Healthy communities keep questioning what it’s like to be together. They imagine new ways of engagement that move beyond your agenda versus my agenda. They develop partnerships that focus on collaboration rather than competition. And they create new gathering places to foster these ideas. The world really doesn’t need more successful people; it needs more successful collectives concerned with the deepest and best interests of the whole.
There is a new collective on the island that aims to do just that. In July, I attended the launch of the Bowen Island Yoga and Holistic Living Studio, and later I sat down with three vibrant young women, the owners of this new enterprise, to learn more. Chantal Russell, Saskia Tait, and Rebecca Bizzari-Gibbs have a grand vision for their studio: “to support people to realize their full potential—spiritually, intellectually, physically, socially, and emotionally—and to support our community to evolve in all of these areas.”
As well as ongoing yoga classes, they offer weekly meditation, a monthly documentary film series, a monthly speakers series (Bowen Speaks), workshops for young mothers, a reading club, guest teachers, and programs from fields as diverse as ecology, wellness, and the arts. And for the adventurous, there’s Sunday morning stand-up paddle and yoga on the Pier.
The women are all quite new to the island, Saskia being the veteran at 2½ years on Bowen, and Rebecca the newcomer, having arrived in February from London via the Swiss Alps. They started meeting at night “while the babies were sleeping” and saw that there was a real need to gather the island yoga teachers under one roof, and offer programs that would serve the island community. Together they’ve created a unique partnership integrating their many talents and interests.
Each woman has a clearly defined role and title. Saskia is the program director, organizing and overseeing events, workshops and retreats. She has a masters degree in International Development and is a PhD candidate in contemplative education. She has taught prenatal yoga and is a director of the New Earth Institute, which she co-founded with her husband, Shahar Rabi. “Yoga means union,” she says. “It’s new in the west and the focus has been on the physical,” but Saskia makes it clear that yoga is a study that includes “inner work and relational work.”
Chantal is the studio director. She manages the class schedule in the studio, as well as teaching a vinyasa flow yoga class. Chantal is also a nutritionist and will offer classes on nutrition in the fall. She is on the faculty of the Vancouver School of Yoga and has been teaching for almost a decade. She is passionate about sharing the teachings of yoga. And so is her two-and-a-half-year-old son, Ben. “Ben loves the yoga studio,” Chantal says. “He comes in and does downward dog, and when my husband drops him off at the end of my class, he waves goodbye to everyone and says thank you for coming.”
Rebecca is the creative director. She looks after marketing and promotional materials, as well as teaching classes in Ashtanga Yoga and Restorative Yoga. She is interested in taking the practice outdoors, combining alpine walks with yoga and meditation. Rebecca has a degree in fine arts, which she put to good use making sketches of the interior of the studio and the furniture “to transform a shabby space into a sanctuary.” The sketches were brought to life by Chantal’s husband, Gary, who built the shelves, benches and desk, and laid flooring using reclaimed lumber and locally sourced wood from a friend’s mill on the island. The results are calming and energizing.
“We want to create a multi-generational space,” says Saskia. “One that can nurture deep inner work, as well as conversations that matter. We want to serve our island community in unique and needed ways, for years to come.”
May it be so. I find it tremendously encouraging that these enterprising women chose Bowen Island to raise their kids, start a business, and offer us their skill and dedication. We will all be the richer for it.
The Bowen Island Yoga and Holistic Living Studio is at 585 Prometheus Place on the lower road at Artisan Square, next to Cloudworks Pottery Studio. For more information and to sign up for classes, visit their beautiful website at www.bowenislandyoga.com
