Meet Tim Kelleher: Yoga Teacher, Community Builder & Founder of Boston Yoga Union

For our Pride Month Fit Pro Spotlight, we caught up with Tim Kelleher, yoga teacher, founder of Boston Yoga Union, and a longtime advocate for creating welcoming spaces where people can show up exactly as they are.

Since opening Boston Yoga Union in 2019, Tim has built more than a yoga studio. He's cultivated a community rooted in authenticity, inclusion, and connection. In this conversation, Tim shares his journey into yoga, how his lived experience has shaped the way he leads, and why representation and belonging matter both on and off the mat.

1. Tell us about your journey into yoga. How did you first discover the practice and what eventually inspired you to become a teacher?

In my late teens and early twenties, I had a struggle with substance abuse that I almost didn’t survive. While in my last residential facility, some of the guys wanted to go to the gym. I wasn’t a gym guy — I was a washed-up club kid — but I went anyway, and there happened to be a yoga class. Madonna was doing yoga at the time, which feels appropriate given that it’s Pride. So I went.

And in that class, I felt safe in my own skin for the first time since I was a small child.

I kept going back, and that was twenty-five years ago. When I signed up for my first teacher training, I had no intention of teaching. Halfway through, my teacher looked at me and said, "Tim, this is what you were supposed to be doing."

When you find your dharma — your calling — you really have no other choice.

2. What inspired you to open Boston Yoga Union, and what kind of community did you hope to create when you first opened the doors?

When we opened in 2019, I looked at the downtown yoga landscape and saw an increasingly corporate scene. A corporation can get real estate and props, but it can’t have a soul — and to me, the soul of a studio is everything.

We opened Boston Yoga Union to keep the heart in the practice in Boston.

From day one, we attracted people who were curious about yoga, people who wanted to deepen it, all ages, all styles. That was exactly the studio I wanted to build.

3. Boston Yoga Union has become known for being welcoming and inclusive. What does creating a space of belonging look like in practice?

We smile. We’re not pretentious. We make room for all levels and all types of practice.

We put our money where our mouth is — we’ve run a scholarship program for BIPOC teachers in our 200-hour training for seven years, and we’ve put nearly twenty-five teachers through the program.

We don’t shy away from hard conversations. We learn from our mistakes.

And we hire teachers of different shapes, colors, sizes, and genders, because representation from the seat of the teacher is the most powerful way to tell someone they belong in the room.

4. As a member of the LGBTQ+ community, how has your lived experience influenced the way you lead, teach, and build community?

I grew up closeted, full of shame and secrets, hiding myself from the world — and from myself.

And at the heart of yoga is the knowing of oneself.

For those of us who grew up disembodied and disconnected, it’s a profoundly healing practice — one that can lead to knowing, and perhaps loving, yourself.

Because I fought so hard to become who I am, I don’t hide it. I lead with my queerness. I use the experiences of my life as tools to teach. I’m vulnerable about my struggles.

I think that makes me an approachable leader, and I hope it inspires those same qualities in others.

5. What does Pride Month mean to you personally, and how do you celebrate it through your work at Boston Yoga Union?

Honestly, Pride means different things to me at different points in my life.

A lot of Pride events have become corporate marketing exercises, which misses the point entirely. Pride is about being ourselves loudly, being visible, and demanding space in a world that — especially right now — is actively trying to suppress our voices.

At home, it’s about my kids: teaching them to be proud of our family and to be socially conscious.

At the studio, our work around inclusion never really stops — Pride is a wonderful chance to mark it, but it’s something we practice year-round.

6. Yoga is often thought of as a physical practice. But it can be so much more than that. How has yoga supported your mental and emotional well-being over the years?

I always joke: you think this is bad, you should see me without yoga.

I have a complicated mental health picture, and I always have.

One of the first gifts of practice is nonreactivity. You know the dynamic — someone says the thing they always say, and you say the thing you always say, and suddenly you’re in the same fight you’ve always had.

But one day, after you’ve been practicing for a while, they say the thing — and you take a breath, and you don’t take the bait. In that moment, something shifts.

We learn that first in our poses: we stay in the warrior when we want to quit, we go upside down when we’re scared.

That nonreactivity becomes the foundation of real mental well-being.

And equally important: I’m surrounded by community that shares my values. That might be the single most important ingredient for wellness.

7. Boston's wellness community has evolved tremendously in recent years. What excites you about the inclusivity and things you see happening in the Boston scene?

The corporatization of yoga and boutique fitness is real, and something is lost when a practice becomes a KPI instead of a beating heart. The industry still struggles genuinely with inclusivity and equity.

But there are bright spots.

I’m seeing smaller studios — yoga and other modalities — opening with real intention to serve their communities. I’m seeing a move back toward yoga as a sustainable, embodied practice rather than just another high-intensity format.

And in a moment when DEI has become a bad word in some circles, I’ve been inspired watching local, independently owned fitness businesses stand their ground — maintaining their values around equity and representation without apology. That matters.

There’s also been a beautiful movement to bring yoga into recovery communities, which is very close to my heart.

8. What's one thing you're most proud of when you look at what Boston Yoga Union has become?

That we've been able to grow and thrive as a yoga studio while staying centered in the tenets of yoga.

Our values, expertise, and authenticity are reflected in our reputation.

It's awesome.

Rapid Fire 🔥

Favorite yoga style to teach?
Nerdy alignment.

Favorite Boston neighborhood to spend a day in?
Home in JP.

Best spot for a post-class coffee?
Flour.

One song always on your practice playlist?
Idk — it's usually just a beat with a gong or something.

Favorite way to spend a summer day in Boston?
In a shady spot in the garden with a book.

What are you most excited about this Pride Month?
Visibility and celebration — and wearing lots of crop tops in inappropriate places.

Ready to experience Boston Yoga Union for yourself?

Visit their studio for classes, workshops, teacher trainings, and community events, and see firsthand why they've become such a beloved part of Boston's wellness community.

Looking for more studios to explore? Browse our Studio Directory to discover fitness and wellness spaces across Boston and find your next class.

Happy Pride Month from all of us at Fit Scene Boston. 🏳️‍🌈