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WE ARE CURRENTLY A FULLY ONLINE STUDIO
The Original 90 Minute Hot Yoga Class Remains One Of The
Most Effective And Accessible Therapeutic Practice In The World
We work hard as a community to keep everyone well.
We continue to work together in our next transition.
The heath and wellness of our students is our top priority. To ensure everyone can practice safely we are moving our classes to a fully online platform. You can continue your practice at home with one of our new online packages: the monthly membership, the auto-renewing 5-class card, or a drop-in class. Our online classes are fully interactive and you continue to get the same great in-class experience from our highly-skilled, experienced instructors.
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A note from Teri
It has been a whole year. One year ago I called my staff together after a weekend of debate, discussion, and soul searching. I made the tough decision to move to all online classes. (I say that now when Zoom is the norm but last year most people didn’t know what Zoom was.) I wasn’t sure this was the right decision but just before the staff meeting, the governor declared that, in an attempt to control the spread of COVID-19, businesses would close for two weeks. What a year it has been!
When I closed, I worried. I worried about the people for whom yoga is a lifeline, who rely on the physical and emotional benefits it provides. I worried about a student getting sick and possibly dying. I worried about the staff of teachers and how they would survive. I worried whether online classes and events would be enough to hold our community together. Those first few weeks were stressful, and yet our community did come together, and then it expanded as we opened our online classes up to anyone who wanted to join in. We offered classes for free because we knew many would be struggling financially as they lost jobs. We depended on those members who could continue to pay for memberships to help get us through what we all thought would be a few weeks or months.
In July, following state guidelines, I reopened the studio. We had social distancing, limited class sizes, and COVID protocols. Still, many people were not ready to return to class and be in group settings. We learned how to do hybrid classes with online and in-studio instruction happening simultaneously. And I watched as we lost revenue and struggled to keep up financially.
As winter arrived, I worked with my landlord and made the very difficult, but necessary, decision to close the North Andover studio for good. I packed up the studio, put everything in storage, and started working on what’s next! I knew this would be a temporary situation and that I would reopen in a new location as soon as possible.
In the meantime, Wellness Hot Yoga has moved back to a completely online platform, and we still offer live classes every day. I love seeing all the faces on Zoom. I still miss all the students who came regularly to the studio and made it feel like my home. (There are too many to mention but I think about you all every day!)
It has been a tough year. We are all collectively grieving the lives we lived a year ago. We are grieving the loss of connections to each other and the loss of community. Many are grieving loved ones who have died. We all respond in different ways and are trying to make it through; there is no wrong or right way to grieve. The tools I have acquired through my practice have certainly helped sustain me in these last 12 months. I am grateful for the resilience and patience I have developed that has truly helped me find equanimity in this challenging time.
So now, what’s next? There is a light at the end of the tunnel. The COVID vaccine rollout and distribution means that in the near future we will be able to gather again in community. I have been thinking a great deal about how to move forward and not how to go back. We have learned a lot in one year. I spend a great deal of time wondering what parts of our old ways worked and what didn’t. What we want to bring forward into this new future? What old ideas and old ways is it time to leave behind? How do we return to being with others and learn to return to community? How do we continue to keep ourselves safe and healthy, protect those who need protecting, and create a sustainable high-quality life?
The good news: I am currently working towards the reopening of Wellness Hot Yoga and Spa! I have found a beautiful location in downtown Haverhill on the Riverwalk. We will be expanding the services we offer to include massage, meditation, float therapy, sauna, and a larger retail area. This location has indoor and outdoor gathering spaces, so we will be able to offer a wide array of workshops and community events. And I will be able to run a teacher training in the near future. We are still negotiating, but everything is moving forward, and if all goes as planned, we will be opening in June.
I am really excited for this next chapter of Wellness Hot Yoga, and I’m looking forward to being back in the hot room with all of you! I never would have made this leap if not for COVID, so despite all the hardships perhaps there are lessons to learn. One lesson we can all take away from this is how important maintaining our health and wellness is. Hang in there, everyone. I know we are all tired but we can do this and come out a bigger, better, stronger community. We can bring our great energy to this new space and fill it with all the joy and open-heartedness of the old studio. So keep up the good work. Wash your hands, wear your mask, keep that physical distance, and get vaccinated when it is your turn! (I promise, once we are vaccinated there will be loads of hugging!).
I hope to see you all in class online. The Saturday morning 8 am and 11 am classes are free, come join in. We also still have live online classes every day. We are partnering with our sister studio Home Hot Yoga to offer recorded classes and allow their students to join in our live classes. Some of their teachers will be teaching classes as well, so you may see a few new faces. We will send an email soon to give you access to the recorded classes. Stay tuned for more exciting information and an invitation to Elaine's 85th online birthday party.
Lastly, I want to thank you all, everyone who has stood by us. I am so grateful to have had this community to help me through this difficult year. I can’t wait to get together again with all of you. Good things are just around the corner. I appreciate your patience while we take the journey to get there.
I love you all unconditionally
(and there is nothing you can do about it),
Teri