Do you need to relax? Rubber Soul Yoga Revolution can help. For over a decade, the yoga studio on Pulaski Street has functioned as a donation-based studio, offering a variety of classes—from gentle yoga to tai chi.
As daily life becomes more demanding and stress ridden, 19 million adults in the U.S. are turning to yoga, according to a survey conducted by Wakefield Research for Yoga Alliance in 2015. CAN YOU LINK TO THIS SOURCE?
With classes offered from 4:30 a.m. until 8:30 p.m. every day but Thanksgiving and Christmas, this studio provides ample opportunities for Athenians of all socioeconomic classes to stretch and relax. According to its website, the mission of Rubber Soul is to “provide community-based yoga at a price affordable to all.”
The owner of Rubber Soul, Cal Clement, faced skepticism from locals when the studio first opened as the donation-based model did not seem fit to last the constantly changing Athens business market. However, the studio has had continued success because patrons pay based on how they value their experience rather than a fixed rate, according to Clement in a 2015 interview with the Red & Black.
In the same interview, Clement said, “It’s important to consider the congruity between the concept of donation, compassion and generally giving things away with the project.” Clement added, “fortunately, it aligns with the core values of yoga.”
Acroyoga @ Rubber Soul Yoga on Instagram: “2 birds with one stone 🐥🐣 #acroyoga this was maras first time with bird on hands and feet 🎊🎉”
86 likes, 5 comments – rubbersoul_yoga on June 15, 2015: “2 birds with one stone 🐥🐣 #acroyoga this was maras first time with bird on hands and feet 🎊🎉”
The studio’s longevity stems from its adaptation of nontraditional classes like a “laughing meditation” class which used to take place on Fridays, according to Online Athens article from 2006. The class focused on combining yoga and laughter to relieve stress.
Although this class no longer takes place, Rubber Soul continues to have a consciousness toward its customer’s needs. For example, the studio offers a “rainbow flow yoga” class which was “designed with LGBTQ community and its supporters in mind,” according to the Rubber Soul website.
This idea to adapt yoga practices to fit the needs of community members is part of an Americanized trend to adjust the 5,000-year-old activity to relaxation techniques that are specific to people’s current lives.
“Yoga is evolving to meet cultural needs,” Yoga Alliance president Hansa Knox Johnson told the Associated Press in 2004.