After many hours of soul searching and number crunching, I am sorry to announce that the True North Yoga studios are closing permanently. There is simply no financially feasible way to continue in the post-COVID world. It has been wonderful to offer those spaces for the Schroon Lake and Keene Valley communities. I hope you hold fond memories of time you spent there.

I am incredibly grateful to everyone who contributed to True North Yoga during the time we were shut down. Although your combined donations were not sufficient to carry us through another winter, they limited the amount of debt I incurred to meet the rent and other financial obligations during the past six months. With a teenager a year away from college, I simply cannot put any additional financial burden on my family and thank you for understanding my need to close.

For the past decade, True North Yoga has been my life, but my personal yoga practice began 25 years ago. Yoga will always be part of me, and I am not abandoning teaching all together. I will continue with four virtual classes a week and occasional weekend streaming offerings.

While I was running True North Yoga, my development focused on becoming a better teacher, teaching others how to teach, and the nuts and bolts of running a business. What I found during the pandemic was that I was craving a deepening of my personal practice and Jnana Yoga – self-study – so that is where I will be putting my attention.

Going forward, I will be sending a brief email every Friday with the weekend and upcoming week’s virtual class schedule. I know your inbox is full of online offerings, so if you are not interested in receiving those emails, please take a moment now to unsubscribe. The schedule will also be posted on social media.

I have loved sharing True North Yoga with you. I hope to see you in a virtual class, but if our time together is at an end, please know that I wish you health and happiness in the new world that waits on the other side of the pandemic.

Blessings, love and light,

How are you?

I have been asking that question many times a day as I connect with our True North Yoga community. We are in uncharted territory and, in the scramble to adjust our lives to distance ourselves from others, it is easy to ignore or push down the emotions that want to surface. I have fought back tears more than once over the past few days, until I finally gave myself permission to be sad that I had to close the yoga studios. I gave myself permission to worry about how the business would survive.

Then I got back to my practices.

My greatest hope for you is that you will stay well. My next greatest hope is that you will remember that you have practices to get you through challenging times. The hours you have spent on your yoga mat are blessing you now. While you were developing physical strength and flexibility, you were also solidifying your spiritual strength and adaptability. You have everything you need to weather this.

Below is our new online yoga class schedule. I hope you will take advantage of the opportunity to come together while physically apart and practice being present.

Keep checking in with yourself. If I can be of assistance in any way, please reach out.

Blessings,
Debbie

Online Yoga Classes

While we are closed, until further notice, Debbie will be offering online classes two ways, through the Zoom video conferencing platform, and livestreaming on Facebook. This is noted for each class. Zoom classes require registration, which you can do by clicking on the link. For the Facebook livestreams simply click on the link to visit our Facebook page at the start time.
Classes begin tomorrow, Friday, March 20th.

Mondays 11:00am  Virtual Adaptive Chair Yoga on Zoom (60 minutes – no charge)

Wednesdays 6:00pm  Virtual Hatha Yoga on Zoom (75 minutes – $10)

Fridays 11:00am  Virtual Hatha Yoga on Zoom (75 minutes – $10)
Fridays 4:00pm  Virtual One Blanket Restore & Renew on Zoom (75 minutes – $10)

Saturdays 8:00am Community Yoga Livestream on Facebook (60 minutes – no charge)

Sundays 8:30am Mindfulness Meditation Livestream on Facebook (30 minutes – no charge)

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For paid online classes, consider purchasing a 4-pack for $30. You will receive a code you can use when you book your classes online.

This afternoon, Governor Cuomo mandated that all gyms must close. We are going to comply with the mandate and close both locations beginning Wednesday, March 18^th. We will be open for classes on Tuesday at 9:00am in Keene Valley and 6:00pm in Schroon Lake. Schroon Lake Massage, located in our Schroon Lake studio, is also closed.

On Wednesday, we will announce some opportunities to practice online with us, including Facebook Live streaming classes and group classes on Zoom. During times like this we need our practices more than ever.

Please remember that our class cards never expire. If you purchased a card recently, you can use it whenever we reopen.

All workshops and events through April 1^st are cancelled, including this week’s Community HEARTH and Healing Circle and the Shamanic Flow Yoga series. If you were interested in Shamanic Reiki Level One training, watch for an opportunity to join a virtual training class.

