Bklyn Yoga Cooperative gets a place of its own on Franklin

whynot_31

Yup, they are taking the leap from merely renting space at LaunchPad to getting a space of their own. Location: On Franklin near Barbachino.

....I predict they won't just offer sessions but will sell things like yoga mats.

whynot_31

If you take the subway to the Franklin Avenue stop in Brooklyn’s Crown Heights and walk a few blocks, you will see the process of gentrification unfolding before your eyes. On the first two blocks north of Eastern Parkway, discount stores and 24-hour corner delis can be found alongside specialty coffee shops, a bar featuring expensive cocktails and a soon-to-open yoga studio, the Brooklyn Yoga Cooperative (BYC).

The fact that this studio’s space formerly served as a hair braiding salon may seem, on the surface, to be a hallmark of gentrification. A deeper examination, however, reveals a group of six dedicated Crown Heights residents who share a vision of a truly inclusive model for community development. “The whole idea of the cooperative is that we’re helping each other toward a shared goal,” explains Myk Freedman, one of the co-op’s instructors. “We’re trying to help people live better lives by using yoga to assist them, whether it’s physically, spiritually, physical, intellectually, or socially.”

The business model on which BYC runs - that of the worker-owned cooperative, in which members own and run their own business, making decisions through a consensus-based process - is just one component of their much larger vision of community integration. “We’re creating not just an alternative yoga studio model, but an alternative business model,” says Myk. “It’s challenging. It takes a lot of independence to work communally.” He adds, “if we were a business exclusively, we would say, how do we pack the classes? What’s the most we can charge? We have never had that conversation.”

The BYC studio, which hopes to open its doors by early July, will be a space for integration of all sorts: not just the integration of mind and body for which yoga is typically known, but also of the various demographic groups that live in Crown Heights, which include both long-term residents and more recent transplants. Michael Kunitzky, the sole member of the cooperative who is not a yoga instructor, explains: “our biggest focus is how to get a more diverse crowd in” to the yoga studio. The co-op wants to change the perception of yoga and get people to realize that “this is something that everybody can benefit from - and should,” regardless of age, race, or income.

To help make this vision of integration a reality, the sliding-scale payment model is integral to BYC’s ethos. BYC already offers 17 classes a week at Franklin Avenue’s nearby LaunchPad, the grassroots community gathering space that served as the literal launchpad for BYC, which formed in the fall of 2011. At LaunchPad, students can pay anything in the range of $7-15, and payment is made according to the honor system. Rather than having a cashier collecting money, the co-op leaves a donation box next to the sign-in sheet, and students are responsible for recording the amount contributed.

Operating on a sliding-scale rather than donation-based model allows BYC to strike a balance between covering its expenses and keeping classes at a size that allows students to receive individual attention. “We’re not focusing on the volume of students as the primary thing. We set a price point that we thought would be accessible to people in the neighborhood who haven’t tried yoga before but want to,” explains co-op member Mimi Ferraro.

The new BYC studio will continue to use this pricing and payment system, but no student will be turned away for lack of funds. For those who cannot afford the base fee, BYC will offer a work-study program as well as a barter system. Through the barter system, students will be able to donate hours volunteering at senior homes or in soup kitchens in exchange for classes. BYC hopes to eventually bring yoga to these and other spaces as well; Myk and another BYC instructor, Tara Eden, are already teaching after-school yoga classes to at-risk junior high school students at the YWCA in East New York.

The cooperative is already using the barter system to renovate its new space, which, at 1100 square feet, is considerably larger than the 850 square foot space they currently teach in. In exchange for yoga classes, Design Compendium, based in nearby Park Slope, is donating design hours, as is carpenter Lee Irvine.

In addition to building the studio’s wooden cubbies and prop rack, Lee will create a customized Iyengar-style rope wall for the studio. Co-op member Carolyn Christie, an Iyengar Institute faculty member who spearheaded the rope wall-building project (and is also married to Lee), will work with BYC’s other instructors, Mimi and Tara, who teach absolute beginners and Vinyasa, and Matthew Wilson and Myk, who teach Hatha, to explore ways to incorporate the wall into their classes.

The rope wall will be made primarily of birch wood and will feature darker-colored accents, echoing the studio’s overall dark-and-light leitmotif of birch with black walnut. A glass door will allow light from the backyard into the studio, and there is also talk of eventually landscaping the overgrown backyard and turning it into a garden for monthly community dinners and other activities.

Once the new space opens, BYC will be offering classes seven days a week, a considerable increase from their current four-day-a-week schedule. They plan to introduce new classes catering specifically to the needs and interests of the community. “As we grow and expand, we hope to bring in teachers who teach different styles, “says Mimi. “We’re not a studio that’s all one style of yoga. You can try a few different classes, and our price range is low enough to allow people to do that.” BYC’s long-term vision includes “Mommy and me” classes as well as specialized classes for senior citizens, children, individuals with disabilities, and those recovering from cancer or suffering from chronic pain.

These are just some of the myriad offerings that will set the Brooklyn Yoga Cooperative apart from other studios. But for now, as New York City’s first yoga cooperative and the first yoga studio set to open on this diverse and rapidly changing stretch of Franklin Avenue, it already stands out.

--Emily Haydock is a Brooklyn-based writer and yoga instructor.

http://yogacitynyc.com/yoga_week.php#558

launchpad

One clarification regarding the earlier post here - Brooklyn Yoga Cooperative has never rented space at LaunchPad. BYC was formed, incubated, and subsidized by LaunchPad. It's our gift to the community. :-)

whynot_31

When you are a tenant, free rent is the best rent of all.

whynot_31

Now open.