Hello there!
As the clock strikes September 1st and the air feels like fall is here, I come to you with a greeting and some news. Thank you for reading this. For being a small or big, past, present or future part of Sol. We have touched over 200,000 people in 20 years- and you have touched us.
And we invite you to celebrate with us September 21- October 10, during SOL 2.0 - our 20 year anniversary event!
What we are doing here at Sol is really radical and revolutionary. Yes, we are practicing some yoga. But really, we are practicing union, unity and connection. We are practicing trust. Trust that we CAN rely on one another and that the ‘WE’ will provide. Not as a last resort, but as a way of life.
And indeed the WE does provide. We have been a community of care for 20 years. You can feel here that people are good and people want to help, and there is no scarcity of real things, like love. And when we surrender our preconceived notions of what relationship should be - and who, how and when we should accept help, then the floodgates open. And all resources can be shared in a very organic way.
And this is radical and counterculture in a society that validates and reinforces separation, self-sufficiency, self-care and self promotion, etc… but is there really a healthy self without a healthy collective?
I got a text message today that one of our regular students has offered to contribute two new heaters for our Hot Yoga classes. I felt the urge inside myself from an old me to say ‘No, we’ll take care of that.’ Feeling as though that’s something we should provide. Instead, I said “thank you.” Because it’s exactly what we need. Inside my head, I also thought ‘how did he know?’ But of course, it’s obvious. Two of our heaters have been broken for weeks and I’ve been meaning to replace them. And I’d casually asked the ‘universe’ to hook us up. But when it happens, it kind of AWE-some. I’m so in awe and grateful that this community is self-supporting through our own contributions. That people have the initiative to recognize what needs to be done, and step up without assignment or request. That feels like a miracle in this day and age.
Trust (in the WE) is actually very hard to practice. Because most of us have been injured, traumatized, letdown or disappointed by a collective unit that we have been a part of in the past. Whether it be our own family, the workplace, an institution, spiritual community or government; we don’t have a lot of trust in groups of people to actually care. We are even suspicious of generosity. Suspicious of down to earth philanthropy that isn’t attached to an institution.
And our intuition isn’t all bad.
A collective is simply a bunch of individuals. So, inevitably an unhealthy individual will absolutely misrepresent the group. I think of the book ‘Ugly American,’ or the many stories of ‘Guru’s gone bad’ or Catholic Priests caught up in sexual misconduct or the one nefarious individual masquerading as a clown that manages to make us afraid of all clowns, or even one’s own parent who is simply under-resourced or misguided but is ‘in charge’ of the family unit. Perhaps even here, at Sol Yoga, you have had a run in with some imperfection (imagine that!). There are, of course, a lot of misguided and damaging individuals and micro-communities all over.
So we are on edge. Untrusting. Protecting. Posturing. Projecting. Our nervous systems run amuck and our minds untrained as a result.
But we have yoga. Tools. We have our breath. We have solution for disregulation. We have hugs. Safe space. Good, stable people to remind us there is hope. A tribe maybe. Sometimes we have something that resembles faith, good luck, serendipity, a miracle to renew our trust. We keep coming back to what works. We are attracted to light and love.
And we have the enduring community of Sol. We are still here.
I am one of the 200,000 people that this community has touched. So many people have come and gone and come again. Or they came once but they retain a memory. I suppose one of the only unique things that I have to offer is that I have been a part of the community every single day for 20 years. Even when I lived abroad for 7 years, I was connected everyday. So I have a drones eye vision of the whole from afar and up close. And it is magnificent from out there, and in here.
What an evolution.
We are rolling out SOL 2.0, a twenty day event in honor of our twenty years together. We decided a one day event wouldn’t do it justice, nor does 20 days really, but this just gives us all a little more time to enjoy some part of the ceremony, to tell your story, to put your name on our timeline and to be present to the magic of connection that we happen to find here.
SEE DETAILED SCHEDULE OF SOL 2.0, 20 DAY EVENT
Something additional has happened in 20 years. We have expanded our capacity. Yoga on the mat or enlightenment for one person is nice, but a bit off the mark in the big scheme of things. Our collective consciousness matters. The WE matters. Finding the healthy relationship between selfish/selfless dynamic matters. We need one another. Healed people, heal people. And we can’t do that work on our own. In person, micro communities devoted to truth, open dialogue around conflict, the work of de-stigmatizing, healing from pain and trauma, open-mindedness and practicing unity, union and connection are precious. It’s hard work and we are doing it. Everyday.
We are a generous community - a giving community. We have long operated informally as a non profit and always support our inner family and local community and beyond. A lot of it is anonymous and unrecorded.
But here are some of the ways we have integrated community care in our operations and budget.
LEARN MORE
Our community is so so rich with human resource. We have lots of heart and soul and gifts of time and expertise and manpower. And we are grateful. We also need financial resource. We rarely outwardly ask because we like to be self-sufficient (haha) and do our philanthropy without recognition, but the truth is we are doing a lot more than meets the eye. And the things that we are doing, cannot be commodified, but it does indeed have a cost.
In addition to the endless kindness of strangers and small donations over the past 5 years, we have been blessed with 2 significant private donations that have carried us through Covid and supported a lot of our recent philanthropic work. A $75,000 donation from my former husband Adam McWilliams and a matching donation from an elder Maxine Yarborough. Likely, we would be writing a different story if not for those donations.
And here we are, September of year 20. It’s time to fundraise again so we can carry forth with our missions.
As always, all resource is welcome and if you are unable to support us financially, that is a-ok. But if you are, we are accepting donations in any amount and happy to provide you a receipt for your tax deductible donation!
CLICK HERE TO CONTRIBUTE
And if you just want some REALLY GOOD DEALS on class passes, check out these specials on class passes before we adjust our rates for fall 2025.
And finally, we would love to see you and hear from you!
Come put your name on our wall if you have spent time here or dropped a bead of sweat or a tear on our floors over the years. We are dedicating an entire wall to a timeline and lots of open hours and special events to join.
Come tell your story, or memory of how yoga has impacted your life. We are having story time throughout SOL 2.0. Look for solSPEAKS on the schedule and sign up.
Come practice, play & learn with us. solFEST will be held two weekends in a row - all by donation and all awesome weekend long events and classes brought to you by the graduating class of the class of 2025 Yoga Teacher Trainees.
If you have been one of our teachers or 400 graduates of our Yoga Teacher Training Program, you are invited to a special Reunion & Graduation on Thursday October 9th, 6pm. Re-new your relationship with yoga & reunite with your classmates and fellow teachers! There will be a virtual component for those that live out of the area!
You get the point? We want to honor our community. Please join us.
Love,
Dorcas