Inspiration in the Mountains

First, I want to thank all my wonderful instructors, family and early supporters that came out to the Tula Grand Opening on Friday. It was completely mind-blowing to see people in my space - doing yoga! What an awesome community of people we already have.

It's going to be a great first week,

Maile

The following is a guest blog post by our instructor and assistant manager, Adrienne Nothnagel.

Last week I attended the Baron Baptiste Immersion workshop at the Yoga Journal Conference in Estes Park. I consider Baron Baptiste to be a founding father of the Power Yoga style, so practicing with him four hours a day, I hoped to gain some of his fatherly yogic wisdom to bring into my own practice and teaching.

He emphasized simple phrases: “Bring love to your love of the practice.” “Stand in your Power. Have power in your Power.” “Make it interesting.” Honestly, he sounded kinda like a stoner at first. But as the week progressed, we went a bit deeper into these simple phrases. His practice combines rigorous asana with a playful tone. As we held poses for what felt like forever, Baron engaged in a philosophical conversation with us. He questioned us on our purpose, our habitual thoughts, drew metaphors to the stability of our poses to the stability of our lives, and pointedly asked us what we will “let go of” that is holding us back in our practice (and in life).

I learned that the “Power” in Power Yoga is not force or struggle at all. Power, in this context, is actually a radical acceptance of where we are in the current moment. With this acceptance we can proactively change our lives, perceptions of self, and our relationships. It is seeing yourself as a block of clay, rather than a solid rock. We no longer say: “This is just the way I am/my body is,” and instead we say: “I seem to be this way today/lately/subconsciously.” Understanding ourselves in the current moment gives us a way to grow honestly. We let go of who we were and who we think we are, and instead we just... are. When we embrace who we are right now, we have Power.

Compassion and love were also emphasized in his classes and breakout sessions. We would meditate for an hour, then we were challenged to stare directly into the eyes of a stranger next to us and discuss what came up in meditation. Following this, we were asked just to look into each others’ eyes and not say a thing - just holding eye contact.

So many emotions come up during this exercise! I immediately became aware of a natural fear/resistance to connect with others that we all have. This fear is mostly subconscious, hidden in places that are tough to access, and it is incredibly difficult to articulate why we all have an urge to hide. The overarching lesson is simply that we often see ourselves as completely separate and different from others. But at the root of our being, we are all the same. When you strip away the superficial things (image, materials, individualized experiences), we all seek love, fulfillment, and life. You can see this when you look into some one’s eyes. The more we pull away from looking into the eyes of the people around us, the less likely we are going to be compassionate to that person and the less likely we are to see ourselves within the other person.

After this contemplation on individual-to-individual connection, we logically progressed to the concept of community. One of my partners, Ruby, struggled to hold eye contact. When my eyes persisted, hers began to tear up; I gave a smile for reassurance, and the tears subsided. I knew it was hard for both of us to stare so intently at each other. When it was all done, she offered a profound comment: “Community creates itself. Many people will be in one place at the same time in so many situations. The quality of that community is based entirely on how you react to it.”

Now back in Chicago, we had our Grand Opening last night for Tula. Around forty people came together in the same place and opened themselves up to meeting and socializing with others. I taught the grand opening yoga to a room full of awesomely inspiring, attentive, willing-to-connect individuals. In this new space I am excited to empower our students to grow and “bring love to their love of the practice.” We want people to see this not only as a breath of peace after a long week, but also a place where they can count on awesome people to be here. The community is ready for your power, your passion, and your engagement.

- Adrienne Nothnagel

Tula's Grand Opening and Membership Special

First, I want to say that I am eternally grateful for my friends, family and neighbors for welcoming and supporting my business venture. My love of Logan Square and my love of yoga have converged and are finally making Tula Yoga Studio a reality!

We have an exciting month ahead of us. On Friday, September 30th at 7pm, we will have our Grand Opening celebration and Open House. You can see all the details and RSVP on our Facebook page; I hope you can make it.

To celebrate our opening, we're also running a limited special: 30 of our 120 monthly membership spots are available at a reduced rate of $99/month. The offer is open to anyone who would like to purchase a membership prior to our doors opening on September 30th, and will be limited to the first 30 people who sign up. There are currently 28 spots left! If you're interested, you can purchase a membership here.

In addition to receiving unlimited yoga, you have my promise that I will continue to value and reward those of you that are the first to join Tula. I'm planning some exciting workshops that members will have discounted access to, as well as some other surprises and benefits for being part of our new community.

Lastly, our website has been updated with our opening schedule, and all the bios of our awesome instructors. We'll be opening with 41 classes per week, more than 20 instructors, and class times that will fit into any schedule. Check out all the latest info at tulayoga.net.

Thanks again for your support and I hope to see all of you on the mat soon!

