny to truly consider closing the doors to their lifelong dream. In the end, no matter the cost, they continue “to wake up and make it work,” neither one of them being able to imagine a life without the kind of  purpose they had built around their community.

Leah and Manny are not ones to complain about any trial or tribulation they have been through, rather they tend to see the positives and the lessons learned from each situation.They do not see these as challenges as obstacles they cannot overcome, rather opportunities to reevaluate and find ways to continue to support others in their journey to find mental, physical, and spiritual health. While preparing to write this for them, they, on several occasions, repeated that their main goal in starting Breathe N Flow was to provide peace to others. Their deep love and admiration for their community and humanity as a whole is apparent, blindingly so. What Manny and Leah love most about owning a small business is having a place to help others whether it be through the services they provide or the ability to use their business as a platform to support charitable causes. Over the years they have supported animal shelters, run toy drives, been a drop off point for food donations… the list goes on. They are also proud board advisors and karma yoga teachers for United We Om, an organization that “shares the transformative practices of Yoga and Meditation with under-resourced, vulnerable and trauma-impacted communities.”

To Leah and Manny, putting their family first means putting humanity first. They are parents who live by example and while running a business is a lot of work, they never miss a beat with their children. Whether it is being in the stadium to watch their oldest son, Nicholas play football, or having front row seats to watch Lucas play his bassoon on stage. The joy and love they have for Nicholas and Lucas is beyond apparent. They are incredibly proud of their sons and while they recognize that owning a yoga studio is not going to be able to send them to college, there is not a thing they would not do to support them.

When asking Leah and Manny how they measure success they put it all back on the way that they serve their community, saying with firm conviction that it was not measured monetarily, rather through connection. Before we ended our conversation each was asked who inspired them, who their mentors were. Leah considers Elena Brower her spiritual guru, one who both inspires and guides her own yoga practice. Manny looks to his grandfather, a man who traveled from Greece through Ellis Island “with only a shirt on his back” and built a life and support system that continues to flourish.  Although his grandfather is no longer earth side, he is still deeply entwined in Manny’s life as he looks to him for guidance.

Leah and Manny have built a life with a firm foundation rooted in a deep desire to serve others. This servitude has carried them through many challenges from natural disasters, deaths in their family, and the most recent challenges brought from COVID-19. While their business has suffered tremendously at times, they couldn’t fathom closing their doors while others suffered as well. Teamwork, does not just work in their family unit, but also in the world around them. Leah and Manny strive to be a part of their communities team, hoping to be a source of peace, love, and joy for all those who come through their doors or stream through their computer. To Leah and Manny, WE are a team connected in ways that may not be seen, but if there is one thing that this pandemic has shown us, it is that we are certainly connected in unseen ways. 

“Less is more, but never stop reaching for what you want to achieve.” -Leah Hartofelis

“Don’t listen to that little voice inside your head that tells you that you cannot do something.” -Manny Hartofelis