Good newsΒ – we are in full-onΒ summerΒ cleaning mode in the studios, getting ready to welcome you back to in person classesΒ for a soft-reopeningΒ in August!Β
As a business owner, I feel exceedingly luckyΒ to still be here. When Covid turned our world upside down more than a year ago,Β we were fortunate thatΒ Source YogaΒ was alreadyΒ an established business with a dedicatedΒ community.Β Last yearΒ we were able to pivot quickly to an online format for classesΒ –Β while prioritizing keeping our students and teachers safe during this pandemic.Β Many of you have joined us online this yearΒ andΒ have expressed that the online classes youβve attended have been a supportΒ through a difficult time.Β Β
As we open our doors to you,Β I am excited to continue to offer many onlineΒ classesΒ for those of you who want toΒ continue practicingΒ remotely.Β We also plan to offer some on-demand online options in the coming months.Β Β
More good news – aΒ large percentage of ourΒ SourceΒ community reports being vaccinated against Covid-19 (according to 270+ responses to ourΒ re-openingΒ survey,Β 93% of you!), and the caseΒ numbers in our area and nationally are dropping consistently.Β There are still plenty of unknowns, as there always are. WeΒ may notΒ know what the months ahead will look like, and weΒ will continueΒ to adapt to the changing needs of our community.Β Β
~Β
As we plan for reopening our physical spaces,Β we haveΒ an opportunity to remember why we are here to begin with. This is aΒ time to reconnect with our intention of serving our community and having the benefits of yogaΒ accessible toΒ all.Β Itβs why the yoga practices we offer are adaptable and physically accessible for most, and we continue to expand the accessibility of our offeringsΒ for all bodies.Β Stay tuned for the return of Chair Yoga with BonnieΒ as aΒ drop-inΒ class in the fall!Β ItβsΒ alsoΒ why we have implemented tiered/sliding scaleΒ pricing andΒ offerΒ many scholarships and income-relevant payment options.Β
For me personally,Β this time has alsoΒ providedΒ an opportunityΒ to rethinkΒ and reimagine how a business can function.Β Β
Truth be told, I am not a businesswoman at heartΒ (donβt worry, Iβm not going anywhere anytime soon). What matters most to me is living a spacious,Β creative, and spiritualΒ life,Β withΒ time toΒ enjoy family, friends,Β andΒ activities that enhance and support community.Β I wantΒ to make a difference in the world in whatever small ways I can,Β while holdingΒ space andΒ time for contemplation and rest. I started a yoga businessΒ 16 years agoΒ because IΒ could see it was a way that I could do something I lovedΒ whileΒ startingΒ a family. It has beenΒ that, and it has supportedΒ livingΒ a lifeΒ with purpose.Β Β
I have always been interested in living my life a little counter to our cultural narrative. A narrative which primarily centers hard work and productivity over rest and non-doing. I try to let go of my hardwired need to strive, and I speak frequently in my classes about slowing down. The reality is – it takes a lot of practice when everything in our culture pushes us in the opposite direction. It takes writing a new narrative of what kind of life is possible for us all.Β
I am committed to bringingΒ thisΒ differentΒ narrativeΒ intoΒ the actions ofΒ business as wellΒ as my personal life.Β What if we reimagined what the pace of ourΒ workdaysΒ lookedΒ like?Β What if we let go of the hustle, theΒ capitalisticΒ grind, the needΒ to be productive all the time?Β Our cultural conditioning is deeply rooted. It takes practice to shift this narrative in our lives. For me, it takes frequent remindersΒ – itβs why I speak about itΒ over and over again.Β
What if our perspective shifted from finding personal value in how much we accomplish and how fast, to how much space and time we have to enjoy our life? What if what was truly valued was being with the ups and downs of living that we all face, without needing to push through them as quickly as possible? What if we, as Source Yoga, were doing just that? What if the cornerstone of our business was a foundation of rest and slowing down the pace of daily life?Β
This year has afforded us behind the scenes at Source Yoga the opportunity to go slow and steady through all our decisions. Weβve been home with our families, weβve moved furniture and taught from our houses, weβve taken time off in the middle of the week and gone hiking, weβve been living in a pandemic world and trying not to force ourselves into βbusiness as usual.β Β
At many points along the way, I asked myself if it felt right to open and gather in person. Over and over again, I noticed the inner voice that said, βnot yet.β I honored that. In this spirit of this honoring, it feels appropriate to take our summer re-opening in a slow, thoughtful, and spacious way.Β
We will be opening our doorsΒ forΒ in studio classesΒ on August 2nd. I know our region is set to open businesses to full capacity by July. But in line with my greater commitment, I am choosing spaciousness instead of rushing, and I am balancing family time this summer with business. In August, we will open a handful of classes in studio with limited capacity to give a comfortable amount of space for all. We will maintain a full online schedule as well. In the coming months you can expect us to expand our in-studio schedule slowly.Β
As we begin to gather, weΒ will find our way into a new normal.Β We will make space to rest, to digest, to settle, to live.Β We willΒ experiment, make mistakes,Β adjust, and write aΒ new narrative of what ourΒ post-pandemicΒ lifeΒ canΒ look like.Β Β
It would be inauthentic if we were teachingΒ you to have aΒ restfulΒ and restoringΒ life,Β and then scrambling beneath the surfaceΒ to force movement before we are ready.Β With this new opening, you can step into a yoga studio that is honoring rest and spaceΒ with each step we take, each decision we make, each action we choose.Β Β
Let’s breathe together.Β LetβsΒ find space and slowness and rest.Β Letβs write a new narrative.Β Β
Β
With Care,
ErinΒ JoosseΒ | she/her
Source YogaΒ Β
Studio DirectorΒ