A special message from QSY Director, Leena Miller Cressman:
Happy Holidays from all of us at Queen Street Yoga! 2015 was another exciting year for our studio. We celebrated our 10-year anniversary, our first group of yoga teacher trainees graduated and are now teaching all over KW, our teaching and administrative staff grew, and we’ve continued to expand our class schedule and special programming to serve our wonderful community.
This year has not been without challenges, especially related to ION construction around us and renovations in our building. We are very excited that our facade is getting a facelift, we are getting a brand new sign, and Black Arrow Cycles will be our new neighbour on the ground floor in January.
We have our eye on the long term, and we know that these changes will be wonderful for our greater community in the years to come. But in the meantime, we know that traffic and parking around the studio has been a challenge for our students. We, like many other local establishments, have noticed a decrease in business downtown corresponding with the construction, and our operating budgets are tight as a result.
Thank you for continuing to come to classes and support this learning community despite the traffic and construction. At this time, we would like to ask for your help to keep our programming going strong. In order to maintain the drop-in classes you love, and continue to offer courses, community events and workshops, we need your help! Word of mouth referrals and support are always helpful for small, independent businesses, but now they are more important than ever.
Here’s what you can do to help:
Spread the word! Talk to friends about your experience at QSY. Share some of the content that we post facebook or twitter or forward a post from our blog along to someone it might be relevant to. Let your colleagues know that we offer Registered Massage Therapy. Encourage people in your life to check out one of our great courses like Meditation or Intro to Yoga.
Give the Gift of Queen Street Yoga. Keep us in mind when you’re giving gifts. We have gift certificates available all year, at any denomination. We also have awesome products that make great gifts, including our awesome line of massage balls.
Keep coming. If traffic is tough, come to one of our many later evening or weekend classes when traffic is calmer and parking is free. Keep in mind that the parking garage at Charles and Benton (just a 2 minute walk from the studio) is open and accessible for the duration of ION construction. We often have 2-hour free parking passes available for this garage (subsidized by the City), so please ask for one at the front desk. Many of our neighbouring local businesses have closed or are struggling. While you’re downtown for yoga, stop in at other local businesses to help keep the downtown alive and vibrant throughout the construction. If you are on a tighter budget check out our $5 Community Class every Sunday night at 6pm.
Thank you so much for being part of our community this past year, or these past 10 years. We are so grateful for your support! We wouldn’t be here without you and we look forward to many more years of serving this community with thoughtful and heartfelt offerings.
Wishing you and your loved ones a relaxing and joyful holiday season!
Check out our special holiday schedule of classes, including candelit Rest & Renew and New Year’s Eve Yoga here.
Leena Miller Cressman is the director of Queen Street Yoga. Right now she’s in love with practicing the Tensegrity Repair Series, handstands and doing gentle twists over her bolster. You’ll also find her cruising around on her rusty but trusty bike, and tending to her community garden plot full of arugula, kale, and basil.
The Branches 