I am excited to introduce Artemis Yoga to Watertown and the neighboring communities. When I was introduced to yoga and meditation at age six by my older sister, who had just returned home from the Peace Corps in Honduras, I never would have imagined that decades later, I would become the founder of a yoga studio! But like all of us, life is a journey.
My own journey found me practicing yoga in my 20’s at a San Francisco YMCA and led me back East to a church hall in Newton with the well-known Iyengar teacher Peentz Dubble. I then completed 500 hours of vinyasa – alignment based yoga training with Natasha Rizopoulos. For me, yoga went hand in hand with my work in high tech product marketing, both an escape and a mindset that kept me calm under an intense professional pace. More recently, yoga help me maintain mental serenity and strength during a challenging period with health issues and the personal loss of loved ones.
It is from this place of personal challenge, resilience, continued hope and joy that the vision for Artemis Yoga began.
A symbol of graceful strength and resilience, Artemis also means safe, sound and vigorous, all qualities which most of us seek in our lives. As a yoga studio, Artemis hopes to build a local community that will help students build their own strength and resilience to injury while also being a space where you can feel refreshed, calm and ready for the challenges we all face day to day. All the while, there will be opportunities to laugh at ourselves while we enjoy this moving meditation.
I have sought advice and feedback from a lot of students and teachers in the course of building on my vision. Our classes are held at a comfortable temperature in two studio rooms in our building, and I have worked with my teachers to create clear class descriptions so that you don’t find yourself in an unexpected class setting. I hope with our different levels—Basic, Level 1, Level 2 and Restorative—that you can find the class that is right for you. And with our expansive teacher roster, you will find many that suit your style or mood. We will offer a noontime class that is just an hour as well as at least one weekly restorative or relaxation yoga class. If you have never tried a restorative class, give it a whirl on Friday nights. Your body will thank you for this luxury at the end a work week!
Our studio will open slowly in December as we get used to the new space, the new systems and the new routines. During our first week, we will offer free classes at all levels and workshops for adults and the teen/tween. After that, newcomer’s can join our studio as members for $29 for 30 days of unlimited yoga so you will have plenty of time to try out different classes and teachers. As we enter 2016, we will expand our offerings with more classes for adults and kids including an innovative yoga/soccer program for girls, Soccer on the Mat.
It has been an awesome experience to begin to build Artemis Yoga. We have only just begun, but with the help of our outstanding teachers and team members and you, our community members, we will build a vibrant and positive community. All the teachers at Artemis and I are excited to meet you. Please drop by and introduce yourself. We all welcome you to start or grow your practice here! Our public classes begin on Monday, December 7th and we will be offering free classes during our first week from Mon Dec 7 through Sat Dec 12. You may find the schedule here..
Sincerely,
Liz Padula
Founder and Instructor, Artemis Yoga