November 1, 2025
Hello Friends,
The leaves are falling, the air is chilling and Sol is turning inward after a very vigorous season of outward connection. Our 20 year celebration was tremendous and rich with warmth. Thank you. We have volumes of beautiful stories and media to report as time wears on.
But for now, we’ve shifted gears from celebration to clean up!
Sol is a giant multi-home family. The back of the house is quite complex and a bit under-resourced at the moment, so bear with us. An/or, please join us! Our house is your house. There is no magic behind the scenes staff that whips things into shape while you sleep. WE are the ones we’ve been waiting for. If the trash is full, please empty it! If no one shows up to teach, step right up!
Truly, there are lots of ways for you to be involved if you’d like. Flip back to the e-newsletter or directly over to our website. Or, enjoy reading along for a little more detail on the inner workings of Sol.
We’ve had a 20 year run with many peaks and valleys. Things got markedly overwhelming and messy with COVID. Before then, we actually had a magical behind the scenes paid staff that did most of the things! But we had to reduce to bare bones to survive. It was incredibly depleting and draining. Loneliness and isolation does indeed destroy. We all felt that. But destruction also serves beautiful creation. It brought to light the necessity for community & connection for us to thrive.
Since then, we have been building in an evolved version of Sol. A sustainable co-operative community that is more relational and less transactional. And one that authentically represents our more mature mission; that yoga not just a class you take, rather; it’s a way of living.
But, that ideal has not fully manifested. It’s in process and a lot of things are slipping through the cracks as we evolve. I suspect you are well aware of some of those cracks if you come around very often. Yet, even with the cracks, we are showing up every single day to practice & connect. And you can trust there is mindfulness in the chaos.
We are intentionally trusting the process of rebirth to gradually fill in the gaps. And specifically we are being careful not to ‘rescue’ ourselves from perceived ‘imperfection’ only to unduly burden ourselves with long term unsustainability..
We realize the value Sol is to each one of us and our community at large. It’s an important institution to care for. What we are doing here is a radical expression of love, inward and outward. We are partners in a process of transmuting pain and suffering into light and joy - a painstaking process that sustains life inside of ourselves, in one another and universally. And this is no ONE person’s responsibility. It is the great work of OUR lives and we must share the effort equitably.
So at this moment, organizationally, we are re-organizing power structures - shifting from a top down transactional model to a more egalitarian relational model. And its a bit uncomfortable at times. And that is A-OK. We are so built for this. ‘Process’ is all there actually is in life. No finish lines, no fixed states of being; only change. There are parts of the growth of Sol that have yet to be revealed but there are plenty of things that can be addressed to help tend to some of the cracks.
So, for those things, it’s time for some inner housecleaning at Sol!
Our communications systems are needing to be cleaned out and possibly replaced with new channels.
You’ll notice the website is getting updated bit by bit.
Mind Body Online needs cleaned with a wirebrush. There is a lot of rust and corrosion in our database. For example, we have cleaned up our pricing options and updated our pricing to reflect inflation. Next up is making sure YOU are receiving our messages (which most of you are not)
We are evaluating our income & expenses for our profit & non-profit divisions.
And we are gathering media and memories of YOU collected from our many years and making them accessible.
Some old spaces like Studio Sky & the Boutique are slowly being integrated back into functionality.
We are organizing people into micro groups for specific goals and areas of support.
Ambitious list considering we are on yogi time. Trusting the process. That means “practice and all is coming, “ as legendary yoga Patthabi Jois says. Ever seeking alignment, integrity and connection IS what allows things to most naturally unfold.
So that’s whats happening in the back of the Sol House. In the front of the house, its 4-10 events per day as usual. Keep checking the schedule and keep coming back. All the usual good stuff, plus some new workshops, trainings and special events (see newsletter). We have a new landing page on the website to describe our residential membership / intentional community as well as our non-profit efforts. And coming soon, some media that will help you get to know us a little better if you are not here everyday.
Personally, I’ve had the gift of bearing witness to some death in this early fall. Some unexpected, some more ‘natural.’ It reminds me of a great passion that overtook me around childbirth when I was birthing my children between 2005-2013. I see the mystery and magic and beauty of life as it comes and now, as it goes, as one of the greatest opportunities to experience divinity in our embodied existence. To sit with the birthing mother or the dying person, is like waiting to see God show up. And in the preceeding and following moments, all the ways we try to avoid or courageously face the most intense thoughts, feelings, fears and physical sensations of our lives. I am inspired by death to live fully and surrender with grace. My inhale and exhale and savasana, the corpse pose, invites me practice letting go everyday. And on a lighter note, the 4 teenagers in my house make sure death of my ego is happening on the regular. Motherhood and householding continues to be my greatest teacher.
So that’s what’s happening with us. How about you?
You are invited to recognize your own inner processing this fall, right alongside us. We are in this together. Whether you like to just quietly slip in and slip out of the studio doing your own inner processing, or open up and share with us, you are not alone. And don’t leave US alone. We need you too. Don’t forget that your sharing and opening up might be EXACTLY what someone ELSE needed to hear in that moment.
Keep coming back!
Warmly,
Dorcas