Bodhi Studios : Just What Prescott Needed
*Grand opening on January 28th*
If you’ve driven up Campbell anytime in the past few months, you may be wondering what’s being built just on the other side of “the trees next to the softball fields.” The answer has felt like a precious gem many of us have been holding onto.
The unique and modern design being built as I write this is none other than Bodhi Studios, Prescott’s first and very own yoga studio.
Bodhi Studios is owned and operated by Cortney Franklin. Cortney is a strong, wonderful, creative, and brightly spirited woman who grew up right here in Prescott. She is simply a delight. She has taken the seed of an idea and planted it right in our midst. This seed was planted at Freedom Park during perhaps the hardest time many of us have faced – right when the pandemic hit. She used the beautiful outdoor space and invited people “in.” She eventually moved her yoga practice indoors (hello, midwest winters!) and is currently using the open workout space in Snap Fitness. However, when you enter this space for a Bodhi class, you are transported somewhere else. The quality instructors, the lighting, and the overall essence of the room is felt by all who enter. And it works — for now.
I moved to Prescott 8 years ago and my first thought was, “This town could use a yoga studio.” (My second thought was, “This town could use a brewery.” And we got pretty close… when Spiral Brewery opened in Hastings. Double bonus, they now serve nonalcoholic beer.)
But I craved yoga. More specifically, I craved hot yoga. Moving to a small town in Wisconsin, after growing up in Albuquerque with a large hot yoga presence downtown, felt somewhat bleak. This town could for sure use some yoga. I felt very alone with this thought, but I now know I wasn’t alone at all. It appears there are many who were waiting for an opportunity such as this, and a large number of us are already ecstatic that Bodhi Studios is here.
The word Bodhi itself means “awakening,” “enlightenment,” or “spiritual release.” I can’t imagine a better time for some Bodhi to enter the scene in this small town. Bodhi Studios itself is positioned between the Midwest’s beloved Kwik Trip, as well as this town’s often frequented softball fields. The placement of this yoga studio is profound to me: it is right in the center of some of the most every-day, simple, and fundamental small town life aspects that we all must navigate day in and day out. Getting gas, taking the kids to sporting events, grabbing a few bananas (and a few donuts, you know it’s true.) These things aren’t bad things, but sometimes we need more. We crave more. We want a place to enter that will transport us far away or deep within. Bodhi Studios is exactly that.
Bodhi Studios will change lives in Prescott and in fact, it already has. The loving community of people who already attend class will tell you: Cortney’s dream has given way for our own dreams to come true. Physical fitness combined with the calming of the mind does have an impact on individuals, and the more individuals who are impacted, the larger impact on the community as a whole.
Healed people heal people. I would prefer Prescott to grow in this way. I’d love if every neighbor I had was mindful of others and able to look inward for peace.
Wouldn’t you? The gift of Bodhi Studios is one giant step in that direction, and I cannot wait for the building to be completed.
Bodhi Studio already has a variety of classes — truly something for everyone. You can try with no risk – the first class is free!
I used to love yoga, be confident in my body, and show up without reservation. A decade passed and some negative life experience, the pandemic as a whole, and other factors made me hesitant to join. I will admit – I was nervous to join the group I often saw practicing yoga at Freedom Park. I wish I could go back in time and partake during those difficult days, but I’m thankful I made it there eventually. I have shared this before in another post, but yoga is part of what has saved my life. My outer life as well as my inner life. Intentions can be powerful, and that is what yoga offers. Sure, a great physical workout, but more importantly, a mind-space of intentionality that can transform our internal thoughts into those that serve us and our neighbors. During my very first class at Bodhi, the only intention I could even muster up was “life” – as in, let me want to be alive. And sadly, I know I am not alone in having had this very thought. I was at war with my body, and something as simple as “placing your hand on your belly and the other on your heart” was hard to do at first. Now, I lovingly place my hands there and thank my body for all it does for me, instead of hating it for what it hasn’t. Intentions change and grow, just like us. Then there’s the workout – and I will tell you, I have YET to be able to do 100% of what Cortney does in her Bodhi Burn class. It is SO HARD and SO FUN and SO CHALLENGING and SO REWARDING and SO HEALING. All at once. I promise.
It is nothing short of a miracle that a town like Prescott now has a beautiful yoga studio of its own, and I personally consider it an answered prayer.
Don’t be intimidated. This space is for everyone. And it is true. As Cortney always says: Come as you are.
But I promise you, you will leave changed.
Love,
Melinda (the hot yogi ;) )