Why I Won't do a Groupon

Often when I tell people that I am opening a new business, they ask if I will do a Groupon to up sales or to market it. I did think about it and I think there may be lots of advantages to doing one. First, it would be marketing, getting the name of the studio out there in a way that may otherwise be too expensive to do. Secondly, Groupons often bring a rush of people to the door. If you are lucky, you may be able to turn some of these deal-seekers into regular customers.

The more that I thought about it and the more that I heard about the experience from either customers of establishments that have run Groupons or from the business owners themselves, I find there are often more disadvantages to doing them than advantages. First, they literally take half your money (based on the discount price that you are already doing). So for example, if my monthly memberships are $129 and I wanted to run a Groupon for 50% off, then my offer would be $64.50 a month. Now if I told Groupon to take 500 of these, I would potentially make $32,500 - but once Groupon takes their cut - I would get $16,250. Now this may sound like alot, and it is, but if you take into account that without the Groupon running, if I was to land 500 members to the studio, I would get $64,500, the $16,250 doesn't sound so good! Now you could make the argument that I wouldn't be able to land 500 customers without the advertising reach of Groupon and you may be right, but in order to make the $16,500 that I would get from a Groupon, I would need to land only 125 customers! If I was to slowly earn the business of 125 people, I would not only grow my business, but I be more likely to gain 125 loyal, repeat customers and not just one time deal-seekers.

Many establishments that have run these Groupon deals, cannot handle the influx of people that come through their doors. I have heard many times that the companies' current customers are the ones that pay for this. The current customers are suddenly crowded out, often told that they need to make advance reservations to insure their spots to get serviced, etc. Regular customers often no longer get the quality of customer service they got before just because the company is trying to keep up with the Groupon-ers. This is a shame. I always thought that it was weird that companies tend to reward only new customers and not their current customers (the ones, by the way, that are keeping them in business). I understand wanting new customers, but I will never try to gain new customers at the expense or inconvenience of my regulars.

Now I know that the economy is tough and that everyone is looking for deals (myself included) and that's why I will give free class cards to those that are truly interested in checking out the studio, and to my instructors and my employees to give to friends and family. I will also regularly run specials and referral deals. I truly feel that the best way to not only earn customers, but to keep customers is through word of mouth and to connect with people outside of just a flashy advertisement. Now this may mean that I gain customers more slowly, but the customers that I gain will be the customers that I keep and that's all that matters.

Tula's New Assistants

I'd like to introduce you to my 2 new Assistant Managers - Lisa Schaefer and Adrienne Nothnagel!

When I placed an ad in Craigslist for an assistant Manager for the studio, the response was literally overwhelming. Everyone who applied were brimming with enthusiasm for the studio, for yoga and for life! It was near impossible to get through the applicants, but I did my best and chose 2 outstanding women to help me run the studio. Here is a bit more about them -

Lisa Schaefer - Lisa's childhood years were spent immersed in ballet and dance. While living overseas in Sydney, Australia in 2005, she discovered yoga for the first time. Since then, she's been a practitioner of Iyengar, Hatha, Vinyasa and most recently discovered her love of Yin yoga. She is currently working on her yoga teaching certification and plans to bring her Yin knowledge to Tula once she is certified. In the meantime, you'll find her assisting with running the studio. Lisa also spends her time running her eco-friendly handbag line, whetherbags.com, which you'll find inside Tula's boutique.

Adrienne Nothnagel- Adrienne is an activist, a poet, and a businesswoman. Born and raised in a small Indiana town, she longs to climb trees barefoot and find a deep connection with everyday life. She attended her first yoga class in 2007, seeking an exercise more organic than elliptical machines and weight lifting. However, she was skeptical that yoga was an “exercise.” Adrienne discovered that yoga is not only an incredibly demanding physical workout, but it can also serve as a conduit for personal and spiritual growth. Based on her own experience, she believes that yoga has the power to transform the mind and body in unexpected, yet positive and beautiful, ways. Adrienne is fascinated with yoga and is excited to share the philosophy and practice of yoga with her students. She fosters a class that is a balance of creativity and insight, and creates a challenging and restorative practice. In addition to helping to run Tula, Adrienne will also be teaching classes five days a week!

Why the Logo Color Change

Well, my fabulous Interior Designer, Michele Ritchie of Borganna, Inc. Designs and I were trying to come up with a color palette for the studio. I showed her a picture of this plate because I thought that the colors were really warm, yet modern and somewhat urban. So that's it! In order to make things a bit cohesive and streamlined, I decided to change my logo colors to match. I loved the purple, pink and grey in the original logo, but I wanted it to be a bit 'stronger'. I showed the plate to the Graphic Designer and my new colors were decided. Let me know what you think!