Thank you for supporting us through this difficult time. We will also do what we can to support you and our communities. Please let us know if there is anything you need.

We have no reason to panic, but True North Yoga taking steps to prepare for the potential of a spread of the novel coronavirus into the Adirondacks. Your health, and the health of our yoga community, is of paramount importance. Some of you are at a higher risk or care for those who are, and I am asking our whole True North Yoga family to help me protect our most vulnerable members.

This week I have begun more frequent cleanings of the studios, including sanitizing the floors with a steam mop. I am disinfecting blankets and bolsters and have asked anyone who uses a studio mat or block to clean it before and after class. Our teachers will limit hands on adjustments in public classes as well.

You can help us to help everyone. Please, if you are ill, especially if you are coughing or have a fever, do not come to class. If at all possible, bring your own mat and other props and, if you must use them, follow the instructions for cleaning studio props after use. Beginning next week, please bring a towel or a sheet to cover the studio’s bolster if you use one in class. And, please, wash your hands frequently.

I am closely following the updates and guidance from our state and county leadership with regard to the coronavirus outbreak and, like the schools, I am considering ways we can continue to serve you in the event we are asked to quarantine. I already have the capability to facilitate trainings, like the upcoming Shamanic Reiki Level One and the Advanced Yoga Teacher Training module, virtually. I am researching online alternatives if we must close to public classes. In the meantime, if you are unable to get to class due to illness or because of the risk and would like a short practice at home, my podcast, My Shamanic Life, has more than 60 episodes of yoga and meditation practices. You can find it on most podcast apps or see all of the past episodes on my website at www.myshamaniclife.com.

March has always been our most financially challenging month. A disruption in classes, especially after the weather and power outage closings last month, will make this March even more challenging. I have already had to delay plans to add the capacity to accept credit cards in the studios, but we are moving forward with bringing the capability to register and pay ahead for our regular weekly classes on our website and hope to have that online by the end of April.

I thank you for your continued support of True North Yoga and our Schroon Lake and Keene Valley communities. All of our local businesses will be affected by coronavirus as we are, and I hope you will continue to support them as well in any way you safely can.

Blessings,
Debbie

We have some heavier snow on the way for the evening, so we have cancelled Beth’s Tuesday 6:00pm Hatha class for February 18th. The snow is forecast to taper off tonight, and we plan to be open on Wednesday and the remainder of the week in both locations.

Stay safe and warm, yoga friends!

Here we snow again! Schools are closed. Due to the snow and ice affecting travel today, Friday, February 7th, both the Schroon Lake and Keene Valley studios are closed too.

We’ll do our best to dig out for the weekend!

Stay safe and warm, yoga friends!

Due to the snow and ice affecting travel today, both the Schroon Lake and Keene Valley studios are closed. Due to predicted freezing rain this afternoon and evening, we will remain closed for the evening Yin class in Schroon Lake as well.

This storm may continue into Friday morning. We will provide another update tomorrow if we will not be open then.

Our policy is to follow the schools’ leads on closing, but keep in mind that some of our teachers have to travel further than you to reach the studio and we want everyone to be safe. Check in with us if you aren’t sure. Class cancellations will always be announced by email, on our website, and on our social media feeds on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Stay safe and warm, yoga friends!

Due to poor road conditions in Keene Valley, the Thursday 11:00am Chair Yoga class has been cancelled today, January 16th.

As of now, we are planning to be open in Schroon Lake for 5:30pm Yin Yoga and the 7:00pm Community HEARTH and Healing Circle. If conditions are worse than forecast, we may cancel later today. Please check back before traveling to the studio this evening.

Magda is away and our scheduled substitute is under the weather, so we need to cancel the Tuesday 9:00am Keep Strong Yoga class in Keene Valley today, March 19th. We try our best to keep our classes on, but sometimes things happen. Thank you for understanding. Magda will be back next week so you can get back on your mat.

Here we snow again! Due to the winter storm, the Tuesday 6:00pm Hatha and 7:30pm Shamanic Flow series classes in Schroon Lake are cancelled this evening, February 12th. We are also cancelling the Wednesday 9:30 Gentle Hatha class in Schroon Lake tomorrow, February 13th.

We plan to be open in Keene Valley for the Wednesday evening Community HEARTH and Healing Circle, provided the roads are clear. We will post an update tomorrow.

Stay warm, stay safe, and stay peaceful!