Join Us in Growing Core Element's Dream of a Wellness Studio

Fund a space for healing movement, joyful community, and personal growth.

My name is Craig and I founded Core Element Yoga as a way to help people connect to the quintessential elements of a better life. I have always felt as though I am not in my element when I walk into spaces to do yoga, dance, workout, connect or be inspired. I am building a community, encouraging a culture, and trying to build a space where everyone feels like they are in their element from the mats of the studio to their everyday life; and I need the support of my community to continue and grow into a brick and mortar studio and give Core Element the home, hub, and hearth it needs to grow.

Most lending institutions are uninterested in businesses without product and machinery to back as collateral, and several programs and grants have not seen the value in my vision because it is so experiential that it is hard to capture in numbers, words, and pictures. So I am turning to the most value asset I know; the community that we have built. Please donate, share, and join us so we can take this community in South Central Kentucky and grow outward.

What makes us different?

The pervasive culture of perfection has stripped away the joy of movement and used it as a tool for punishment. I believe physical movement is most valuable when it is treated with a sense of celebration. I believe all people should move their bodies. This space would focus not only on yoga but several movement modalities that inform and encourage a healthy relationship to movement first and the leadership and guidance necessary to use movement as a tool for healing, development, and holistic wellness.

Why not teach at any random gym?

I teach yoga and movement in ways that see people as the complex beings that they are rather than trying to fix something that they think is wrong. I believe that being present with what we feel emotionally and physically is vital and much of my programming evokes self-inquiry to promote embodiment. This can be challenging to promote when juxtaposed in markets next to peers that treat people as numbers, problems, and revenue streams or that fall upon things like diet culture and other fear-based tactics to market.

Why can't you find something faster and cheaper to rent?

Over the years of teaching and facilitating I have learned to hold safe spaces --even as a way to challenge the safety to cultivate resilience and autonomy in people. Having a safe, consistent and controlled container that I can maintain to the highest quality is what will encourage growth in clients. Often the environment we are in has effects on the efficacy of our development... simply put: the better the soil the better the growth.

Isn't an app a better investment these days?

Above all I have learned that gathering in community, often amongst people that are different than us, reconnects us with our shared human experience. These days isolation, automation, and ease have been packaged and commodified as the path to greatest peace. However, spaces like group class have often been invaluable "third spaces" outside of our home and work. It is in the safe third space where we establish a sense of self, release unhelpful patterns and ideas, and define the roles we play in making the world better.

So join me to bring the flame, flow, foundation, and freedom to Core Element through the support of a physical location.