Love is unexpected, often revolutionary. It can’t be contained or controlled. It defines logic and dumbfounds the mind. It’s wild and radical. Love takes risk.
We have offered classes exclusively by donation since 2006 and more recently some workshops. And you can apply for scholarships for just about anything including Yoga Teacher Training, but we’ve never offered a teacher training completely by donation. It’s time for a new experiment. Read on for details.
Love, Dorcas
“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”
One of the most moving experiences of yoga I had was in 2006 with a group called Yoga to the People. It was a very popular donation based studio offering ‘accessible’ yoga to all people. I took a class in New York city in 2009 and it was exhilarating. There were HUNDREDS of people all clamoring for the 7pm time slot. When one floor of the building would fill up (with HUNDREDS of students), they would move on the filling the next floor above and so on. It was by donation and you just simply dropped any cash you wanted to offer (or not) into a kleenex box that was on the pile of mats you could borrow. It was radical and revolutionary at the time. And still is in my mind. I’ve always wanted to be able to just accept cash in a kleenex box for yoga.
Operating by donation flys in the face of modern business practices. There is no to low predictability, certainty or forecasting. It’s a radical way to ‘do business.’ You have to be backed by some other certainty or really have deep faith that you’ll get what you need.
Another profound moment in my life was talking to some novice monks in Luang Probang, Laos. Young men who were in study to become monks - they surrender their lives to the care of the community. They must trust that they will get enough daily nourishment in their alms bowl in the morning. It’s a radical concept to be so trusting and dependent on community or a higher power for your care. Whoa.
Here at Sol, we flirt with this idea all the time. We don’t run an overly tight shop. We give stuff away everyday and trust the universe to have our back.. We trust love to show up for us. We trust anonymity. We trust and grace.
I guess subconsciously, I’m trying to have an element of our operations that are truly self supporting by the earnest generosity of our patrons. And we are ever experimenting.
So, here’s another extension of our experiment:
We have offered classes exclusively by donation since 2006 and more recently some workshops. And you can apply for scholarships for just about anything including Yoga Teacher Training, but we’ve never offered a teacher training completely by donation. It’s time for a new experiment. We’ll see how this goes…
Yoga to the People closed up shop and got in trouble for being irresponsible. And vulnerable novice monks get abused and taken advantage all the time. We don’t want that. We aim for integrity and accountability. Which comes from openness, vulnerability and community connections. Join us and lets see how revolutionary we can be, together.
You are invited into this special radical opportunity for continued education and community connections. Space is limited, so please reserve your space or reach out with questions:
Join us in January for: