Yoga on 6th (photo courtesy A. Phoenix)
Ashley Phoenix wants to encourage your love of yoga.
Phoenix is offering a three-month unlimited “scholarship” package at her Bikram and Baptiste affiliate studio, Yoga on 6th, to the person best able to describe, in 500 words or less, “what your practice means to you, and how yoga has changed your life.” The essay contest, which will be an ongoing offering for financially challenged students, has an initial deadline of May 27th. Phoenix has not yet hammered out the details about how frequently the contest will be run -- possibly every three months, the duration of the package -- but this cycle’s winner will be announced in the studio’s June newsletter.
As so often happens, generosity on Phoenix's part begat generosity. Yoga on 6th's almost unheard-of policy of allowing spouses of students to practice totally free of charge brought a man into the studio who fell completely in love with yoga and found his life transformed. This grateful gentleman magnanimously proceeded to make a substantial financial contribution toward creating a scholarship fund, so that others who might not otherwise be able to afford yoga classes could experience the joy he had. Phoenix, who provides work-trade and negotiates with students in need, and who wishes she could provide even more free yoga (“but something has to pay the Xcel bills!”) hopes to expand the scholarship program through fundraising so that more students can be served more frequently, and aspiring teachers can receive funding assistance for their trainings.
All ages and levels of ability are welcome at Yoga on 6th, where the median age is 45. “Our students have a lot of life experience in their bodies,” says Phoenix. She knows that for new students, entering the yoga world can be intimidating, but “every class that we offer here is a beginner class,” where allowances and modifications can be made. The Zen-like arrangement and atmosphere of the studio spaces are intentionally designed to encourage introspection and meditation rather than simply a workout. Phoenix understands that the internal changes yoga sets in motion are more significant than the obvious outer ones.
She is currently relishing the prospect of reading contest submissions, together with a panel of judges that includes the studio manager and a senior teacher. “It’s the coolest thing,” she says of the many stories she’s already heard. “We all have the same story -- the same struggles, the same fears.” Phoenix has seen yoga heal bodies and change lives. Through the Yoga on 6th scholarship program, perhaps a few more, in these crazy economic times, can continue their transformation.
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