2020 brought one of the most challenging years the studio has faced so far. The one thing that never faltered was the embrace of this community to not miss a beat. Between the teachers, staff and our yogi’s, everyone stepped up in one way or another to keep this studio going. As a business, we had to make decisions on almost a daily basis of which direction to go to save the business. The rules of running a business changed on a weekly, sometimes daily, basis. Our team stepped up to the challenge and our students gave us grace and patience as we figured it out, and continue to do so.
On March 8th, we celebrated our 7th year anniversary as a studio. We filled both rooms, shoulder to shoulder, dancing, moving, breathing and sweating. Now looking back at that day, we could have never imagined that being in a room with 40 mats side by side would feel strange today. We had food laid out for all of us to celebrate and share with each other. Who could have thought we would have worried about sharing a buffet of food together today would seem unhealthy? We took a picture of all of us in our OM shirts celebrating 2019’s achievements of our community. No one worried about putting their arms around each other and embracing.
What many people are not aware of is that when I came up with the name Drishtiq originally, it represented a vision of being a virtual studio. I created the business when I lived in Florida 9 years ago. Drishtiq was never supposed to be a physical studio. I defined the world DrishtiQ to represent the Sanskrit word Drishti - “a focused gaze”, with the Q representing infinity - meaning you can practice anywhere, anytime and be joined together by our infinite intention together.
When I moved to Mason over 8 years ago, I originally opened the physical space to create a live virtual stream of classes. That is why the TV was already installed in the Empower room.
However, as I started to get to know the customers that walked in, I realized that was not going to be of interest. So I waited. Then 3 years later, Amy Kreider and I started working on the initiative together again. We developed a website and a virtual library but soon found again that there was not a strong interest in live streaming. So we continued to record classes and offer the videos as a special benefit to our members. And here comes Covid comes 7 years later...we were ready. I never could have imagined that we would be doing it in the way we are now, but the groundwork was laid so that you never missed a class. Now, we even hear from many of you to continue the virtual streaming after Covid. Drishtiq’s mission still lives on.
We didn’t miss a beat. The day we were shut down, we got the equipment up and running and kept classes going. Then we had to move to our homes and Amy K, Amy F, Deb, Jen, Mary Jo and I took on the class schedule so you still had your practice. Then I tasked Jagger (aka DJ JAGWIRE) on how we could stream music and have a yoga dance party once a week to bring some fun and joy to some very tough times. I cannot express enough gratitude for all of these team members that stepped up to learn new technology, conquered their fear of teaching in a new way, and have created new ways to connect with you online.
We quickly started experiencing the financial pain of Covid as members started dropping that didn’t enjoy virtual yoga, as well as, we were not getting the normal inflow of new students that we would in a normal year without the physical space open. So we went back and got creative and launched the Virtual Yoga Festival donation weekend. What you may not know is that many of the teachers donated their time during quarantine, and have since by teaching classes and workshops for free - such as Jen, Mary Jo, and a huge shoutout to Glenn Terndrup who continues to create workshops and the book club for our community so the revenue comes back to the studio. Everyone pitched in to help the studio earn money and sustain - I could not be more blessed with the team we have and their dedication to the studio. And...YOU showed up and gave when we needed you! This helped pay for our staff during these very hard times and keep rolling as a studio.
Our Teacher Training program also had to move to virtual. Deb, Jen and I quickly figured out how to keep the group on track so they graduated on time and still had a meaningful experience. Although it was difficult to not be in person, no one complained. The teacher trainers stayed committed as we tried new ways to teach the same concepts and as we worked through new technology. This was one of our biggest accomplishments to be able to graduate this class and still have them feel engaged and become great teachers. It was amazing to see.
At the end of May, we were able to open - but nothing looked the same or could operate the same. Huge appreciation to Amy Kreider and Donna Kirch for the continual research and work they have done this year to make sure we are in compliance and everyone is safe walking through the door. This was no small undertaking, and because of their hard work and perseverance, our doors are still open and we are practicing together - whether in the physical space or virtually - but we are practicing.
And we continued to celebrate your OM Club achievements during a year that there was very little to celebrate. Those celebrations and dedications of each person became a glimmer of light, the proof that we keep going and we are in this together, no matter what.
Are we still struggling?...yes. But what motivates every teacher is the physical and virtual embrace we continue to see with this community. Our 5:30 AM classes motivate each other, the morning classes that get on early to talk with one another and provide support to one another. The evening and weekend classes push each other and give each other advice and motivation to keep coming.
You show up, we show up. This has always been our mission and heart of this studio. Every BODY is accepted, we are here to have fun and not take ourselves too seriously and provide healing. We are here to support one another as ONE commUNITY - anytime, anywhere you are.
We truly practiced our yoga off the mat in so many ways this year -
Non-attachment to all that we were used to when we practiced yoga together
No expectation of what a class “should” be or where we “should” practice
Stayed present in the moment and enjoyed all that we do have, without trying to predict the future and create stories that are untrue
Cultivated gratitude for what we do have, for this community to support one another online or in the studio and still celebrate each other
2021 brings hope that we will be able to bring more of us together again at some point, as well as bring in new yogi’s to our community. We have now installed a TV in the Inspire room for those of you that want to be in the studio to practice and not be virtual but would prefer a non-heated class. We will stream all live heated vinyasa classes into the Inspire room so that you can practice in our physical space with one another for those that have this preference. There will be a separate sign up on the schedule for you to reserve a spot in the Inspire room for these classes. We hope that this will entice some of you that have been struggling virtually to come back into the studio and practice together.
We currently have a yoga teacher training group graduating this March and will be signing up a new group to start on April 9th. If you are interested in signing up and learning more about the program, please reach out to Deb Bagley.
Glenn Terndrup will be leading a workshop series on the 8 Limbs of Yoga that is not to be missed! You can sign up online to take your yoga knowledge deeper!
We will figure out a new way to celebrate our anniversary, all the amazing 2020 OM Club achievements, and a 2021 Yoga Donation Festival...stay tuned! And be on the lookout for an email to vote for our 2020 Annual Teacher Awards. This means so much to our staff to get these awards and celebrate them for all they do!
We are continually thinking of new ways to support you in your yoga journey, as well as your families. We appreciate you remaining practicing yogis of Dristhiq, we couldn’t be here without your support. This year our theme in ONE commUNITY - whether you are online or in the studio- we remain together, supporting each other and growing together so we can be better for those around us.
Namaste,
Amy