| Last updated at 12:17 PM on 12/11/09 |
|
Breathing Space owner and instructor Kim Curlett shows off her space at Suite 230-250 Baker Drive in Dartmouth. |
|
|
Spreading good karma 
Halifax News Net
By Joanne Oostveen–The Weekly News
A local yoga studio is doing its part to take care of Dartmouth.
Breathing Space Yoga Studio opened last August on Baker Drive and has been offering a unique way for yoga enthusiasts to give back to the community.
“We are offering a karma class on the last Monday of every month,” said Kim Curlett, owner and operator of the studio. “Karma teaches us that what goes around comes around and karma yoga literally translates to the path of union through action. Come out for a free class and your $5 donation will go to a different charity each month.”
Curlett said money raised from the class has already been given to Feeding Others of Dartmouth and other local groups. She wants her business to make people feel they are a part of something big.
“I believe in being a part of the change you want to see in the world,” she said. “And this is our little way of helping out.”
A native Dartmouthian, Curlett said she was glad to have come home after spending six years in British Columbia. In an effort to heal from a car accident, she started taking classes at a Breathing Space studio in Halifax and said she soon came to realize that yoga is one of the few exercises that gave her more energy instead of making her feel depleted.
“I had found exactly what I needed. I was enchanted,” said Curlett. “I left my career as a lab technician, took the 200 hours of training required to become a certified yoga teacher and opened my own studio in Dartmouth. I think people are tired of crossing the bridge to Halifax for anything exciting.”
Curlett has had some major insights into herself as a result of yoga. She now is mindful of everything she puts into her body, and said yoga is a way of learning something about yourself.
“It makes you accept yourself, gives you confidence and it makes you look at yourself with new eyes,” she said. “Too often we identify ourselves by what we cannot do and what we don't have. Yoga is not about competing with your neighbour.”
As a busy mother of two and stepmother to one, Curlett said she knows the importance of finding balance in your life. She wants her studio to be a haven from the stresses of the world and invites feedback from all who walk through the door. Classes are now available for children, teens, beginners, boomers, expectant moms and athletes.
She was the general contractor at the studio during the construction and said she built the space with home in mind.
“This is my home away from home and it feels good,” said Curlett. “I made sure the colours here were soft and calming, installed warm bamboo floors and even brought the Nova Scotia blue sky inside.”
joanneoostveen@accesswave.ca
|
