It may seem a bit formal, corporate, or lofty to establish core values for a small little studio. But for many people, our yoga studio is a shala (Sanskrit for “home”). In order to feel comfortable in our home, it helps to know what core values drive mindset, expectations, and behavior.
When any of us—teachers and students alike—have to make a decision or take action, these values will help determine the path. Here are things Swell Yoga Studio values most:
Accessibility and Inclusivity
The long and complex history of yoga (5000+ years!) demonstrates it’s nothing if not adaptable. If you have any doubts over whether you’re a “yoga person,” please know: YOGA IS FOR EVERY BODY. There are as many ways to practice yoga as there are people who practice it.
Swell Yoga Studio welcomes anyone regardless of race, color, gender, national origin, age, religion, creed, disability, status, education, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression.
Collaboration and Connectivity
We believe in the aphorism “a rising tide lifts all boats.”
Swell Yoga Studio encourages your ideas, suggestions, and desire for progress.
We seek to collaborate and connect with those in our immediate shala, within the larger yoga and wellness community, and within the general Coastside community as a whole.
Yoga is a physical practice that brings people together while also encouraging reflection and introspection. Please know that as a community, we also respect that some people in the shala seek quiet, stillness, and privacy.
Creativity and Exploration
Whether you’re new to yoga or you’ve been practicing longer than your teacher’s been alive, please leave any judgment, doubt, or preconceptions at the door. (Along with your shoes!)
Swell Yoga Studio supports vulnerability, courage, failed attempts, and broken barriers.
Each practice is an opportunity to be fully present in our ever-evolving minds and bodies. Yoga doesn’t always have to be serious! It is perfectly acceptable to laugh, shake, fall, wobble, and spill.
Transparency and Integrity
If you’ve made it this far, you already know we’re an open book–and still being written! We figure an openness in operations helps build trust, encourages accountability, and empowers all of us through a shared understanding.
While we hope to get a lot right at Swell Yoga Studio, we will also make mistakes.
Swell Yoga Studio promises to be honest, humble, keep learning, and integrate the complexities of the experience along the way.
Quality and Sustainability
More often than not, quality and sustainability go hand-in-hand. They describe the physical materials with which the studio is built; the teachers who open the door week after week, month after month, year after year; and your own practice developed over time yet new each day.
Unfortunately, quality and sustainability don’t always go hand-in-hand with easy or fast. We aim to prioritize the former over convenience and speed. In these times we ask for patience, trust, and a generous spirit as we build the bedrock for a solid space and thriving community.
Swell Yoga Studio honors the essential and fragile interdependence between all living things and our precious ecosystems.
We’re proud to be a certified San Mateo County Green Business. Check out our stated Environmental Policy.
Questions, feedback, or concerns? Please click here to visit our contact page.