Founder's Story

Welcome to ONE OM ONE

I’m Jimmy, the founder of ONE OM ONE, and I’m truly grateful that you’ve taken the time to visit our site. This business is my life’s mission, and I’d like to take this opportunity to share my passion and how I started this journey. I hope it inspires you and perhaps brings a little positive change to your life.

Stop Comparing Yourself to Others

I’ve been in the yoga industry since 2004, when a friend and I opened a yoga studio in Tokyo, Japan. Throughout that time, I wasn’t the stereotypical yogi—calm, nonchalant, and unbothered. Instead, I was consumed with comparing myself to others. “He’s better,” “I’m not enough,” “She has everything, and I don’t.” These thoughts drove me to push myself harder, always striving for something more. That’s the kind of person I was—until I took this one life-changing yoga class.

My life turned upside down when I attended my first class with the renowned instructor Akira Ito in 2004. He said, “Focus on yourself—that’s on the mat. Do not compare yourself to the person next to you.” I followed his words, and for the first time, I paid all my attention to myself. I felt the warmth of my own body—something I had otherwise ignored. I even felt a sense of accomplishment, despite knowing there were probably more advanced practitioners in the room. It was a small shift, but it planted a seed for something bigger.

Later, I had the chance to take a class with another famous instructor, Shin, where I experienced an incredible meditation.
He guided us: “You are walking in the forest. There’s a cave, and you decide to enter. There isn’t much oxygen inside, and it becomes hard to breathe. You want to get out as soon as possible. Just when you’re about to give up, you see a faint light. You push yourself once more and finally reach the exit. Outside, you find yourself on a beautiful green hill with birds chirping and the wind brushing your face. You’ve made it out.”

He then said, “You’ve just felt both struggle and happiness. Remember, you can create happiness for yourself.”

That meditation left a lasting mark on me. I stopped comparing myself to others and started focusing on how to live my life—finding happiness on my own terms. Yoga has truly changed me.

The Chance—The Pandemic

For years, yoga has been a deeply personal journey for me. I continued practicing and managing our yoga schools, but I never imagined that the way people practiced yoga would shift so dramatically—until 2020.

When the pandemic hit, the world was thrown into chaos. In-person yoga classes came to an abrupt halt, and suddenly, everything moved online. While many saw this as a loss, I saw it as an opportunity.

As we were no longer able to hold in-person classes, I simply shifted our service to fully online, and the pandemic accelerated everything. I rushed to get it off the ground, and within the first three months, we had over 1,000 students. It was a thrilling time, but as more companies entered the online yoga space, competition grew. I needed to find a way to stand out.

I started taking countless yoga classes with different instructors, searching for something that could truly set us apart. That’s when I came across an online teacher in Bali, Indonesia—Tomoko.

That encounter opened my eyes and ultimately became the foundation of ONE OM ONE.

The Inspiration – The Starting Point of ONE OM ONE

Tomoko and I had our first yoga session online. It was a one-on-one class, and she began by asking me a few questions. I told her about the chronic back pain I had suffered from since childhood—how I had always pushed myself too hard in group classes, only to make the pain worse. I believed that if I just practiced more, the pain would eventually go away. But Tomoko proved me wrong.

She guided me into Tadasana (Mountain Pose)—but instead of rushing through it, we took two minutes to complete the pose. I was shocked—not only because I usually held this pose for just a few seconds, but also because I was able to go much deeper without any pain. Then, she encouraged me to exhale slowly and transition into Uttanasana (Forward Fold), a process that took three minutes.

Together, we spent five minutes on just two poses.

It was so simple—yet it was exactly what I had been missing. I didn’t need to practice more; I needed to slow down—much, much more than I had ever imagined.

After that session, one thought wouldn’t leave my mind:
How many people have given up on yoga because they didn’t know what their body truly needed?

That realization became the starting point of us, ONE OM ONE.

Whether someone has an injury, chronic pain, is pregnant, or is just starting yoga—whatever the case may be—I knew there were countless people who could benefit from a practice tailored to their unique needs.

The Journey 

I felt very passionate about starting a new 1-on-1 personalized yoga service. I wanted to make yoga accessible for everyone–later became our slogan, “Yoga is for everyone.” 

I’ve already had connections to the yoga community in Malaysia, where I have been running a yoga school with hundreds of graduates and thousands of yoga practitioners and instructors. I saw an opportunity to connect these incredible teachers with people in the world in a 1-on-1 setting to help them practice yoga in their personalized way. The word “yoga” originates from a Sanskrit word meaning “to connect.” That’s exactly what I envisioned—creating a platform where people around the world could connect through yoga. I knew in my heart that this was my life’s mission.

Since then, I’ve been fortunate to build a dedicated team, including my co-founders, Masa and Hina, who agreed with the potential of this personal yoga, and a growing community of talented yoga instructors.

I remember a gentleman, someone who found us through a Facebook ad. He purchased a $120 class package, and that small transaction felt like a big step forward.

I also remember our very first free trial student. She no-showed twice, and just when I thought she wouldn’t return, she finally took the class on her third attempt… and then disappeared. It was a lesson in patience, persistence, and the unpredictability of building something new.

In those early days, I would wake up at 1 or 2 a.m., sending reminders three hours before class, making sure no one forgot. 

Every moment, every challenge, was shaping the foundation of ONE OM ONE.

Then, there was a student who told me she wanted to keep paying for membership even when she was busy and unable to take classes—so much so that she worried whether I was properly compensating the instructors. That kind of trust and support meant everything.

I’ll never forget when one of our instructors met her student in person, and a customer who started off skeptical and full of complaints but has stayed with us ever since.

And then, the referrals started.

It was no longer just me advocating for the power of one-on-one yoga—our students were speaking for us. My conviction in this mission only grew stronger.

Together, and with the invaluable feedback from our customers, we’ve worked tirelessly to improve our service and bring it to where it is today. I am deeply grateful to everyone who has contributed to this journey. 

 I hope that your visit to this site becomes the starting point for a meaningful connection and brings new value to your life.  

"The purpose of being born into this world is to accomplish something."

— Ryoma Sakamoto (as written by Ryotaro Shiba)

Warmly,

Jimmy