Swans Nest Yoga Grand Opening and Open House Saturday!
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We got a chance to speak with Sean Moore, owner of Swans Nest Yoga about his new space and his experience working with RC’s Victoria Hagman on his search for the perfect spot. Plus news on their grand opening and open house this weekend! Here’s what he had to say.
First tell us about Swans Nest Yoga.
Swans Nest Yoga was founded on the belief that life is a journey towards the Soul. Through physical practice, self-inquiry, and an open-mind – and by combining eternal wisdom from the ancient practice of yoga with our modern day understanding of the world – we find that a committed yoga practice amplifies our inner voice while quieting our fears, helping us pursue the lives we were built to live with increased joy, love and fulfillment.
Why do you feel a connection with the practice of yoga?
I started practicing yoga in 2014 and it quickly became the most effective form of treatment I found to help reduce stress, anxiety, and depression. Once I learned more about the philosophy and history of yoga, I became fascinated with its philosophical teachings on life and existence. I started practicing Ashtanga yoga in June 2017 and spent two months in early 2018 studying at the K. Pattabhi Jois Yoga Institute in Mysore, India with Pattabhi Jois’ daughter, Saraswati. I continue to practice, study and teach yoga to feel good, help alleviate depression and anxiety, and strengthen a deeper connection to myself.
Tell us about your experience looking for a space. We’d like to know about your experience within the community. Why did you choose the neighborhood that you did to open your business and how do you plan on becoming involved within your community?
I met Victoria through a mutual friend, Jonathan Schnapp (owner of the Royal Palms Shuffleboard Club). Initially I was looking into Red Hook, but after some very helpful and honest conversations and site visits with Victoria, I realized that may not be the best location for what I was trying to build. During my search, Victoria serendipitously connected an old friend that had commercial space behind her vintage clothing store in East Williamsburg. It seemed like a good match, and after two visits to the space we were into negotiations. Victoria was very helpful throughout the process, both in terms of managing the process and also providing insight into issues that came up in the somewhat unorthodox lease agreement we closed with.
I chose the location in part because of Suzy, the owner of the Vintage store, and her existing desire to have yoga in the space behind her store and her excitement about being informal partners in collectively growing our individual businesses in the space. Suzy and I had a good connection from day one and I think we can build something special here. I also think the specific area of East Williamsburg is good location in that it is far enough from the craziness of central Williamsburg, but close enough to entice students from there and also Bushwick to come practice at the space. It also has good access to transportation at the L, G, and JMZ trains. Overall, it felt like a nice “needle in the haystack” of a space that was the right size, right cost, and right location for what I’m trying to build.
While there are several yoga studio in Williamsburg and Bushwick, the pocket where my school is was lacking a yoga offering. I will be able to serve the immediate surrounding neighborhood easily and have done a lot of on-the-ground marketing since I’ve been here. I will have a community class on the schedule which will be half price of regular classes. I hope to be able to serve many of the people that live and work directly in this area, as well as entice students from surrounding neighborhoods to come practice. As the benefits of yoga become more widely recognized, I think there are many potential ways to partner with schools and other community institutions to bring the practice of yoga to a wider population.
Lastly, let us know if you have any events coming up! Grand opening?
Saturday, August 18th! Open house from 12pm-5pm. 137 Montrose Avenue, 1G.