New Yoga Business to Open in Terra Linda

Poor San Rafael has had a load of negative lately.   For months and years, we’ve been polarized by issues like SMART and Target, and now there’s the tempest over baseball at Albert Park.  

A recent  here in Local Voices listed reasons why Al Boro would have been better off retiring four years ago, reasons like downtown being over-run with nail salons and massage parlors and the Canal with gangs.  Then, one Friday, we had a .  Followed, on Sunday, by .  And then Wednesday, what the hell?  A two-day .  Crazy, right?

So I was really, really happy to find out that there’s a new yoga studio opening in Terra Linda this month.

Now THAT is some good news, San Rafael! As a yoga nomad who travels from home and work in San Rafael to Sausalito, Larkspur, Berkeley, San Francisco for a class, I am particularly happy to be able to spend my yoga dollars in my own zip code. 

Ok, so it’s not like there’s not a ton of yoga available in Marin County and even in San Rafael, but in Terra Linda, not so much.

And check it out: this story is so cool.

The studio, Embrace Yoga, is owned by Amanda Mount, a former Montessori teacher who fell in love with yoga, took a training, started teaching to rave reviews at Yoga Studio (now Yoga Works), eventually quit her job and is now opening a place of her own just blocks from her home.  Her partner, an architect, did the remodel of the space – a stand-alone building in the little shopping center on Freitas and Del Ganado  – and it’s gorgeous.  Simple, clean and gorgeous.  Amanda can ride her bike, kid-seat on the back for her eight month old, to the studio, keeping her life and work super local and green. How awesome is that?  A total dream come true.

Since two months in Bali two summers ago, Amanda has been seeking a way to re-create the peace and synchronicity she experienced in the island paradise, the simplicity and joy of every day.  When this rental space came available just down the street, she knew it was the right opportunity, and ever since signing the rental agreement in late June, everything has come together smoothly to support her decision, help coming from every direction.  The way Amanda describes it, “the right people, the right resources and the right timing have all come together, which has given me the strength and courage to move ahead and trust that this was the right path.  I want Embrace to be a haven where people connect, un-do and let go.”

Having visited the studio twice now, getting a little sneak preview of what will open to the public in a few short weeks, I can attest to how lovely a little sanctuary it is, the gorgeous golden hills of Terra Linda visible on all sides through the abundant windows.  Standing in the space, you feel the embrace of the landscape and of Amanda's vision.

It's such a dream come true!  For Amanda and for a lot of others.  The studio line-up includes all-star and local favorite teachers Peggy Orr, Danielle Hougard, Anne O’Brien, Laura Christensen, Ulrika Engmann, Karyn Holland, Sam Greenlief, Alicia Thomsen, Jacqueline Gerson, Elizabeth Shelhart, Jonathan Pofsky, Eric Monkhouse, Dave Larot and Amanda herself.  There’s plenty of parking, and opportunities for post-class deliciousness – Weezy’s, LoCoco’s, , Three Twins, Scotty’s Market just to mention a few! 

Embrace Yoga’s Grand Opening is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 17.  There will be free mini-classes and great promotions all weekend long.

I, for one, will be there, celebrating this new addition to all that’s great about San Rafael, and participating in the unfolding of a shared dream come true: one of our own realizing her vision, adding a little more beauty to this place we call home. 

For more information about Embrace Yoga, visit www.embraceyogamarin.com.  Like Embrace Yoga on Facebook page for updates and studio news.