Centered City Yoga

"What do yoga classes have to do with real estate," you may be wondering? Well, nothing! I've started featuring locally owned businesses here as a way to promote the best our community has to offer, and to share with my clients and friends why I believe this is a GREAT place to live. No one fits this description better than Centered City Yoga (CCY) and owner Dana Baptiste, so I'm delighted she agreed to humor me and my little blog for an interview!

Click Centered City Yoga


Anyone who attends CCY regularly will attest that this is a place that offers more than Yoga practice. It's comfortable, easy, and accepting of all who want to try, due in large part to the efforts and personality of Dana. You won't find the open competition and braggadocio, or egotistical teachers, "yoga gurus" so common in this industry. Many people tell me they've done yoga all over the US, and nowhere compares to CCY.....

1. How long has your studio been open?

I think it is five years.

2) What initially attracted you to yoga?

The challenge -- it was the best workout I had ever experienced.

3) How often do you practice?

Four days a week, one hour a day of asana; seven days a week, two times a day of meditation.

4) What is rewarding about your job?

Seeing the beauty, grace, and intelligence in others; I love to see people realize they are strong, beautiful, capable, and full of potential.

5) You have two locations now, do you enjoy running the business?

Love running this business; is there a better type of service to offer? If so I haven't found it!

6) There are so many "new age" stereotypes attached to yoga, your thoughts?

I always recommend to people to try Yoga until you find a class that "fits" your authentic self. I don't need to sell yoga as new age hype because I believe in the science of it all. I have read the yoga sutras at least ten times (the sutras, in my opinion, are a list of observations and conclusions based on scientific experimentation done with the "laboratory of the body") and have read all the research I can get my hands on about the effects of yoga on bodies, minds, brains, moods, personality, etc. In short, I trust that Yoga does what it says it will do; I have seen it work way too often to doubt it. and I rely on the yoga (rather than flowery language or personal charisma) to give people the experience that will ultimately be perfect for them.

7) What advice would you give to an aspiring yoga teacher?

Be willing to be real. Don't limit yourself to the "yoga persona." Stay multi- faceted. Don't hide your human qualities in an attempt to appear "above" anyone else.

8) I frequently hear people comment CCY is unique among yoga studios nationwide. Why?

Because all I require from my teachers is that they stay AUTHENTIC, and always honor who their students are -- we put NO ONE on a pedestal at this studio (and if a pedestal starts to be built, there are enough of us who will tear it back down.) No but seriously, I have made it a point to hire only those who have attended my teacher certification program, because it is there that potential teachers truly have the time to explore what it means to BE authentic. When you experience a REAL connection at CCY it is because the instructors are committed to real connections. we are all of us on the same level (teachers and students alike.) Yoga studios aren't always based on that assumption.

9) It seems like you have a definite plan for each class, do you plan ahead of time or "wing it"?

No -- i do not EVER plan my classes -- it would take away from the classes. My intention when I walk into every class I teach is to "let the highest good happen" and "bring out the highest potential" for everyone in the room. How could I PLAN for that? I don't know who will be there!

10) Where were you educated, did you always want to be a yoga studio owner and teacher?

My formal education was at the most awesome UC Berkeley -- can't you tell by the way I use such great punctuation? I wanted to be a diplomat -- I double majored in French and International relations (with emphasis on the cold war) and planned to travel all my life with no kids, no ties, just lots of "relating" internationally . . . . but I took a break to work at a spa before I started my "big career" and have never looked back.

Ultimately, my boys are my greatest teachers and do their best daily to show me all my flaws, hold me accountable to my hypocrisy, and teach me how to be courageously me. So I would say my "INFORMAL" yet true education has come from raising these boys.

11) Yoga seems like a competitive business, any insights on your success?

I will answer that indirectly . . . My very favorite movies are all Christmas movies -- have you seen Miracle on 34th street? Where Santa sends people to other places of business if his place doesn't have what people are looking for? And where the little girl finally believes in something larger than herself?

