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A letter to our community
Dear Sanctuary Friend,
In the yoga tradition there are considered 5 main aspects or phases to the cycle of everything in this world: `
1) Creation, Birth or a Pouring Forth: "Shrishti"
2) Maintenance or Duration: "Stihti"
3) Reabsorption, Destruction, Dissolution: "Samhara"
4) Concealment, Illusion, Forgetfulness: "Tirobhava"
5) Grace or Revelation: "Anugraha"
At any given moment in any aspect of our life: work, relationships, and anything really, if we can gain clarity as to which of these above phases we are in, then we can align with life more skillfully. At this moment in time, we have realized much to our heart's ache, that we are at the "Samhara", reabsorption phase, of our business and will be closing our physical doors.
We have been operating for almost 3 months with the exact same expenses (same rent, utilities, software, everything) with only 20% of our normal revenue and have run out of resources to sustain the business. We have seriously considered yet ultimately declined to start a GoFundMe these past few months because we feel it would be irresponsible to reach out and ask for people's money, many of you who are also struggling, when the future of our business is so uncertain.
At best we are looking at another month of closure and then we would face implementing the proper protocol of 6-10 feet apart so a very limited student base in the space, potentially practicing with masks, staff with gloves & masks, temperatures checks for all individuals in the space and then expensive renovations to mitigate the virus including revamping our HVAC systems to increase fresh air flow & the costly implementation of UV light all of which would incur us significant debt as the yoga business already yields very slim profit margins in regular circumstances.
The above coupled with the significant chance that we would have to shut down again if a second wave of COVID-19 increases in our area in later in 2020 which is a real possibility is unsustainable for the near future. Furthermore, we have been weighing the ethical ramifications of if another wave hits and many more people fall ill and/or perish in the autumn, we do not want our "little engine that could" pushing forward mentality to have contributed in any way to the loss of lives as part of our legacy.
We had hoped that our online classes could create a bridge from now until when we felt it was safe and ethical for our community to reopen but that hasn't come to fruition.
We will hold our online classes through Friday, June 12th and invite you to join us to see and support your favorite teachers and practice with our beloved community members as we bask in these last few moments of this iteration together.
For those of you who are interested in supporting us with the many expenses from these past few months including June, feel free to rent or purchase one of Kilkenny's online classes yoga or meditation classes from her VIMEO VIDEO LIBRARY:
There are over 40 and we will continue to grow this amazing resource as a way to stay connected.
Or if you feel moved to generously buy a "Virtual Annual Membership", we will give you access to our on-line Video Library for a year (over 60 Yoga & Mindfulness Meditation classes which we will continue to add to) click here: Buy Virtual Membership
For the few of you who have annual memberships, no matter what you have used, we will be offering you our entire incredible Video Library of online classes for an entire year as well. Just simply e-mail us with your most current e-mail.
If you have classes on your class card and you would like online videos for them, please email us and we will get them to you.
We are SO deeply grateful to each one of you who have been there through one, some or all of our "cycles" (as mentioned above). Your presence has made our community what it is, a true Sanctuary: a safe and sacred space for growth, self knowing, healing and transformation.
We are also SO grateful to our brilliant teachers who have shined the light of the practice and touched so many lives in doing so as well as our admin. jedi team, who has kept the container for all of this healing & transformation together.
As we have always been a "community activated" studio, we have raised hundreds of dollars each month (and when we were in person, raised tangible items) for those organizations and causes that uplifted our city and created consciousness in the world. Even in our last breath together, we raised over $400 in one day online this past Tuesday for the Black Lives Matters Organization & the George Floyd Memorial Fund. To those of you who showed up for classes and donated, thank you! This "reabsorption or dissolution cycle" is also happening in the collective consciousness as racism is being seen for what it is and dismantled.
The "last" phase of the Yogic Cycle is called "Anugraha" and I love the translation that holds it is "the grace that sees you through." I, you nor anyone could have seen this coming and the shock and devastation is great. However, the aliveness, the mindfulness, the conscious and the practices that you have cultivated IS the grace that will see you through and all of us.
Please feel free to let us know creative ideas that you might have for our special community to stay connected. Practice and potlucks in the park? A Facebook group to share information and about any meet ups? We will be in touch as more ideas arise. Here are some more links to stay connected to Kilkenny's teaching:
Kilkenny's new website: www.modernmystic.love
KIlkenny's Yoga & Lifestyle podcast: ITunes link
Kilkenny's patreon: https://www.patreon.com/modernmysticlove
Kilkenny will also continue to teach her Tuesday EDGE class through Zoom 12-1:30! And in case you were wondering, Quest Chiropractic will continue to operate in the same space.
Keep breathing, keep practicing and the grace of the practices and one another will get us through...one breath at a time.
In Gratitude,
Kilkenny & The Sanctuary Kula (Community of the Heart)