Pages

Saturday, July 28, 2012

Bye Bye Studio Maui

The Studio Maui was the epicenter of yoga, 5 rhythms dancing, workshops, meditations and movement classes on the north shore and upcountry Maui. Launched in 2004, it was a yoga super facility with several rooms and specially designed wooden floors to support yoginis and dancers in graceful movements.



And it's gone. Closed last month. I've noticed a gradual slowing down with fewer classes and offerings. The 5 Rhythms (Sweat Your Prayers) folks have moved on to Makawao Union Church. The other yoga classes are probably at The Temple of Peace in Haiku or at Lumeria Maui. There were economic hiccups in the last few years, noticeably when the Studio Maui started to offer an Ohana Circle membership program - kind of like the Borders Reward program which promoted shopping discounts at Home Depot. It was not a good sign. Later on, there were attempts to have an art gallery as part of the yoga center. With rent being $5,000/month, or so I've heard, the Studio was not cheap to run. I was wondering how they could make any money when I was the only student in Feldenkrais class week after week. 

The space is a beautiful, graceful space, and I sincerely hope that something even better and more beautiful will emerge there... 

In the meantime, though... these silly lyrics were running in my head this week:

(Sing to the music in the chorus of "American Pie")

Bye bye Studio Maui
Took my Maui cruiser* to the kirtan**
but the chanting made me sigh.

Yoga chicks drinking kombucha***and chai
Saying this'll be the day that I cry.

Definitions:
*Maui cruiser - a beat up, crappy car that still runs. Looks like crap, costs about $1000. Fueled with prayer ("Please don't break down on the way!) and a lot of hope.

**kirtan - a meditative chanting gathering, often in call and response, where the performing chanters will chant a mantra or sacred words and the audience will respond with the same chant. Maui is chock full of these gatherings.

***kombucha - the sacred elixir of Maui hippies. Carefully fermented using a bacteria/yeast combination. Maui Kombucha is a local cafe which provides this hippie elixir right in Haiku. Let's hope they stay in business. 

By the way, and totally unrelated, there's an Art = Mixx event at the Maui Arts and Cultural Center. It's free, but you have to be over 21. 

Update 6/10/13: The studio has been converted into a hardware store. Ace Hardware had its soft opening a couple of weeks ago, and will have its grand opening on 6/15/13. From yoga studio to hardware store... a different kind of transformation.





No comments:

Post a Comment

Comments are important to me, so mahalo for adding a comment! I will try to follow up when I receive one.