Dreaming Of Savasana.
{Photo credit: Kim Stetz}
“Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn’t really do it, they just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after a while.” ~ Steve Jobs
This past week, I remembered a dream while washing dishes.
In the dream, there were about five or six people, all females of different ages sitting in a circular formation outside on a grassy area of what seemed like a large open park.
The clip of the dream that played in my mind saw a little girl, about four years old, who said, “I know the difference between right and wrong. I am choosing to do the wrong thing because that’s what I feel like doing. I’m just a kid.”
She must have been explaining herself for some reason or another. The background story to her proclamation didn’t make it into the picture. No one sitting in the circle said anything or paid attention to the little girl.
Then the current perception of me in the dream said, “Oh, wow, look at that little girl — she sees her mind and no one seems to care. I understand you.”
When this clip of my dream from the night before replayed in my mind, it dawned on me that perhaps I was that little girl. Perhaps she revisited me in my dream because that little girl who thought no one saw her or cared about her, didn’t believe that any more.
She was able to show herself in my dream, be her sassy self and be okay with it. That dream perhaps brought the opportunity for another chance to validate that part of me that felt ashamed and unworthy.
In recalling the snippets of the dream while doing the dishes, the aha moment — of what I think the dream meant or was telling me — filled me with sympathetic joy. I felt a rush of love towards myself and so happy to be right there.
Aha moments are these moments in time when it all seems to make sense. It happens in an instant, the causes and conditions meet your perceptions and you get it. The perceptions of the mind and the feelings in the body take on a unity; there is no separation.
You are right there in the present moment and anything can happen — anything is possible.
*****
This past November, while in LA, a friend I stayed with recommended a cozy studio around the corner from her place. My friend took her first class at The Nest at age 47. She couldn’t say enough about how accessible the classes and teachers were, and that it wasn’t anything like she expected.
As a veteran Yoga practitioner and teacher, having the dream of opening a Yoga studio, the thought Run, don’t Walk to The Nest passed through my mind! I had two days left of my vacation and getting to a class there was a priority.
What interested me about going to this particular studio was that my friend of 20 years, who didn’t feel pro or con about Yoga, gave it a try and had a really positive experience and continues to go.
I wanted to taste the flavor of The Nest and see if I would feel similarly to what I imagine my friend felt: welcomed, at ease, connected, and respected. I realize these feelings or qualities are in me and it’s not the responsibility of another to make me feel any certain way.
If I am able to feel these qualities in me when I am around another, then I see the reflection of me in another with those qualities.
In the bigger picture of opening a studio, to offer the experience of having an absolute beginner at any age take the time and have the courage to go to a Yoga class, and really enjoy their experience and feel good about going, is exactly what I would like to offer if I brought a Yoga studio into the world.
While walking up one flight of stairs into The Nest, I heard Wah!’s healing, relaxing voice chanting the Heart Sutra “gate gate pāragate pārasaṃgate bodhi svāhā” lulling from nestled speakers. This particular recording of this chant had been on repeat on my iTunes for some time.
At the top of the stairs rested a clipboard to sign in. The teacher, Sara, who also happened to be the owner — as I found out later — had her seat at the head of the class, quietly waiting for students to settle in. I felt like I was in a studio from when I first started practicing some 20 years ago: close, intimate, sign in (pay later if need be, which I did), relaxed, cared for.
I understood right away why my friend liked The Nest. Upon feeling that anything is possible, time stood still for a moment. Then the aha moment sparked: the realization that it was time for me to open Savasana Station.
After a beautiful, nurturing slow flow class, Sara graciously spent almost an hour talking with me. I asked practical questions regarding the business of owning a studio, but there was something lingering underneath the practical questions and Sara could feel this.
We talked about practice, study and devotion.
Meeting Sara, hearing her words — “You can do it. You are ready. If you need anything, call me, write to me. I’m here for you and I’ll help you” — brought about a shift in me.
I had just met this woman an hour before and yet it seemed as if I’d known her all along. I knew it was time. I could do it. I had confidence that I could help others, the way she just helped me.
My real life dream of opening a Yoga studio has been percolating for over eight years. The vision I saw for a Yoga studio was all about Savasana (corpse pose), the last pose in most asana practices of Yoga.
Corpse pose (I’m not getting dark here, well maybe a little) is a time to practice being really still and quiet — the body lying down on the earth, the body receiving the support of the earth. Muscles and bones get heavy. You may feel the sensation like your body is being poured into a mold and becoming a more expansive you. In this pose, the mind is given a chance to have space and rest.
To me, Savasana is the ultimate pose in practice and in one’s life as we know it to be.
{Photo credit: Kim Stetz}
Savasana Station has made its way into the world with a lot of love and compassion, and I want to be able to give back so much of what I have received.
Savasana Station is a pretty chill studio, offering mindful movement Yoga classes (slow flow Vinyasa), themed Yoga classes brought to you by experienced creative Yoga teachers, Daily Sit open meditation, and relaxation meditation therapy through Yoga Nidra (the impetus behind Savasana Station).
Yeah, I’ll say it, this studio is for stressed out and tired people, and I know a lot of people like this. Anyone can come, but be prepared to relax.
Savasana Station has no financing or company debt. I, Kim Stetz, don’t have savings or money beyond the $15,000 I invested at lease signing on February 20, 2014. I literally don’t have any collateral or any emergency money, and you can add No Health Insurance on top of that.
The lease application was approved on the same day I applied because I am good with managing money and have an amazing credit score (800!), and my personal references couldn’t say enough good things about me. The landlord gave it a shot with me because he could see my passion and commitment.
I was in the studio with the super when the landlord called three hours later with the approval, and that’s when I took the picture of me in the studio jumping with joy. I became a business owner.
{Photo credit: Kim Stetz}
This is a big step and big news for this yogi. There is risk involved in any venture. I had to take the leap and go for it, and get uncomfortable in my life — again. Going in, the financial plan basically consisted of raising crowdfunding money for the first six months of support. If we don’t get what we need, I’ll figure it out when the time comes. I am resourceful — I’ve been a freelance Yoga teacher for 14 years!
{Photo credit: Kim Stetz}
There are many ways you can support Savasana Station. Clicking on the link is one way to generate traffic to the site. I chose Indiegogo as the crowdfunding platform for a couple of reasons: whatever money is raised, the project receives, even if we don’t reach our goal. Indiegogo also offers a small business category which I found essential in being clear and transparent that I am starting a small indie business.
This is an extraordinary time in my life. The lease is for five years, and when I realized I’ll be 50 when the lease is up, that was quite shocking! I’ll take this journey one day at a time.
I have a feeling that it’s going to be quite a ride! Chances are there will be plenty more aha moments to come, but we never know where, when or how.
*****
Kim Stetz teaches Yoga, meditation, and guides group whole foods eating programs incorporating Yoga and Buddhist philosophies. Gravitating towards its healing aspects from the inside out, Kim feels that Yoga is a vital part of daily living and anyone can participate in and have a Yoga practice. In 2014, Kim founded Savasana Station, a boutique Yoga studio in the East Village, NYC, creating her home away from home. When she’s not doing Yoga on the mat or sitting on a cushion, she’s watching her mind and body in action in improv comedy class, drinking wine, cooking, rockin’ out, laughing with friends and laughing at herself. You can contact Kim via Facebook. The Indiegogo campaign for ‘Savasana Station’ can be found here.
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