Meet our April 2024 Community Spotlight organization! Grow Food Northampton’s mission is to create a just and resilient local food and farming system that nourishes our community and protects and enriches the earth. Founded in 2010 to protect 121 acres of farmland in Florence from development and grow our local food system, Grow Food Northampton (GFN) has since grown to include extensive programming on the land and throughout the community in Northampton.

I love working with people to help them create shifts to help them be more centered, balanced and whole in the world. Being an energy healer is fulfilling an urge that I can’t really ignore. I feel like I have gifts and knowledge that can really help people so it almost feels like an obligation to share them. And adding in the power of essential oils and their magic just intensifies the possibilities for healing.

Meet our March 2024 Community Spotlight Organization. CISA (Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture) strengthens farms and engages the community to build the local food economy. CISA has been working for over 30 years to build a stronger, more resilient, and more just local food system. They envision a local food system where farms are viable, working conditions are fair and just for owners and workers, the environment is respected, and locally grown food is available for all.

“Gentle Yoga is about being gentle with our bodies, and gentle with ourselves- essentially, having self compassion. Yin Yoga is a wonderful way to be gentle with our bodies, and to invite deep listening to the body.”

“I love that [this class is] slow and quiet, with lots and lots of stillness. And I love that I get to hold the space for folks to slow down, let go, relax, and come back to the quiet, still space within themselves.” 

Our Community Yoga classes are intended to meet the needs of those in our community who may not otherwise be able to afford yoga, or for whom yoga has not felt accessible for racial and/or cultural reasons. However, everyone is welcome!

“I believe that empathy is one of the most important skills contributing to the healthy evolution of humanity. I think that, if we taught empathy in schools to the degree we teach history, science or math, we would be creating a world that had the skills to handle all the challenges that humanity is facing on a local and global scale.”

Students are invited to a gentle practice of listening to their body with curiosity, playfulness and to go at their own pace. Do what is right for them. It’s about choice. Most importantly at all times take care of yourself mentally and physically with what supports you best.

An alignment-based Hatha practice with heart-centered themes. Just as we are asked to engage more deeply with our body’s wisdom on the mat, Form & Flow also calls us to engage more deeply with our lives and our collective community.

This 6-week series is designed especially for LGBTQIA+ identified students who are looking to connect with their bodies and their breath in a supportive, community oriented environment. This space aims to create a container where queer and trans community members can cultivate joy, a deeper relationship with their bodies, and a sense of connectedness to their yoga practice.

The need for justice and equity within our community demands constant attention, and we are grateful for the countless organizations, committees, and activist groups working toward their causes. Sanctuary is a community partner to these organizations and groups, with the intent to raise awareness and encourage action. We hope to use our platform and resources to foster change!

“My hope is to provide a space and time to do the practice of opening up to and really feeling and accepting what is here now. This is not easy, but what's the alternative? As one of my favorite teachers, Byron Katie, says, ‘When you fight reality, you lose, but only 100% of the time.’”

Birth work is activism. Encouraging and empowering families to discern what their beliefs are about birth—to shut out all the societal noise—to dig deep and let themselves know what agency they will have in something that is patterned yet sometimes unpredictable.

“My favorite thing about teaching this class is connecting with people! At the beginning of class, I will always ask if there are special requests for an area of the body to work on, or limitations to keep in mind. As a trained yoga therapist, I love connecting with people around taking care of their bodies!” 

One of the most meaningful ways life coaching changed my life was in allowing me to transform my relationships with my daughters from fraught difficult relationships, into connected, joyful, loving relationships. Once I saw the power of life coaching, I wanted to share it with everyone!

“I hope that students will leave class with feelings of spaciousness and stability in their minds and bodies, a renewed sense of embodiment.”

When Russell and Elaine purchased Park Hill Orchard, they had a tiny farm stand. About 17 years ago, one of the first visitors was Charity, a beloved friend to many of us, and the owner of Indigo Massage and Healing Center in Easthampton (later in Florence).

Find out what’s changing this fall!

We’re thrilled to announce that Sanctuary has been selected for a state-funded grant that will match crowdfunding efforts 2-to-1. Having experienced our fair share of hardships during the pandemic, this grant is an opportunity for us to breathe new life into our beloved studio and transform Sanctuary’s common areas to support the next generation of students and teachers.

Owners Lindsay and Jonathan sat down with Tara Brewster of the Western Mass Business Show to share their personal histories, the story of how they came to own Sanctuary, and their renewed vision for the Sanctuary community.