Walking into asana studios, Kensington’s newest yoga/barre/HIIT studio, is like walking into a welcoming, calm and beautifully-laid-out lounge. There is no pressure to even participate in a class – if you’d rather sit at the beautiful bar stools overlooking Kensington, enjoy a glass of Kombucha on tap and chat with other studio-goers (AKA asana squad), you are more than welcome. However, the clean environment and post-practice eucalyptus towels seem to be encouragement enough to try out a class.
Asana, meaning yoga posture in Sanskrit, was opened by mother-daughter trio: Mitra, Ronnie and Rose. “We strive to evolve through creativity and grow as human beings as growth is essential while we stay true to our yogi roots,” says asana studios co-founder, Ronnie. After a car accident four years ago, Ronnie struggled with a head and neck injuries. She was in pain doing the day-to-day at her then corporate computer role and it made her rethink her entire future. Although she has been practicing for over ten years, this is what led to her new yoga journey. She decided to do her yoga teacher training at Alberta Yoga College. To take it a step further, Ronnie went to LA and did her ‘Yoga Sculpt’ training – a bit more of an upbeat and energetic type of yoga with music and free weights. Mitra is a trained tango, salsa, and merengue dancer who believes that love and passion for any method of self-improvement are extremely important in all our lives. The trio opened asana studios in June of 2018 and haven’t looked back. Rose also owns Kensington’s Frilly Lilly – so the family is truly laying down some roots in the neighbourhood.
Asana studios places heavy emphasis on the idea that it’s important for people to keep reminding themselves on how strong they are, and how inspiring ourselves is how we can truly inspire each other. The studio offers a variety of yoga styles and levels, yoga sculpt, barre, and barre-HIIT fusion classes – something for every preference and level of experience. They place their instructors based on their experience, certification, and the type of classes that they both enjoy and are amazing at teaching. They love how clients enjoy building different connections with each instructor.
The team’s favourite part about being located in Kensington is how the neighbours, the people and the small businesses have built such a tight-knit community. “A lot of people have been here for years,” says Ronnie. “They love the neighbours and the community feel. You don’t get that in a lot of inner-city neighbourhoods.” Asana feels proud to be a part of Kensington, especially after the uplift of the neighbourhood over the past few years.
New asana studio members are eligible to sign up for the Savasana package – $59 for an entire month of unlimited classes. To try a class at asana studios, visit www.asanastudios.ca or check out their classes on the MindBody App. Follow them on Facebook as asana studios and Instagram at @asana_studios!
Asana studios is also hosting an amazing exclusive invite-only event on Sunday, October 14th. To be invited, head to their website and scroll down to sign up to be added to their mailing list.