Virtual class additions, plus a note on reopening

Hi friends,

Some of you have expressed a desire for us to continue with virtual classes in addition to our in-studio classes during this “transition period”, and we hear you!

We will continue offering the following classes via Zoom until further notice:

• Monday 9:00am – Hatha Yoga with Amy Mertz
• Wednesdays 8:45am – Core Yoga with Amy Bowman
• Thursdays 10:00am – Gentle Yoga with Amy Bowman/Mariah
• Fridays 10:00am – Hatha Yoga with Mariah

Please register in advance for all classes – virtual and in-studio – by clicking here.

Also, no doubt most of you are wondering why we are choosing to open at this point, given the state of the current “ban” on certain businesses including gyms. There are multiple layers to our decision, but here are the main points:

1. Stone Turtle Yoga does not consider itself a “gym”. We have no equipment, no mats or props available, no locker rooms, no open hours where the public can come in and out at will. We are only “open” for 60-90 minutes per day during class, during which time all students are, by nature of a yoga class, regulated to staying 6 feet apart. We are not unique in this arrangement; while some yoga studios may be considered more gym-like due to size, amenities, and equipment, there are many smaller studios who do not, and we are one of them.
2. By limiting classes to 10 people in both studios (which is an update to our previous post), we are in compliance with a recent order from the governor which allows gatherings of 10 people, and also allows businesses to have 10 customers inside at any given time.
3. In Roscommon and Crawford counties, where our studios are located, bars, restaurants, and retail have been allowed to be open at 50% capacity since May 22 as per another recent order from the governor. My view is that, if it’s safe enough to go to a bar operating at 50% capacity (and partake in the many bar activities we know and love, such as drinking from glassware and sitting at tables where other people recently sat), it’s safe enough to go to a yoga studio operating at 30% capacity and adhering to strict safety measures.

Lastly, I would like to address the notion of “but yoga isn’t essential, and anyone can just do yoga online.” True, we could go on indefinitely teaching online Zoom yoga classes, and we will for a good long while. We could close the studios indefinitely, cease in-person classes altogether, and slowly get more and more used to yoga – and life – on a screen. While screens can serve a purpose for a time, yoga – and life – was never meant for a screen. Many of you know that the word Yoga means “union” or “to yoke”. We are not meant to live in separation, from each other or the natural world. If we are willing to consider nuance of this or any situation, we can see that our re-opening does not undermine current efforts to maintain public health, nor is it meant to. It is meant to offer the opportunity – to those who are ready – to come together and begin to rebuild a sense of union, with ourselves, each other, and the planet.

I sincerely apologize if this decision offends anyone in any way. I hope I gave you a sliver of reasoning that would be, at minimum, thought-provoking. My top priority is providing a clean, safe space for our students and teachers to come together and lift our communal consciousness, which is something this world desperately needs right now.

With massive love for you and all of humanity in this strange, hard, emotional and beautiful time,

Mariah