december 2020/january 2021 newsletter, letter to community

Dear Shala Community,
After 20 years of owning and operating our beautiful studio in Union Square, we have decided to close our doors at 816 Broadway. After several attempts to negotiate with our landlord, in the end we couldn’t agree on an affordable way to keep the space while there is still so much uncertainty for brick-and-mortar yoga studios. 

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supplemental reading for the shala book club: on immunity / may 2020

This Saturday we’ll meet live and online via Zoom to discuss On Immunity by Eula Biss, a succinct nonfiction exploration of issues related to health, illness, medicine, care of the self, and care for one another. If you’d like to join, please sign up in advance on MindBody! These gatherings are free and open to all. 

Here is some supplemental reading that may inform our conversation. 

Get Ready for a Vaccine Information War— The New York Times

“The Coronation” — Charles Eisenstein

A short piece by Eula Biss in the New York Review of Books “Pandemic Journal”

Please reach out with any questions! Hope to see you “there.”

 

 

newsletter archive: november 2019

Dear all,

Last month we learned so much from Kate Johnson’s workshops on cultivating a more diverse yoga community. Our aim as a studio is to make the Shala a welcoming and inclusive space for anyone and everyone interested in the practice of yoga.

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book club: supplemental reading + listening: the new yorker + the ny times on miriam toews’s “women talking”

read here and here for more on miriam toews, the author of our book club selection women talking. these articles provide useful, detailed context for the novel, and were cited during our discussion on saturday, october 19, at the fort greene studio. you can also listen to this very thorough interview with miriam toews on the “between the covers” podcast. 

newsletter archive: october 2019

every month we issue a newsletter chock full of information about what’s happening at the shala. we know it’s easy for these missives to get lost in the inbox shuffle, so we’re building an archive of our letters to the shala community here. here’s the latest.

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rocky by adam dougherty

if you’ve visited our union square location in the last month, you’ve had the pleasure of viewing artist and shala student adam dougherty’s intricate, exuberant, and reverent animal portraits. shortly after the show went up, fellow shala students jonathan and alene herman reached out to adam to commission a piece honoring their beloved cockatiel, rocky. jonathan shares rocky’s story here.

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a statement on our commitment to building a more diverse, inclusive, and equitable Shala community.

We are in the process of developing a clear, comprehensive mission statement addressing our commitment to diversity and inclusion at the Shala. It is a work in progress, and we thank our diversity committee—Sasha, Shevy, and Megna—for their help.

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Autumn Breathe-Ins

 

Two back-to-school breathe-ins: September 29 in Fort GreeneOctober 27 in Union Square

With Annie Piper, Paul Weinfeld & Leslie Erin Roth.

 

practice with pride! a community night with ash + dom on friday, june 2

An open-level donation class with Ashley + Domenick

to benefit the True Colors Fund

with music by DJ Lenny Stein

followed by dancing, mingling, snacks + drinks!

 

Join us in practicing proudly, celebrating diversity + building community.

Come prepared to practice + dance. Please bring a beverage of your choosing. 

 

Friday, June 2

6:30pm

The Shala

Union Square

$25 suggested donation

Sign up here!

community night, community outreach & beyond

thank you to all who came out for the first in a series of community nights dedicated to building camaraderie and connection! sula and the noise put on an amazing show, and nathan from grownyc schooled us in urban gardening, city farmer’s markets, and progressive waste management. thanks to your generosity, we raised $600 in donations for grownyc.

our next community night is scheduled for Friday, March 3, in Union Square. 

in the meantime, here are some solid resources for continued social action and engagement: