05/25/2020
A Message from the Desk Manager at Namaste:
Happy Memorial Day friends!
Hopefully you and yours are safe and well, and you are able to utilize this day for what it is intended for.
Recently, through one of the various yoga collectives, I read a post by a young lady that asked where a “curvy girl” could go for yoga? She was looking for recommendations. Several people identified our studio, and one of our administrators responded as well, noting that we are the studio from which Dianne Bondy took her teacher training.
This got me thinking for days on this…if you have never met Dianne, you are truly missing out on something special. She did indeed graduate from our teacher training program and went on to do amazing things in the yoga world. Our yogi across the river came to the States, specifically to our studio, for many good reasons. If you ever take a workshop with her at our studio, she will tell you all about it, as we are grateful to have her guide workshops with our folks every year. I like to think of her as the queen of inclusivity, among so many other positive adjectives I can think of. But I can tell you this: she chose us for a reason. While we live and breathe the motto “you are your own guru”, we also say quite often that “yoga is for everybody. EVERY BODY.” Yoga is a gift, a gift we are gratified to share with you, and perhaps one of the reasons we stood out to Dianne and it felt like home was because our yogis and instructors come from all walks of life. They are young, old, thin, curvy, recovering, healthy, intelligent, mindful, and the list goes on. We take pride in offering a class that both a teenager and an 80-year-old can benefit from. With videos to assuage our students for the time being, virtual classes for the world to see, and classes in the future that teach basic principles to people who have never practiced before, NOW is the time for the curious. Now is the perfect time to try things out, find your comfort zone, and recognize that we speak the truth. You are indeed your own guru, and yoga truly is for every body.
I hope that curvy girl found a space to do her yoga that made her feel happy. As a curvy girl myself, I know Namaste makes me feel happy. Everything is not always black and white, yin or yang, Zen or not. But yoga connects us and keeps us together, sane, and HAPPY.
Best,
Michelle Niemi
Curvy Yoga Lady at the Desk
