We are all living under powers that seek to dehumanize, destroy, and divide no matter how conscious we may or may not be of that reality in our day to day lives. The events of this week—leading up to and after Tuesday—bring those realities to the forefront of our consciousness and make it nearly impossible to do anything but look our shared humanity full in the face and ask ourselves what it means to be human, what are we accountable for, to whom are we accountable, and how to hold and enact our own personal power. 

We are counting down the days until the opening of our Downtown location! Of course, construction projects are notoriously difficult to keep to a definite timeline. But we are on track for our November opening (actual day TBD once we get the permit we were told we didn’t need for the inspection required to get the next contractor in who started another project and, oh, the supplies you need are backordered, so let’s switch the timing of that other installation but then we’ll need to do it in two phases etc. iykyk). 

Our upcoming increase in our class and membership rates (beginning September 1) is a reflection of our growing business, community, and vision. We are always engaged in the tension of increasing access to our classes and space to as many people as possible, while also running a successful business that can operate smoothly and compensate our employees fairly.  It can be a tough balance to manage, and increasing our rates is something we do with careful consideration toward how it will impact our students. 

Hands on assisting has been a hotly debated topic in yoga communities. With the rise of trauma-informed modalities highlighting the ways in which hands-on assisting has not always been rooted in proactive consent, discussing how, why, and when we touch students in a yoga class has never been more important. 

One of the questions we often get from people who are considering a YTT is, “do I have to teach yoga when I’m done?” It’s a reasonable question. After all, it’s called “teacher training”. The short answer is no, of course you don’t have to teach after you’ve completed training. But there is a question beneath the question, which is—what does it mean to teach yoga?

Since PYP first opened its doors in September 2018, our space, our members, the numbers of students who come into the space each week, and the number of teachers on our roster have grown significantly. We love the expansion and breadth of our community and our offerings. Something that we have always wanted to prioritize is the depth of community engagement, relationships, and all around quality of what we offer. One of the challenges of having a community that keeps growing in size is how to maintain intimacy, accountability, and connection.

Since the beginning of the year, The Portland Yoga Project has highlighted the incredible work of local non-profits as a way of furthering embodying our mission of inclusivity, service, and social awareness that we feel is at the heart of yoga. So far, we have featured Wabanaki Reach, Presente! Maine, and Nibezun-groups that provide services to celebrate the vibrant history and culture of historically underserved communities and provide both volunteer and educational opportunities for the greater Maine community.