Well, as new proprietors of one, I guess we should probably know! And shouldn’t you – our community and practitioners, know too? If we both come up with our best ideas of what a yoga studio is for, you can get the most out of your opportunity to be here and we can get the most out of our opportunity to know you. It might be worthwhile to think deeply about this, so that we include as many possibilities when we consider what our space will come to mean. For many reasons, it’s been an unusual few years for the yoga industry, you might even argue it’s been in an existential crisis. It makes this a good moment for reasoned reflection on what exactly it is we’re all doing in a studio setting.

On one hand, there’s probably truth to the idea that the most successful communities and cultures (or at least the most interesting parts about them) are not, and cannot be, pre-planned. The most remarkable communities and cultures emerge from components that work well together in some surprising and unique way. On the other hand, it’s incredibly hard to do something like open a yoga studio without some pre-planning. It’s unlikely that anything will get off the ground if those components are just “doing their own thing” and hoping that things just happen to collide in some way that creates a successful yoga community. It’s just not a practical way to attain goals like that, out in the “real world”.

The reality is probably that some of both elements need to influence the creation of a successful culture. Some combination of good timing, luck, and the right people, as well as executing good planning, strategies and tactics is probably how most remarkable things happen. Can we strike a balance between total randomness, and total control?

There might be a way that you, dear community member, can provide something like planning, strategies and tactics, however that’s probably going to fall mostly to us on the business end of things. What you can provide though, to our emerging relationship, is to show up in a way that provides ample opportunity for unplanned, unexpected, remarkable things to happen. Gaining the most value for your time and money if you do… So how might you do this?

Drop as many ideas you may have about what a yoga studio is for, and arrive with an open mind, receptive to possibility. Be yourself, bring your whole self, and offer whatever you may be comfortable offering, whether that is something as subtle as a smile to a fellow practitioner, or as big as an idea that could change the whole way we operate. Have conversations. Try new things. Practice becoming flexible with your thoughts on what a yoga studio and community needs to be. Focus on what is there, and what those ingredients might become, rather than on what is not there. Think of this whole studio as an art project: we have these materials, fluid and changing as time passes and people come and go, and we can attempt to create something beautiful, collaborative, and reflective of who we all are. It will be something that we have woven ourselves into, like genes are woven into an organism. We can aspire to all become pleased, proud, and satisfied with our creation. Think big, broad, and expansively (and also small, narrow and focused when called for!). Acquaint yourself with tradition for inspiration and context, but release dogma.

We will be here on the back end, attempting to wisely manage when needed, and attempting to stay out of the way when needed. We will also add ourselves, combustible and potential-laden entities that we are, to the experiment we began. May we please also have you, in all your unique excellence, offer something of yourself? We will need it!

A possible answer to the question posed at the outset: A yoga studio is for exploring what the best expression of yourself might be, an expression that nobody reaches as an isolated entity. A remarkable individual comes from co-mingling with a vibrant environment, a vibrant environment that the remarkable individual in turn contributes to creating. We exist to promote your unique wellness, on the premise that community can help achieve that.

Enough theorizing for now— shall we move into action!?