From her early beginnings as a Broadway performer to building a new life and community in Paris, Lori Ann has always followed the quiet guidance of her practice. Yoga supported her through the demands of performing, the uncertainty of 2020, and the transition to a new country. What began as teaching online has evolved into WE ARE ON OFF, a global community rooted in movement, mindfulness, and connection.
Can you share a bit about your journey — how did your yoga path begin in the USA, and what led you to make Paris, France your home?
I am a dancer first. I started dancing when I was three (my mom says I walked into the dance studio and never walked out) and began working professionally on Broadway when I was sixteen. Working as a Broadway performer super young led me to discover and appreciate the practices of yoga and meditation. A mentor took me to my first yoga class at OM Yoga (no longer exists) when I was around eighteen, I continued, and throughout my 20+ year career, I used my practice not only to condition my body and mind but also to navigate life in a demanding industry. I began teaching in 2012 after receiving my first 500-hour yoga teaching credential while on break from a show. I returned to NYC and started my practice teaching, and soon after began teaching public classes while performing on Broadway at night and did that until just before COVID. I credit my yoga practice for the longevity of my dance career.
Around 2019, I started to think about what was next after performing–a dreaded, difficult moment for every dancer, but I had done so much and felt grateful to have worked on incredible productions. I loved Broadway, but I knew it was time to see what my life could be beyond eight shows a week.
I had been teaching at a well-known yoga studio in NYC since just after it opened, and over about a decade the studio expanded globally, with locations in LA, Canada, Paris, and across the U.S. An opportunity came up to become one of the partners in a new studio in London, so just as I stepped away from Broadway, I started working on that project. We were aiming for a fall 2020 opening, and well, we all know what happened in 2020.
At the same time, I had traveled to Paris to teach at the studio there before heading to London to work on the project. During that time, I connected with a special person who would turn out to be my now husband. We went back and forth between NYC and Paris just allowing the relationship to unfold. The first week of March 2020, I arrived in Paris thinking I’d be in Europe for one month, teaching, traveling to London, and working on the new studio, and then the world went into full lockdown. We fell in love, and although the yoga studio fell apart–it wasn’t really a viable option to open a flagship brick-and-mortar hot yoga studio during a global pandemic–I stayed in Paris, leaned into the fact that anything was possible, and here we are. It was a terrifying time, but a bright spot in the middle of the chaos.
Moving across the world is a huge shift. How did your personal practice support you through that transition from New York to Paris?
A mindful practice builds awareness, which helps you develop a kind of radar, an ability to notice moments and aligned opportunities that can support or shift your path. My practice helped me recognize those moments, like meeting my partner, which changed everything, and it allowed me to trust my intuition enough to take risks. It was pretty wild to get on that plane to Paris, but I never questioned that it was the right decision.
And then, after deciding to stay in Paris—crazy times! New country, new career, new language, no friends, and I was about to turn 40. Talk about ultimate discomfort. Yoga teaches us to lean into discomfort and find steadiness in it. I wouldn’t have made it to the other side of all that without my practice.
You founded WE ON AIR now WE ARE ON OFF to bring accessible, embodied practices to a wider community. What inspired the creation of the platform?
When the London studio project fell apart and I suddenly found myself in Paris, I needed a way to support myself. Like everyone else at the time, I started teaching yoga online. Very quickly, people from all over the world began practicing with me on Zoom. After class, we’d stay to talk, and I realized something special was happening: a real sense of community.
I decided to take the studio model and translate it into a borderless, digital space, and that’s how ON AIR was born. Since 2021, our community has met “ON AIR” to practice together every Saturday at 10am (EST) / 4pm (CET). What began as a fully digital studio naturally evolved into in-person experiences, “OFF AIR,” with weekly yoga and dance classes in Paris, along with pop-up events and retreats around the world.
This past year, the brand evolved to WE ARE ON OFF (ON OFF for short), a hybrid model that keeps our digital roots while expanding our in-person offerings. We even have a book club now!
What was your initial experience like teaching online? What is your approach to holding space digitally?
