Our Story

How Sanctuary came to be.

We believe in the transformative power of knowing our histories, and that when we reflect, we are also making way for the futures we need and desire to manifest.

We bought Yoga Sanctuary when it became financially threatened during the pandemic because we could not imagine our community without this place—this real life sanctuary that supports and sustains and transforms. 

In the following months and years, we put our intentions and energy into sustaining Yoga Sanctuary while we watched many studios like ours be lost to the ripple effects of the virus. The updates to our technologies and safety features to be able to continue to safely share yoga online, both on-demand and live-streamed, and in-person were some of the first steps we took to ensure Sanctuary would stay. 

During the racial uprisings of the Summer of 2020, we were called to closely examine Yoga Sanctuary and the western wellness industry’s complicity and direct engagement in the violence of white supremacy. Our work with Angelica Castro, DEI Consultant, during this time stretched into every fiber of how we think about inclusivity and affirmation. 

We continue to be committed to developing anti-racist practices and to doing our part to dismantle all forms of discrimination by engaging in consistent conversations, education, and action around yoga and colonialism, whiteness, ableism, gender and identity, and the Indigenous roots of healing arts practices within our community, with our teachers and students.

During the Summer of 2022, we looked back at how much had changed since we purchased the studio in 2020—we were different, our community’s needs were new, and the world we all live in was changed, too. We knew it was time for the studio to change and evolve to meet the new place we found ourselves as a family and as a collective. 

We will not go back to normal. Normal never was. Our pre-corona existence was not normal other than we normalized greed, inequity, exhaustion, depletion, extraction disconnection, confusion, rage, hoarding, hate and lack. We should not long to return, my friends. We are being given the opportunity to stitch a new garment. One that fits all of humanity and nature.

We were inspired by the above quote spoken by the writer, activist and amazing human, Sonya Renee Taylor in April of 2020.

Visions of an expansive, community-focused, healing arts and education center became clearer as we spoke with our yoga teachers and students, and the practitioners who rented our healing arts studio. There were places we wanted to go with our work, ways we wanted to support one another, and things we wanted to see happen for our community that hadn’t been realized as a more traditional, western yoga studio. We knew we wanted to continue offering yoga asana, and we knew there was even much more that we could offer and be a home for in the community. 

Sanctuary is our response to the need for safer spaces of healing and embodiment for individuals and communities. In addition to a schedule of alignment-based yoga classes taught by experienced instructors, Sanctuary is home to a collective of healing arts practitioners (Alexander Technique, Rolfing, massage, yoga therapy available and more) and transformative education programs (workshop and speaker series). Sanctuary is a welcoming and affirming space for anyone cultivating a loving relationship with self and with community. 

With joy and perspective, we continue our story of stewarding this real life sanctuary with strong, open hearts—ready for whatever may be next. 

Yours,

Lindsay Pope

Owner/Director, Sanctuary