And my other favorite is A Wonderful Life, about the guy who sees how different lives would be if he wasn't on the earth. Oh -- and another fav -- Rudolph the red nosed reindeer -- wherein we are taught that it is not only OKAY to be ourselves, but that we are all born with a unique purpose and have a responsibility to answer to that in service to each other.


12) In three words, why start a yoga practice?

Equanimity amidst Chaos.

Thanks Dana....I asked a couple CCY veterans and yoga studs to comment on why they love CCY, here are their answers.

Maureen K says

I love Centered City Yoga because you never feel judged and you get all the fabulous benefits of a yoga asana practice in a welcoming and encouraging environment. I'm lucky that Dana was my first teacher....yet I wondered if I would be motivated enough to drive from Alpine (45 minutes each way) 3 or 4 times a week to take a yoga class. Here I am (4 or 5? Can’t remember) years later and I am still driving to CCY to participate in great yoga classes with great teachers in an inviting and accepting studio where I have met GREAT people who I have developed wonderful friendships with – I couldn't’t live without it.

And Kathy A. says....

...the hour + of sweat inducing, heart-pounding movement is over before I know it, and my spiritual journey has been explored and furthered. I trained in dance and performed professionally in the east and mid-west and have never stopped craving the sensation and joy of movement. Centered City's yoga utah style of yoga is the only physical form that satiates that longing. I love working hard and now that the competition is only with myself, my priorities have changed allowing me to reach new places both physically and emotionally. CCY uniquely blends movement and spiritualism in an honest, no-nonsense way.
…..And since this is a real estate blog, let me add that I only wish I lived closer to 9th and 9th, yoga slc ut.

Why Sugarhouse?

I named my blog after the place I'm proud to call home! I'm not alone, many love this area of Salt Lake City and would not live anywhere else. Perhaps it's the cultural diversity, vibrancy, and great neighborhoods? While Sugarhouse proper is a relatively small geographical area, its often used to describe a far larger area, and for the purposes of this article I'm including the neighborhoods of 9th & 9th, 15th & 15th, and the area around Emigration Market.

The main Sugarhouse business area on the corner of 2100 south and 1100 east is a warm inviting place with good food, drink, and culture. It's one of the few places in the Salt Lake Valley where you'll find uber cool 20 somethings and 50 somethings rubbing elbows in harmony. Or where you'll find a modern Barnes and Noble book store directly adjacent to a charming victorian style public library. It's a place where, even when retail chains like Starbucks move in, they enjoy healthy competition from the local champs like Sugarhouse Coffee.

9th & 9th has seen rapid changes in recent years. Yes, the Coffee Garden moved across the street, and yes, the ambiance isn't all it used to be, but its still bustling! New restaurants like Mazza give the area an upscale feel, while the brilliant Centered City Yoga and it's charming nationally known owner and teacher Dana Baptiste provide an anchor for fellow business's with a hyper-devoted clientele. Trust me, as a fellow devotee I know!

15th and 15th is the "I've arrived" area of town. Another small retail area centered around a street address, its' smaller and quieter than 9th & 9th but more upscale. Great dining and "boutique-ing" opportunities are available a minutes walk from the uncompromisingly fashionable homes in the area.

The famous Emigration Market with its "old school" neon sign graces the corner of 13th and 17th. The market is convenient for basic and upscale dinner menus, and shares the intersection with the ubiquitous Jolleys pharmacy and ever popular breakfast place Eggs in the City.

Harvard/Yale is an area to which many aspire and it's easy to see why. Roughly covering the aforementioned streets between 1300 and 1700 east, (as well as Gilmer Park and several other adjacent streets) its' winding boulevard feel, canopied streets and seven figure homes provide an oasis of beauty in our city.

This is the perfect area for those of us who want to be close to EVERYTHING while maintaining a quiet, friendly atmosphere to raise a family. Feel free to ask me about home values or restaurant menus, I'm proud of where I live and think you'll like it too!