Teaching online at first was strange. I don’t demonstrate when I teach. My eyes are on the bodies in the room, and I only demo when it’s really needed. It’s a teaching method I firmly believe in because it keeps the guide present with the students and doesn’t make the class about them.
At the beginning, I was teaching on Instagram and YouTube, which meant I had to do the entire class myself with no feedback–I need to hear the breath! As a performer, it almost felt like being back onstage, which was never what yoga was for me. I switched to Zoom, which I still use today, and invite another community member to demonstrate and serve as a visual reference for the class while I guide verbally. It creates the in-studio experience, even in a virtual setting. As studio culture has shifted, I’ve found that people want accessibility—the ability to maintain a solid practice wherever they are. With this method, people feel seen, supported, and connected. That’s why our weekly Zoom class still continues.
We do have an on-demand library of over 100 videos, but most people join ON OFF for the connected community, the interactive classes, and the in-person experiences.
What has been one of your proudest or most meaningful moments since launching WE ARE ON OFF?
For me, the fact that WE ARE ON OFF is still here, evolving, and that many of our original members are still with us feels wild. The project was born out of a deep love for shared experiences and a collective commitment to practice and movement. Seeing members who once moved together on Zoom during the deep pandemic days, spread all over the world, now meeting each other in person on retreat, joining studio classes in Paris, or becoming real-life friends makes my heart explode.
I’m also proud that I’ve been able to stay independent. Studio culture has changed, and running a successful brick-and-mortar space is more challenging than ever. Things like ClassPass have driven prices down at the expense of cultivating real community, which is often why people go to a studio in the first place. At the same time, the explosion of teacher trainings without enough teacher development resources has led to an oversaturated teaching pool and a noticeable shift in quality, in my opinion.
I’m so thankful I didn’t open that franchise studio. Staying independent allows me to stay flexible, especially as our world seems to be shifting every day.
Meditation and slower practices are such a beautiful complement to dynamic movement. Your platform emphasizes presence, softness, and breath. Why are those elements especially important to you?
I see meditation as a profound asset in navigating the demands of our modern world. By sitting with ourselves, we gather information—what thoughts, feelings, and sensations, both conscious and unconscious, are moving within us. When we understand what’s happening inside, we can meet the external world with greater awareness, responsibility, and elegance.
At ON OFF, we approach meditation as a shared practice, a way to slow down together. Whether someone is new or experienced, it’s about making presence, breath, and connection part of everyday life. Even in my dance classes, I end our warm-up with a short meditation, inviting the dancers to connect with their breath and remember why they love to dance. It’s such a challenging career, like many things in life, but when we stay connected to our why, it helps us meet difficult moments with more grace.
What’s next for WE ARE ON OFF?
This summer we launched a new program around dance, with classes and a guest teacher series. The ON OFF Masterclass is an international training program dedicated to sharing and preserving the legacy of Broadway with a new generation of dancers in Europe.
So far, we’ve offered four masterclasses, starting with the support of the Jerome Robbins Foundation, and others with choreographer Joanna Goodwin from London and Broadway and TV star Carly Hughes. It’s all very full circle for me and lets me connect my previous life with my new chapter in Paris. I never stopped dancing, and now I can use my platform to be a steward of that experience here. All of the dancers also have access to discounted yoga classes through ON OFF.
Our 2026 programming is already taking shape, and I’m so excited to share how we’ll be moving in the new year while keeping mindfulness and community at the center. Yoga and dance!
What advice would you give to yoga teachers who want to build their own online presence while staying true to their voice and values?
Whether you’re teaching online or in person, focus on the bodies, the breath, and the humans in front of you. Get off yourself. Everything you need is there when you’re truly present and paying attention.
Do you have a favorite Manduka product that’s supported your teaching or personal practice?
Manduka PRO yoga mats are my favorite and the only mat I use. You can see them featured in all of my on-demand videos. Also, Manduka was the first partner that supported me when I found myself in Paris and then launched ON OFF. I am incredibly grateful to the team and how they support independent teachers and small business owners like myself.
Listen in
Practice on
Connect
Website: weareonoff.com
Instagram: @loriannferreri and @we.are.on.off