Tula's Main Focus will not be Yoga

What? Who ever heard of a yoga studio that doesn't focus on yoga? Well, Tula is that studio and I'll tell you why.

I'll be the first to tell you that I don't know that much about the history and traditions of yoga. I have never been to India, studied with gurus or even know of many yoga 'masters'. I do know that I love yoga and what it has brought to my life. I believe that yoga goes much further than just the asanas (poses) and physical exercise. It is a way to find balance, connect with others and bring a sense of calm to our often hectic, impersonal and stressful lives. I love the feeling of calm you get during savasana (the final resting pose) and what I like to call getting 'yoga-stoned'. After leaving my mat, I take this sense of calm into my life. I have much more patience with my children. Stressful things or events can more easily be put into perspective and brushed off. The world just seems like a calmer and kinder place. Many will say that yoga has a spiritual aspect for them. For me, it is much simpler than trying to connect with a higher power or finding life's meaning. It is a way to balance out my life, connect with others, breathe and to focus on myself.

Yoga has been around for thousands of years, there are so many different versions and styles of yoga, it's mind-boggling! Practices in the US differ from other countries. Practice can differ just based on an instructor's personality! Tula will focus on the benefits of yoga that go beyond just the poses. And through this focus, I believe that you will find that you will advance your actual yoga practice much quicker than with just focusing on getting the poses 'right'.

Don't get me wrong. I will hire amazing, high quality instructors that will help you to learn proper alignment and breathing techniques, but we will also be offering a bit more. The 'bit more' will be the studio's main focus.

Tula will focus on having fun (because I believe that if you don't think it's fun, you won't do it). Tula will routinely combine yoga with music, food, and other fun things to liven up a practice. Tula will focus on connecting people with each other (otherwise you would be doing yoga at home on a DVD). Tula will focus on creating an environment where everyone feels welcome and no one is ever intimidated or left out. Tula will never take ourselves or our practice too seriously. Tula will always have a sense of humor. Tula will embrace the wobbly tree pose, the inflexible backbends, the modified side-plank poses. Tula will focus on eliminating the fear that grips us all when we are in these poses of not being good enough, of not belonging, of not being strong enough or not flexible enough. Often, it is when this fear subsides, when we feel calm, when we are among friends and when we smile and laugh at ourselves, that we find we can do these poses quite easily and that's when you begin to truly advance your practice.

I know that my decision on not to focus on the yoga is probably not the easiest route to take with the studio. I could just focus on yoga, how to properly do yoga poses and shuffle people in and out of the doors. But I want to do a little bit more. I want people to truly find the benefits of yoga beyond the physical exercise. Even if it is only in our little Logan Square neighborhood.

The Meaning of Tula

When I was trying to come up with a name for the studio, I immediately started thinking about Balance. Yoga had been the 'balance' in my life for a few years. I was a stay at home mom that needed an outlet to make sure that I was taking care of myself and getting out of the house every once in a while - and going to practice Yoga provided that for me. So I looked up the Sanskrit word for balance and it's Tula. As I read further about Tula, it also refers to the astrological sign of a Libra - which I am! Perfect!

The tagline "find your balance" came out of the hope that the studio provides that much needed balance for others - whether that be home and work balance, stress relief, or becoming a healthier, more centered, person.

And what about those swirls in the logo? The graphic designer that made it told me it was a representation of a Celtic Triple Spiral that means, among other things, 'rebirth'. Again, perfect! Tula yoga was born out of a desire to re-enter the workforce in a much more rewarding career with more flexibility and have a more direct impact on people's lives - a rebirth.

And the colors? Well, those will be changing to match my decor inside the studio. The short story is that I really like purple and grey and mauve seemed to go well with both. As I have proceeded down the path to getting the studio opened, I'm sure many things will change and evolve, but for now I think I'm off to a good start.

The lease is signed!

I'm thrilled I can finally announce today that the lease for Tula Yoga Studio has been signed! I'll be posting a lot more information about the space and details on the opening in the days and weeks to come.

But for now, I wanted to take a moment to share some of the key highlights.

Location Location Location

The space is located just off Milwaukee Ave, right across the street from Revolution Brewing. We're steps away from the California blue line stop, and just around the corner from the California/Milwaukee intersection.

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About the space

The entire space is just over 2200 square feet. The studio will be about 1600 sf, we'll have a retail section in the front, and then there's an office, closets, bathrooms, and all those good things.

The space has high ceilings, an open airy feel, and will look and feel very modern.

Opening Information

We'll be starting to get the space ready immediately, and we're targeting to open in very early September.

I'll continue to post updates on our progress, and I am so excited to opening this studio in Logan Square - the neighborhood I love, and have lived in for almost six years.

Thanks to everyone for your words of encouragement and support!