Local yoga instructor Hollie Sue Mann is not afraid of a challenge. Not only did she leave her career as a professor of political theory at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to move to Telluride full-time in 2019, she also chose to buy a small business amid the uncertainties and difficulties of a global health crisis. Mann took over as part-owner and director of Telluride Yoga Center this August.
Throughout the pandemic, we’ve had to decide which businesses and services are “essential.” And yoga, at least to its adherents in Telluride, is most definitely essential. Mann agrees. “I bought into the Yoga Center in the middle of this global health crisis both because yoga is an absolutely critical part of individual wellness and healing and, even more importantly, is a critical aspect of community well-being and wholeness,” she says.
Telluride Yoga Center’s natural home is in the Nugget building, which is currently being remodeled. While TYC waits to return to its spacious, windowed studio and boutique shop this winter, and as the pandemic is keeping people at home or outside for safety, the center is offering outdoor, donation-based classes in Town Park and is launching a new digital platform for yoga, meditation, and philosophy classes with local teachers that students can attend online. (See class schedule below or visit www.thetellurideyogacenter.com for more information.)
Mann is determined to bring people together, honoring the established local institution and its place in our community. “I was trained as a political theorist, and so my mind instantly goes to the collective, to our shared life. When the pandemic hit and everything closed down, it became very clear that the separation and isolation that folks were experiencing was not just difficult but traumatizing. The loss that we all felt, having been dislocated from interpersonal relationships beyond our immediate family, our work life, and our wider community, not to mention just no longer participating in totally ordinary aspects of social life, was palpable and widely shared. I knew that yoga, when taught with concern and regard for trauma, imbalance, inequality, etc., would be a crucial part of our collective healing. Plus, becoming a part of TYC just seemed like a super fun way for me to share my love of yoga and mindful movement! I love to bring people together and raise vibrations through community.”
Weekly Schedule of Live Classes:
Monday in Town Park w/Marie Green @10am
Tuesday at Sheridan Opera House w/Hollie Sue Mann @10am
Wednesday in Town w/Marie Green @10am
Thursday at SHO w/Hollie Sue Mann @10am
Every *other Sunday in Town Park w/Hollie Sue Mann and LIVE DJ WOMBAT @11am (Sept. 13, Sept. 27, Oct. 11, Oct 25)
To learn more, visit www.thetellurideyogacenter.com, www.holliesuemann.com