The origin of Prana- Leala’s story
The morning I found out I was pregnant was the morning I decided to open a yoga studio. It seems my womb had a mind of its own. That creative force that produces life was also inviting me into a larger wave of expression.
My husband and I were in debt. Our first daughter was six. I dealt with morning sickness, daily fatigue and depression. My immune system was struggling and I was dysfunctional with so many of the practicalities of life. Many of my friends were not advising me to take on such an endeavor. Yet my heart was clear.
I learned that clarity will always find a way, and that we have vast resources of creativity and capability to be discovered.
I managed to open the first small studio room using only the leasehold improvement money provided by the landlord. A few months later I gave birth to our second daughter. Not long after, I remember a teacher called in sick and I ended up subbing a class with my tiny 10 day old newborn sleeping on a blanket by my mat. It was a rainy summer day, and the studio had a full wall of windows. It felt so peaceful with her beside me as I held space for the class. Later that summer Yogrishi Vishvketu came as a guest teacher and filled the new space with amazing energy. We chanted the gayatri mantra all afternoon.
Having the studio allowed me to balance staying home with my girls and teaching a few classes per week. That evolved into leading workshops, teacher trainings, and retreats. In those days with just one room, shoes were left in the building hallway before entering, and the teachers sold punchcards before class. We took only cash and cheque.
A few years later the studio expanded with a reception area and a second room, and eventually had to move when our ten year lease was up. At that point the landlord and his wife had decided to create their own studio in place of Prana, and they attempted to poach Prana’s manager, staff and teachers.
On one level, stewarding a yoga studio is about creating a sanctuary for people to connect with their bodies, hearts and minds. Yet it is also like captaining a ship through ever changing waters, and there are always new challenges to learn from.
Finding and renovating a new space was an unexpected project, and the addition of a hot room, showers and the ground floor rent prices were expensive. But the location proved to be perfect, and the community expanded beautifully. A blessing.
It took four years to pay off the renovation loans, and two months after the last payment,Covid hit. In the first weeks when so many people were at home, we were performing CPR on the studio, livestreaming classes and offering free community zoom workshops. Eventually government support came through and the studio squeaked by for the next couple years.
Earlier in life at age 20 I had dropped out of art school in New York City, and within a few months landed on the remote side of Maui where I learned yoga. I was living offgrid, waitressing and doing work trade. I never thought I wanted a career or a business. Yoga and swimming were my daily delights, but the universe had other plans for me.
After meeting my husband and starting our family, our path brought us to Edmonton where I began teaching yoga for the first time. There was only one official studio in the city at that time, but within a few years the yoga scene had exploded. I’m grateful to have caught that wave, and here we are, still riding it together.
We are grateful the studio has continued to blossom through all of these seasons of change, and is thriving now, with a new lease signed for many years of yoga to come!
This is just a small piece of my Prana story. We each have our own story of Prana. And beautiful how our stories weave together.
Deep gratitude for my parents, my teachers and mentors, my husband, our daughters, Prana’s incredible team, and the community that shares this path.
Om shanti,
Leala
