Q: Yoga on the Move has started out as a collective doing outdoor classes all around Berlin – what made you decide to open your own studio?
Marlene: For Leonie and me, Yoga on the Move has always been about the community and bringing people back to the feeling of connectedness through yoga. Over the past years we have constantly been adopting to new circumstances to bring our vision to life and manifest it in this world. This year has been challenging and transformative on so many levels that opening our own space just felt like the only right thing to do. In times of uncertainty we want to create a safe harbor to return to, to build a home for our community and grow stable roots to establish the feeling of connectedness. This is what our Yoga Shala is about.
Leonie: We don’t want to give up the concept of teaching classes all around Berlin. However we feel the need to create a homebase for our community, a place where we feel at home. This will give us the stability that we need in order to rise, to grow, and host all these classes and events that make up Yoga on the Move all year round.
Q: What are your plans for the studio? And how is this space going to be special for you personally?
Leonie: We are trying to use mostly natural materials and colours that make us feel grounded, like wood or sandy walls. We really want to create a cosy feeling for our students, almost like being at home. But at the same time, the space will be very playful: there will be swings and floating items in order for us and our students to feel lightness and softness and to get a feeling of rising up towards the sky. We’re also creating a big chill area for our community to chat, read and relax in between the classes.
Marlene: With our Shala we want to create a space where everyone feels welcome and accepted; a space that brings us and our students back to their truest self. The concept of the Shala is all about „root to rise“. We aim to create an atmosphere that invites others to come back to a sense of grounding and peace of mind. Because we believe that from this state we are able to grow and evolve into the direction our heart is taking us.
And personally, for me the studio is really about building the heart of our community. We are putting our love and passion into all the little details of this project to later reflect back on to our teachers and yogis.
Leonie: It’s a big challenge to renovate and decorate the space in just six weeks, but I also see it as an opportunity. I live just across the studio so this is a very special location for me. Right now I’m pregnant with two baby girls who will grow up here, just like I grew up in Schöneberg many years ago, and I’m so happy and excited to have my own family and my yoga family united in one place. I can’t wait to see our finished studio very soon. ♥