The Soul of The Sanctuary

For now ~

Gone are chilled towels and essential oils

Replaced by hand sanitizer and thermal scans

Gone is the focus on breath with ease and grace

Replaced by face masks and gloves

Sweaty, crowded classes, we used to love them

Now that sounds like a living nightmare

Ironically, shockingly and totally on brand…

One of the things I miss the most ~

Folding the sweat towels

The color of your whole life can unfold

Within terry cloth corners

Fold, fold, stack

Repeat

Lovingly

Tenderly

With intimate madness

With cosmic relatives

The tales you tell

The stories you hear

The precious moments of vulnerability and connectivity

That you discover

The whole world would benefit from that in this moment

Connection

The sweetest moments with the kindest students anyone can ever fathom

Mere human words cannot possibly represent the myriad of hearts, smiles, kind gestures, tender thoughts and sentiments known amongst us all in the community we built, nurtured, rooted and groomed

Tears, laughter, the softest light, the ethereal dark, moments of flight, adventures of melt, all the things life is meant to be

Will live forever in our hearts

And linger in each breath

Eternally

Plants

Wind chimes

Glow walls

Play lists

Chilled towels

Essential oils

Reiki

Incense, incense, and more incense

Hands on assists (cringe)

Rain on a copper roof

Sunsets that set your soul on fire

And the studio ablaze

In all the ways

And ice cold water

Deep connections

Hearts that hold a net for a lifetime

On a 2 by 6 foot mat of rubber

And maybe sometimes, those damn fuzzy blankets...

I opened my first studio (not as the owner, as the manager) in 2010

And now, 10 years later, I close my last

At least for now. Just the physical location, mind you

We are now and will be online with classes

As for the physical location,

There are just too many risks to reopen with integrity.

This is the move required of the courage within me.

This is my next right step that you've come to expect of me.

You see...

One third of our teaching staff is pregnant, which I love and - it makes things higher risk.

Our clientele skew older, which I love and - it makes things higher risk.

The building is older and there are two major clog spots that would make safe social distancing really difficult, if not impossible at times.

The requirements in reduced capacity severely handicap the business and my ability to meet the revenue required to justify the space.

Add in the additional costs for enhanced, deeper and more frequent cleaning, thermal scans, online classes and the upside down financial picture becomes further complete...

So here we are

Sigh

Smile

Through tears, we smile

After hosting Rodney Yee & Colleen Saidman Yee of NYC many times over

After hosting Seane Corn

And Jen Pastiloff

And others

After training 100 + yoga students to become yoga teachers

After so many yogi babies coming into our tribe

We close

For now

As always, I will stay open to whatever the next chapter may bring

And yes, in the meantime, I will continue to create classes and courses online.

From the place of healing, warmth and joy within me

My offering to you

And to the collective energy

Life has changed in a fundamental way

It’s okay

Some things really needed/still need to shift

As we are all living in this moment of unrest and protest

And illness and sickness

Some things, the way they were, we will always miss

Grief is natural right now and to be expected

Some things need a stark overhaul

Prayers we are strong enough to do the work, to heal

For my part, I will continue to share a sanctuary

My heart so very

Raw, open and real

The truth within me revealed

Much love, my yogis.

“Another world is not only possible, she is on her way. On a quiet day, I can hear her breathing.― Arundhati Roy