No matter how much Barbara King’s husband encouraged her to open up a fitness studio or retail store, she still felt resistant to the idea. What this outgoing, high-energy, freedom-loving Sagittarian really preferred was to continue focusing on building the business in fashion and style that she started in New York City and Los Angeles. Today, the owner of BKS Yoga, in Naples, which includes a small retail space for one-of-a-kind boutique clothing and jewelry, has the best of both worlds. She not only teaches power yoga, but also uses her knowledge and expertise in fashion, fitness and color to style women from the inside-out and provide them with a practice that can strengthen their mind-body connection, as well as shape a figure that showcases the best of their personal style.

“In October 2014, unbeknownst to me, my husband took a drive around town to look at real estate. He came home and announced that he had found a freestanding building that was a good location for a yoga studio. He made the appointment for us to see inside of it the next day and the rest was the stuff of magic. He found our manager, hired her and we renovated the space that was once an adult daycare center to make it a suitable and fashionable yoga studio.

That’s when the synchronicity began. “Other than a friend I asked, all of our 19 instructors, who teach various styles such as power vinyasa, restorative, asana flow, chair, gentle flow and meditation, gentle release, hatha all levels, kundalini as taught by Yogi Bhajan and candlelight flow, in addition to kid’s yoga and doga, showed up on our doorstep eager to teach here. Nearly a year later, I’m still waking up and saying to myself, ‘Seriously, Barbara, you have a yoga studio.’ Nothing has ever been this easy or flowed this smoothly,” quips the Naples resident of 11 years.

A graduate of the Fashion Institute of Technology and author of Be Delicious Now: Ultimate Fashion Secrets, King once gave fashion advice to Sandra Bullock, Sylvester Stallone and Mary Tyler Moore. “The work in the entertainment industry was more about how good people looked on the outside. I was interested in diving deeper to help people feel good inside and out,” advises King, who not only consults one-on-one with clients, but also offers her fashion tips at country club luncheons and at Hodges University.

“Hodges likes that I can help their students learn how to dress suitably for business to get a job or a promotion. I teach them that they don’t have to spend a million dollars to look good. Wardrobe overhauls are done from a realistic perspective that takes someone’s lifestyle and environment into consideration. With Skype and FaceTime, I’m able to help people all over the U.S.,” explains King, who refers clients out locally for hair and makeup makeovers. “We shop together with their budget in mind,” she says.

King studied yoga with Baron Baptiste and teaches one class a week at her studio. “I fully understand the transformational power of yoga and breath work, which is why we have a yoga class for everyone and make time for workshops. The yoga and sound therapy classes—kundalini yoga with gong bath, restorative yoga and crystal bowl sound bath—are as popular with students as the magic bus ride that uses breath, mantra and light kundalini-style movements to create a mind-space exploration and expansion. It makes me feel good to know that we offer all the tools for transformation, as well as a supportive yoga community,” notes King.

To schedule an appointment with King for a fashion consult, call 239-691-2416 or visit BarbaraKingStyling.com. BKS Yoga is located at 2900 Tamiami Tr. N, Naples, 239-213-9276.