On a personal note, Colleen proudly says she mama to Maxwell and life-partner/wife to Jay, and also an architect. As the owner, instructor and team leader at Downtown Desert Yoga, it is my intention to create space for those who also have that appreciation and passion for sharing and practicing yoga. I could not do it without my family, friends, students, and team who have helped to build this amazing community here in Las Cruces.

As I like to remind myself and my students, “There is no there, there.” Just keep showing up to practice, practice, practice this thing we call life.

What’s next for Downtown Desert Yoga? Scroll down to find out!

What’s Next for Yoga Studios? Colleen Boyd — owner of Downtown Desert Yoga in Las Cruces, NC — shares insights

Hope & Cynthia: Tell us about your business/industry and where it was before the pandemic hit in March 2020. 

Colleen:  This year, Downtown Desert Yoga (DDY) is celebrating 10 years of providing yoga to the Mesilla Valley. To mark this milestone, and show appreciation to the community that has given so much support, DDY will host A Decade of Yoga, A Year of Celebration with an entire year of special donation-based workshops and challenges, an incredible discount on a one-year pass in January, and a day-long event, including free yoga, in April.

Central to the year of celebration is DDY’s governing philosophy of Optimal Movement (OM). Begun in 2015 as an adaptation of the Functional Movement fitness system, DDY owner Colleen Boyd has taken on the challenge of creating yoga classes that are equally accessible and challenging for all bodies.

With Optimal Movement, Boyd has created a practice where the needs of all body types, levels of ability, and age groups are met in one space, and often in one class. DDY’s teacher training is even designed with the specific purpose of giving future yoga instructors the tools necessary to teach several styles of yoga to the broadest range of body types and abilities.

Many of DDY’s instructors have completed 500 hours of teacher training, with 300 hours dedicated to Therapeutic Yoga Essentials. For students, this means a high level of dedication to creating a therapeutic experience with a focus on trauma-informed instruction in most classes. Boyd offers, “For myself and our instructors, what we want is for our students to get curious about movement in their body, see how it feels, and then move in a way that feels best to them. Yoga then becomes a unique experience for each student in the room, allowing them to take responsibility for how they move and feel in their bodies,” According to Boyd, this deemphasizes aesthetic shapes while giving attention to, and celebrating the uniqueness of the individual body’s ability.

Hope & Cynthia: Where were you personally in your life when COVID-19 arrived in the US? What were your short and long-term goals at that time? 

Colleen: We were getting ready to launch our 10-year Open House Celebration and start our fifth 200-hour RYT Yoga Teacher Training.  We pivoted very quickly to offer as many classes as our instructors who were interested in and wanted to work on Zoom. We thought it was important to stay as connected as possible with folks, so doing the online live stream classes was our focus.  We were not sure about offering the TT on that platform, but it has been a success. Not everyone who signed up felt that was a good platform for them, but thankfully we had eight individuals who committed to the teacher training and that is what has sustained us for the last four months.  In addition to the teacher trainees, a core group of very dedicated yogis are committed to weekly and even daily classes we offer online.

Hope & Cynthia: What are your thoughts now about your industry, your business, your personal life, your heart?

Colleen:  I have a team that is passionate about this path we have embarked on of offering yoga to a much broader population.  I foresee that we will continue on with this for another ten years.  The yoga industry has seen exponential growth over the last ten years due to a boom in the fitness industry. Because we have all had to slow down tremendously, many people are developing a deeper understanding of how important it is to de-stress and unwind.  Mindfulness is woven into the yoga lexicon, and I see this “Yoga for Any Body” movement in a similar way, and as another wave to ride.

Hope & Cynthia: Now the big question — What do you see coming next? 

Colleen:

• For your industry: We will see more autonomy for instructors. I see the opportunity for instructors to really build their business and brand what they have to offer if they so desire, especially with the online aspect of extending their reach.  Here in Las Cruces there are three discrete yoga studios with plenty of cross-over; instructors are used to the entrepreneur model of teaching. Many of them develop a following of students based on the unique things that each studio offers. Classes in a studio can be a way for instructors to develop relationships and hold workshops are one way they can sustain themselves. They can do financially quite well if they put in the time and effort.
• For your company: We are looking forward to getting back into the studio.  DDY has offered a feeling of HOME for many of our students, so they are ready to get back; that said, timing is everything.  I am not rushing it.  We have always tried our best to create a safe, comfortable space based on aspects of trauma-informed instruction. As an architect, it is important to me that the physical space is aesthetically pleasing with natural lighting, and careful attention to the little details that make it comfortable.   DDY is the largest studio in Las Cruces, so in addition to the typical COVID protocols, we can provide plenty of room between students so that they feel comfortable in that regard too.
• For yourself and the world: My mission in the last five years has been to dispel the myth that yoga is for fit, flexible, fairly strong people.  Once I completed my 500 RYT, I was able to teach to a broader population. I actually put my beliefs where my mouth is: “yoga can be for anybody.”  My next mission will be to promote Yin and Restorative Yoga much more.  What COVID has brought to light for me and many that I have spoken to over the last few months, is that we were all running around way too much, distracting ourselves with busyness and doing.  Yes, it’s great to be physical and stay in shape, but as I approach 56, I want to adopt the philosophy of my acupuncturist, Denise, who often reminds me: “We can and should trust the intelligence of the body”.  Slowing down and taking note of what is going on with Mother Nature gives me hope that I can trust that good things will come to me if I do the same.
• For the country: I hope that this experience of being forced to slow down, do less and possibly listen more reminds us of how much more we all have in common.  I don’t want to focus on the few differences that can create such division. I don’t see as much value in being “right” or thinking I know what is better for someone else.  I want to ask more questions, and listen more.
• For women: My father was a dear soul and one of my best friends.  We used to discuss life, politics, spirituality. In the context of some frustration that we had in common about the state of things, he once commented to me, “women have the potential to save this world.”  That’s a lot of responsibility to put on us, but I get what he meant.  I am an optimist and believe that women have much to offer in their ability to express empathy AND get a lot of shite done!   I wish my dad was still around to see the nomination and, hopefully, the election of our first woman-of-color veep!  I believe he is out there taking it all in – I tell him about it every day.

Hope & Cynthia: One more question — now tell us the one question we didn’t ask you — and give us your response.

Colleen: How did you prepare your business not to be one of the many small businesses that have not survived the new COVID-19 reality? There is a story I like to tell that I gleaned from one of my amazing Yin Yoga instructor’s, Shawn Cornelison. We like to say there is strength in our suppleness.  If you have ever practiced yoga, what does your Mountain Pose feel like?  We like to cue our students into the strongest mountain they can be without creating rigidity in the body; they are strong and stable but could turn on a dime in a second to make a pivot. That comes from finding the most tone in the musculoskeletal system while still providing plenty of room for the breath!  We had to do the “pivot” as many businesses have.  I owe a great deal of that success to my team members/instructors here at ddy.

Don’t stop here! Keep up with A Decade of Yoga, A Year of Celebration on DDY’s website: downtowndesertyoga.com, and find us on social media by following Downtown Desert Yoga on Facebook and also on Instagram.