I (didn’t) Have A Dream: The Story of Sol Yoga
I tell the story of the Sol Yoga’s birth fairly often. Its sweet and serendipitous. I had been practicing yoga in a small studio called Inchworm Yoga that started out of Hood College – dedicated mostly to free yoga for the students, but also open the public. The studio space was just better than grungy but the community was vibrant and the teacher, Katherine, was warm, smiley and full of hugs and acceptance. I fell in love with yoga in that space and time and lived for TGIF Friday night practice for years. One night, Katherine plucked me out of class and told (forced) me to teach. And so then I taught, and practiced. And lived for both.
Inchworm grew and grew and then Hood College ran out of space for us. The ‘studio’ diminished to classes, then the classes jumped from new location to new location. People lost track of us. On the night I taught the last class in a space next to the old Mudd Puddle coffee shop, Kristina Molinari walked in the door. She had just moved back and was so delighted to have found yoga in Frederick. As I taught that class, and watched her practice, I knew this could not end. We had become a refuge. Not only for me, but for so many. At the end of class, I begged her for her email address and felt an urge to find a space to carry on. Even if it was just the TGIF classes.
I started asking around for any vacant space where I could hold a yoga class. I was selling real estate at the time and had lots of connections. Someone alerted me to the space just (above) my nose. Studio sky, was a vacant two bedroom apartment. It had not used for years. There was dust everywhere, stained light blue indoor/outdoor carpet, a massive masonry wall that needed to be demolished and peeling paint. But it was perfect. Perfect. Small, close, and as it turns out, very cheap.
The gracious landlord took care of all the renovations, pulled back the carpet and shined up the floors and voila, the bare bones of the space were there. After a pizza painting party and a snow day of work, we were ready. On January 14th we held our first class. Cozy, warm and just perfect. Twelve people showed up and we’ve never looked back.
So many times in my life, major positive changes have come with little or no warning, forcing me to follow my instincts and go with the flow. The practice of yoga hones this ability and makes it possible to have faith in the unknown.
I said yes, but I was never alone in the endeavor. The studio has always, always been a community driven effort – Kristina was our first volunteer and nowadays we have over 20 volunteers and a crew of staff and management team to keep everything running. Students have come and gone for 10 years too. On the mat every day, then absent for years only to return on a random Tuesday night. We never ask or harass, we just hope to see you again when the time is right. Life has ebbed and flowed, people have grown old and babies have been born and through the years, Sol Yoga has been there. Open, warm and ready to receive whatever you show up with. It is an organic, beautiful institution – a great mix of embodying the potential of change while being familiar, comfortable and easy. And today, as I am away from the physical space of the studio, living for the time being on the other side of the world, I can appreciate it even more. There is nothing like coming home to the supportive, nurturing environment of Sol Yoga. Yoga is an amazing practice that carries so many people through bad and good times and Sol Yoga is a special, special place to share this experience with others.
One of the hallmarks of Sol Yoga is our flexibility. I remember scribbling our menu, setting our prices and daydreaming about our mission on those few weeks before opening the doors. All I wanted was convenience for people – for yoga to support people’s lives, not make it more difficult. I wanted people to come and go as they pleased. To be able to drop-in to any class, any day without worrying about pre-registration. I wanted people to feel flexible to mix things up based on their needs – gentle tonight, flow yoga tomorrow. I wanted people to feel welcomed by the process and the practice and supported in their life. This is all on a piece of scrap paper somewhere. But even better, it is now deeply infused in our philosophy.
As we crest into a new decade of business, I want to do something special to celebrate our history and our future. We are calling it our FOREVER flexi-pass. Our regular 10 class pass, good for classes at any location, anytime, but with NO EXPIRATION DATE. We’ll change our prices in 2015, so this is a special opportunity to lock into the essence of sol yoga, FOREVER. Enjoy up to 10 flexi-passes per person (that’s 100 classes) at the archaic 2005 rate of $125.
A new decade will undoubtedly bring more of the same great flexible yoga, lots of amazing new programs and offerings and some change too. We are overwhelmingly supported by people that work for free and it is time for us to give back. More and more, people are inspired to do what they love. To transition into a career that fulfills them and offers a balanced work environment too. We aim to be a competitive employer, to extend our community to not only people to practice yoga on the mat, but to practice yoga as ‘work.’ We want to create JOBS, so people can actually do what they love full time. In fact, our new General Manager falls into the category – retiring from one intense career path to find better work-life balance and be inspired by her work.
“Our dilemma is that we hate change and love it at the same time; what we really want is for things to remain the same but get better.” Sydney Harris”
So I never dreamed I would own a studio, but I do have a vision. A vison to provide a physical space and an effective practice to support people on their path, whatever it may be. And to infuse and inspire health, wellness and wholeness into daily life through the practice of yoga.
Now it’s your turn to say yes. Load yourself up with a few forever flexi-passes and commit to getting on your mat. We’ll be there waiting for you.
“A small group of thoughtful people could change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.” Margaret Mead