Shree Yoga celebrates 10 years in Taos
Free community yoga celebration planned at historic plaza for everyone
Yoga is for everyone and has benefits beyond just exercise, say the founders of Shree Yoga, Suki Dalury and Genevieve Oswald. The studio has always been inclusive, serving people of all ages and backgrounds from the beginning.
This approach has sustained Shree Yoga for 10 years and the community is invited to celebrate the anniversary with a free Yoga Community Gathering at Taos Plaza from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Friday (June 21). The Shree Yoga founders will lead a summer solstice yoga celebration and music will be provided by DJ Julia Daye; everyone is invited. In addition, there will be discounted classes from June 21 through July 31, and free classes offered July 12-15.
A mayor’s proclamation for Shree Yoga Day has been presented to Dalury and Oswald and will be read on June 21 at the plaza.
The need for Shree Yoga
The Shree Yoga founders felt that the community needed a space that was central to the heart of Taos and would offer a variety of styles of yoga and feature great teachers of different backgrounds, ages and interests within the world of yoga. They wanted the studio to be accessible and affordable.
“The physical practice is a vehicle for many other things and all those things combined really do enhance a person’s quality of life,” said Oswald. “I believe that yoga saves lives. It provides introspection and tools to navigate the parts of life that are uncomfortable without getting taken out by them.”
Oswald was born and raised in Taos and feels that yoga saved her life, perhaps preventing her involvement in problems like alcohol and drugs that caused the death of some of her contemporaries. “There was a hope that the studio might save lives and I’d like to think it has saved a few,” she said. “When the physical body feels better, then the mental and emotional bodies feel better, too. It’s a whole system; everything works together.”
The studio hosts a weekly Y12SR class – a combination of yoga and 12-step recovery program. “It is one of the many ways that yoga is now presented as a deeper healing practice,” said Dalury.
The two founders recommend trying out different yoga experiences to see which one fits best for you and point out that there is a cumulative effect of committing to yoga and practicing on an ongoing basis. “If you are in an intense experience like recovery, it is even more important that you find a safe space and teacher,” said Dalury.
Shree (also written as Sri) is a Sanskrit word and many yoga texts are written in the language. Shree can be a title of respect, showing veneration, and also means the intrinsic goodness that is inherent in all things. It conveys the idea that goodness is always abundant, present and passing through things.
Welcoming
When a new student comes to Shree Yoga, they are welcomed and oriented to what happens at the studio. “We hope that each student has an experience that they feel is life-enhancing,” said Oswald. “Some classes are geared to beginning students, but all of the teachers can provide attention and assist the student wherever they are in the practice.”
There are chair yoga classes for those not able to get up and down off the floor easily, along with men on the mat, prenatal class for women only and a kids’ yoga classes. Students as young as 10-yearsold and as old as late-80s and across a broad range of ethnic backgrounds are found doing yoga at Shree.
Their students say the good teachers, the convenient schedule, the beautiful space and location make Shree Yoga attractive for their practice. Heather Bates has been coming to Shree for seven years and says it has always been welcoming for her. Hollie Laudal who teaches on Monday nights at Shree adds that her fellow teachers are always uplifting.
The studio is located at 112 Camino de la Placita, Suite C, inside a Works Project Administration–style building built by the Chacon family in the 1930s and originally home to the local newspaper. The big windows, wood floors, altar and flowers set the scene for yoga classes that inspire students to turn their attention inward and focus on the breath.
Connecting
“It’s a space to meet each other and make friends,” said Oswald. “We are stewards for the space and connection happens here in an honest, authentic way.”
Through Shree Yoga, many students cultivate their own practice. They may not be at the studio each week, but the connection persists. “Those relationships are so beautiful, even if we are seeing each other for only a brief period of time. The effect of sharing the depth of personal work we do together is really profound. We have seen each other go through life changes and been supportive of each other through loss, intense illness, surgery and divorce. It is like having an extra level of support for each of us,” said Dalury.
Coming up
Shree Yoga will be bringing guest teachers to the studio a few times a year. The first guest teacher will be Marc Holzman, who lives in Paris and teaches all over the world. He will be in Taos during Paseo weekend Sept.13-14 with more teachers to come in the future.
“There is a lot of good yoga in this community. We are celebrating that what we are doing has continued to thrive and provide a life-enhancing quality to this community and people in it. We look forward to 10 more years in business,” says Oswald.
“Shree is fortunate to be a success and we are successful because of everyone who participates in the vibrant life-enhancing gift that Shree is to our community: from me and Suki to the myriad of teachers past, present and future, and all the students who have ever participated in our offerings. It’s been 10 years of love, laughter, sweat and tears.”