A Heartfelt Letter from the OTY Team

In the yoga philosophy, there are 5 ethical principles of how to act in the world. And, in the eastern traditions of list-making, the 1st and 2nd things on the list are the most important. The first tenet of ‘how to engage with the world and others’ is ahimsa which means non-harming. It is to act with kindness toward all beings. It is to avoid any behavior which causes harm and hurt.

The second tenet is satya which means truth. However, satya is couched within the framework of ahimsa: truth which causes no harm. Sometimes the unequivocal truth is painful.

We pride ourselves on not shying away from the truth. Even when it’s painful. There is a lot of rainbows and unicorns BS in yoga, and that’s just not us. We keep it real. We accept the good and the bad and the neutral in-betweens, because that’s the reality of life.

This season of pandemic has be undeniably painful for many, with losses of family members, community and jobs, increased stress levels, economic uncertainty and generalized and specific anxieties. It’s been a confusing time for small business owners. We have been pushed into making uncomfortable decisions about the health and safety of our community, in a way that, frankly, we are not educated or trained to do. We have had to navigate a new way to operate a business (which we have now been doing longer than we operated in the previous model!) and figure out how to keep the lights on and the doors open.

The world needs yoga more than ever. Not touch-your-toes yoga, probably not handstands on instagram yoga, but the real-deal yoga. Ahimsa and satya. The yoga which transforms us into being better humans for each other, for this planet and for ourselves.

And, we need you. The situation is not dire. We are here to stay. But, it’s not particularly easy. We have lost so much of our yoga community to this pandemic. The new business model is holding us steady for now, but we can’t say how comfortably we can weather another year of it. The uncertainty of it all is just another fact of life, but, as a small business, it’s frightening.

So, we are asking you to keep on truckin’. Keep coming to yoga; it helps you, it helps us. Win win! To all of you who have kept your memberships, THANK YOU. Truly, we mean it. Memberships keep our doors open. If you are coming regularly, perhaps consider a membership. It’s great encouragement to come more often and you really only need to come once a week plus one or two more times per month to make it work financially. If a membership isn’t right for you, we totally understand. Drop in when you can, we are always happy to see you. If you are a previous member, consider coming back! We are doing everything we can to accommodate our students with classes in-person, online and recordings to do at your own pacing. And, tell your friends! They should definitely come to yoga too.

XOXO

Gabe, Alison + the OTY team