Help local yoga studio stay in current lease

Its been two years, six months, two weeks and one day since we closed our doors to our yoga studio in response to the COVID pandemic. During this time, we were unsure if we'd open again. Many other local yoga studios were forced to close as the financial burden became too much to bear. During the New York State shutdown, Shambhala did not receive federal or state assistance. It is through sheer will, determination and help from the community that our studio has remained open. It has been a long journey, but we have finally begun to rebound. In August, we saw our largest class since March 2020. More and more people are returning to in-person classes, and we are finally back on track!

Our studio is growing again, but we have one more bump in the road - Back Rent.

To stay in our current lease, we need to provide $30K to our landlord by the end of October.

We're asking for your help! We've poured so much love, time and attention into our new space so that our students feel safe to practice - we don't want to lose it.

Here are a few ways to support this initiative:

More about Shambhala:

Shambhala Yoga & Dance Center is a local, black-owned yoga and wellness space that has served the Prospect Heights community since 2001. Our guiding mission is to provide a small oasis of peace and comfort where we join with others from our community to breathe deeply, restore our spirits, and regain the inner clarity and balance to help navigate through and celebrate all facets of this sometimes stormy, sometimes exhilarating — but always interesting — journey of life.

Reflecting the depth and diversity of our neighborhood, we welcome people of all backgrounds to come together and, side by side, enjoy the deep benefits of aligning the body, the mind and the breath—whether it’s through yoga, bodyART, meditation, massage, or African dance. We recognize this path to the spirit is different for everyone. Our yoga and dance teachers come from a variety of backgrounds, passionate about their practice and bringing a unique perspective and approach that they share so generously. We believe that yoga, dance and other healing movement practices should be available to all people, regardless of their financial situation, and we offer access to our sliding scale prices for any class.

More about the owner:

Deanna Green is a Trainer, Teaching Artist, Yoga Teacher and is the owner of Shambhala Yoga & Dance Center, located in Brooklyn, New York. Deanna started practicing yoga in 2013 to ease lower back pain and quickly became engrossed in the field of holistic wellness. She attended her 200 and 300 hour training with Abhaya Yoga School, under the tutelage of Tara Glazier. As a yoga teacher and small business owner, Deanna comes to the wellness space with over 10 years in non-profit experience serving marginalized and vulnerable populations.

In 2019, Deanna created Your Empowerment & Self Discovery or YES Yoga- a new and innovative platform to make yoga and other wellness practices more accessible to children, students and underserved communities. YES Yoga consists of in-school programs, community outreach, 200 hour yoga teacher trainings and a train-the-trainer program specific to educators.

Deanna’s classes are a mixture of strength-based and alignment focused movements embedded with a practical approach to yoga.

With the belief that yoga is a tool that fosters change, Deanna strives to close the wellness gap by providing empowering and community driven wellness services to all communities.