ABOUT PAGE UPDATE
It’s been a while since we’ve updated our About page. If you’ve been around Ahimsa long enough, you’ll know that we are always changing… we hope you are, too! This May will mark 10 years in business! We hope to celebrate with you in a fun and creative way in a few months!
Dear Students,
Ahimsa is a sanskrit word that means non-violence in thought or deed and it is one of the first principles of yoga philosophy. Ahimsa was created for people to stretch, strengthen, breathe, move, not move… to be seen, appreciated, and acknowledged.
Ahimsa’s journey from the beginning is long and complex. It began with a story about how I worked at a financial trading company in Chicago and discovered that it was causing a lot of stress and anxiety.
My dad, Chuck, and I worked tirelessly to open Ahimsa Oak Park in May of 2011. Shortly after (very shortly after) he was pulled to his purpose - to teach yoga and share the practice that helped him so much. 9 years later, multiple yoga trainings, hundreds of yoga classes, and dozens of sound baths later, he recently moved down South to enjoy milder winters.
Ahimsa Berwyn was born in 2015 from Masin Ouksel’s idea to also leave the taxing rat race and live a life of meaningful purpose. Since then, Masin and I have expanded, contracted, tried, failed, succeeded, and everything in-between! Ahimsa Elmhurst was previously Elmhurst Yoga Shala, a community that was around even before 2011.
Kelly’s mom, Carol, and her sister, Ashley, joined the team along the way to help with customer service and Workstudy, as well as Christiane Broihier, Ahimsa’s events manager. Ahimsa’s studio managers are Christina DeCillo, Mona McDougall, and Coco Brey.
Here in February 2021, we stand on the tripod of 3 beautiful studios - Oak Park, Berwyn, and Elmhurst, and a Sound School nestled in the lobby of Ahimsa Oak Park.
Ahimsa is a place that offers guidance and space for you to work on whatever intention you choose. After all, we all come to the studio with different reasons and different stories. Ahimsa is not just 2 people, or 3 people, or just management. It is everyone - students, teachers, workstudy, workshop presenters, teacher trainees, retreat go-ers.
Here are our values - the foundation from which we stand upon that helps to guide our choices:
Community - connection, service, friendship, and family
Compassion - respect, kindness, belonging, caring, and giving back
Harmony - balance, gratitude, vision, and health
Integrity - honesty, ethics, authenticity, and safety
Excellence - sustainability, clarity, collaboration, organization, adaptability, and innovation
Our vision is to become a yoga sanctuary where you can find classes all day long, trainings to further your growth, special events and workshops, book clubs, retreats, ethically sourced products and instruments, and more. We aspire to be a place where you feel safe, special, and at peace.
I hope you feel at home here. Welcome to the Ahimsa Family.
Namaste,
Kelly
