Santa Monica’s TRÜYoga is green
design at its glitziest.
April 2007 | Healthly Living : Yoga
Green Rooms
This Earth Day, open up to green yoga
By Alison Clare Steingold
The latest trend in yoga isn’t Lululemon’s new hip-hugging pants, and it isn’t the infusion of hip-hop or flamenco spicing up your plain-jane primary series. As the globe gets warmer, would-be studio owners are realizing that plunking down varnish on hardwood, raiding Costco for SmartWaters and printing schedules won’t cut it anymore. To be a true health and wellness business, yoga studios are making people- and planet-friendly choices a keystone of their daily practice.
And the Green Ribbon Goes To…
Opened in December, Santa Monica’s newest best-kept secret, Trüyoga, is green yoga at its glossiest. You may recognize Peter Sterios, whether from Yoga Journal or as CEO of yoga mat line Manduka; now he’s chief yogi-in-residence for the eco-friendly space he designed. “I used to have to sneak [green touches] in,” smiles Sterios, who moonlights as an architect. “Now there are cool materials to choose from that aren’t so ugly. You can create something you want to be in.”
Sterios didn’t just draft blueprints and roll them up like a (Manduka) mat for the contractor. He was onsite to salvage — a door here, a reclaimed countertop there. With the green design movement booming, what was nonexistent even three or four years ago is now possible: eco-resin wall panels, pressed recycled newspaper pulp counters. As for operational green details, Sterios says, “When you’ve got free valet parking, you’re cutting down on wasting gas to endlessly circle the block.” 2425 Colorado Ave., Santa Monica. 310.829.2420. TrYogaLA.com
The first thing the argus-eyed eco-gi might notice at Santa Monica’s year-old Home Simply Yoga — other than a desire to curl up on the gorgeous water-heated reclaimed mahogany floors — is nothing strikingly eco-fied in particular. Forgoing green glitz, owner Gary Margolin and his wife Melissa, an interior designer focusing on sustainable-chic, aimed to create a back-to-basics environment that still adhered to their values.
To build Home Simply Yoga, Gary and Melissa sourced creative materials — like those pristine floors and countertops/cubbies, all from a shuttered Armani Exchange store — for a sense-soothing sanctuary that wouldn’t distract from the classes. With a zero-carbon footprint philosophy for the favonian garden-level space, the couple informs at the “school”; demystifying lingo (VOCs: volatile organic compounds) but primarily helping students make better choices that respect self and earth with ahimsa (nonviolence). “Neither of us is a screaming environmentalist,” Gary quips, “but we both have deep care for the world we live in.” 1547 Sixth Street, Santa Monica. 310.899.1930. HomeSimplyYoga.com
Other Studios For Change
The yoga world’s emerging eco-awareness can be traced to the Green Yoga Association’s pilot program for greening studios (see sidebar). While none of those studios hail from LA, their chatter on online communities like Tribe.com — a social networking site for crunchy hipsters — offers useful info from the newest Yogitoes Ecodot to flooring options for home and studio.
Other studios around town walking the green mile:
Black Dog Yoga
What began as a humble spot for neighborhood and commuter yoga has set roots as a centrally located Sherman Oaks gem for hatha. Don’t miss the warm bamboo floors cushioning your sirsasana. You won’t even miss your mat. 4454 Van Nuys Blvd., Sherman Oaks. 818.380.0331. blackdogyoga.net
Golden Bridge Yoga
Even the café cutlery for your mung beans and rice is biodegradable spudware at Gurmukh’s skylit beacon of kundalini bliss in a loftlike community for healing modalities from chod to gong. This “spiritual village” loves recycling — down to its reclaimed floors from India. 6322 De Longpre Ave., Hollywood. 323.936.4172. goldenbridgeyoga.com
Revive Studios
Andrea McClain’s tree-sprinkled Chatsworth setup combines coffeehouse and eco-friendly yoga. Solar power, sustainable flooring and materials, and nontoxic paint make for a sweet little spot. 23350 Lake Manor Dr., Chatsworth. 818.710.6691. revivestudios.com
Urth Yoga
On a bustling Silver Lake corridor, this new seriously green studio is a hip oasis awash in a (VOC-free) minty palette. Eco-mindedness runs the gamut from water-gloss on the 80-year-old hardwoods to organic foods, Fair Trade cleaning products and PVC-free studio mats. 2809 West Sunset Boulevard, Silver Lake. 213.483.YOGA. urthyoga.com
U Studio Yoga
“No need to disrupt what’s already there,” explains Andrea Marcum of the natural light in her year-old Miracle Mile deco dream. “A historic landmark as a place to do our yoga is a bit of a recycling program to restore the life force of the building.” 5410 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles. ustudioyoga.com
Yoga At The Village
Having converted this historic studio for Kenneth Villagers in 2005, owners Elyse and so-monikered Dean “Ecology God” Briggs have successfully transitioned to hippie chic: low-flush toilets, Jade/Harmony mats and hemp clothing. You’ll find old-school ecological chatter parked alongside Dean’s green ’65 Chevelle wagon — just don’t toss your water bottle in the compost bin. 1306 Sonora Ave., Glendale. 818.265.9833. yogaatthevillage.com
Yoga Blend
Yoga Blend’s cheerful new home seemingly follows GYA to a T: bamboo, slate, filtered water, compostable cups. Says Christy Marsden, “It’s my duty as a studio owner to set an example in how simple and rewarding it is to protect our Mother Earth.” 1921 W. Magnolia Blvd., Burbank. 818.954.YOGA. yogablend.com
YogaWorks Westlake Village
Even YogaWorks opens a brand-new luxe green location this June and has recommitted to longer-term sustainability projects like Prana’s wind-power initiative. 2475 Townsgate Rd., Westlake Village. 805-371-3030. yogaworks.com
Lifestyle freelancer Alison Clare Steingold ditched her ritual of drinking pu-erh tea from venti throwaway cups (yes, even at home) after researching green yoga for WLT.
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