Community Yoga

This year I celebrate 20 years of teaching Yoga and I can’t think of a more ideal time to finally open a yoga space here in Phoenix.

This has been a long-time aspiration. So many circumstances are unfolding synchronistically in support of this being the right time to go for it!

With yoga studios around the country closing during the global shutdown, Desert Song, where I taught for 19 years, sadly was not exempt. They hung on for the first year of Covid, offering virtual classes. However, the studio where I received my yoga teacher training and where I had known such a tight knit community closed their doors in May of 2021. Desert Song offered healing arts and yoga for close to forty years, to thousands of people. It was a special place, and the void is felt by many.

I taught virtually for Desert Song from the moment when Covid first forced us online, until the very last class they offered, on a Monday evening in May. I feel so fortunate for my time there, to have learned from the best instructors and to have been surrounded by such dedicated students. In my roles as a yoga instructor, massage therapist, marketing manager and front office staff, I earned a thorough understanding of the business side of a yoga center.

Knowing that I would need to find a place to hold my yoga classes whenever the pandemic ended, I researched several options and leads. Renting a room by the class was between $75-$180... totally unreasonable. I attempted to rally other instructos to start a co-op, and that didn't pan out. Some spaces were affordable but too small, or not available.

In April of 2022 I began to teach at And Breathe, a bodywork studio right in central Phoenix. They had an empty yoga room and sublet it to me for only $30 per class! This made it possible for me to take my classes back to live, in person experiences. Because the rent was so fair, I was able to keep my class prices affordable and offer a $5 financial hardship rate, while receiving reasonable compensation for myself.

It has been an incredible thirteen months at And Breathe. What a soft place to land and a nurturing environment in which to rebuild a fractured community. I started with one class and the response was so affirming that I now offer three yoga practices per week. I have led workshops and holiday classes, and in June of 2022 I invited three former Desert Song teachers to co-lead a Summer Solstice all-day fundraising event. We raised $2500 for a local homeless shelter and offered yoga classes from 7am-8:30pm. The reunion with the Desert Song students at this event was so profoundly beautiful. We had grown so accustomed to the many community outreach events Desert Song had coordinated over the years, that it felt right and true to unite for a greater cause again.

Things have been going so well at And Breathe that another Desert Song teacher added a class to the schedule and we were in talks about continuing to grow our offerings in the fall. Sadly, I just found out that And Breathe will be closing their doors in late August, when the owner is moving out of state. The news rocked me. Once again I, and my students, are left wondering "now what?"

The timing of opening my own space also coincides with my son leaving for college. All of my career decisions have been made with my role as single mother at the forefront. When Sam was younger, I arranged my work schedule around him. I simultaneously worked as a yoga instructor, waitress, labor doula and pet sitter - juggling multiple jobs to support us. While I struggled financially, my time with Sam was so rewarding, and the jobs I took all grew me in such wonderful ways. I have no regrets. Now that he is launching into pseudo-adulthood at NAU, I am moving into a whole new phase of life, with the reclamation of my time and focus.

I know I'm incredibly lucky for my yoga students. They are remarkable individuals with inspiring commitment and resilience. Some have been with me since my very first class 20 years ago, and most have been with me for over a decade. Our willingness to show up is mutual, as is the respect. They are engaged, interested in sustaining and building our community, and most important, they have integrity. My students deserve to have a stable place for learning and practicing Yoga, and I feel honored to step fearward.

There are start-up costs involved in taking this next step, and due to not being a big earner, I don't have savings that I can draw from. I might make very little money, however, I have no debt (besides a mortgage), I live within my means, and as long as I have money for bills, emergencies, a reliable car and an annual trip to NY to be with family and friends, I'm content. I'm fortunate to have a low mortgage since I have been in my home since 2004. The Yoga principle of Aparigraha/Non-greed guides my choices. I just want to teach yoga, as much as possible and to as many different people as possible. Yoga has proven itself to me time and time again. This path is my calling, my passion and my expertise.

The space I found is less than a mile from my home, on 12th st and Northern. It's a 900 sq foot room with a private bathroom, and is practically move-in ready. There is plenty of parking and one large east-facing window with a view of Piestewa peak. We share space in a shopping center with CrossFit, a children's gymnastics studio, a couple of restaurants, a Tae Kwon Do studio, AquaTots swim school, a barber and a nail salon, to name a few. The combination of these complementary businesses and excellent street visibility, I have no doubt I will attract new students.

My vision is to have a welcoming, simple and clean space that supports the deepening study of Yoga. My intention is to use this space for healing, inclusivity, and to support other instructors looking for a home for their classes. I am committed to community outreach and will hold consistent events involving yoga, music and art as a platform for raising funds, supplies and awareness for the community we are a part of.

Lease:

$1716/month, 3-year triple net (insurance, taxes and maintenance)

Start up costs will cover:

I hope you'll consider supporting this endeavor, and that you will share it with your community. It's 100% true that every contribution helps tremendously.

Thank you for taking the time to read this, and please reach out to me with any questions, or ideas.