Riding the wave of interest generated by the movie Eat, Pray, Love, a new yoga venture launched across Mobile Bay in late summer 2010: Kula Yoga Community, with its first class schedule beginning Labor Day, September 6.
Pay What You Can
Co-founders and teachers Amanda Brenner and Dana Goudie modeled their approach on Power Yoga teacher Bryan Kest’s popular California studios: tuition was entirely donation-based. Typical area classes cost ten to fifteen dollars, Goudie noted, and cost was one of the obstacles keeping people off the mat — so Kula removed it.
The name comes from the Sanskrit word for community, and the mission followed suit: creating and supporting a community of yoga students linked by the desire for healthy bodies, mental clarity and spiritual well-being, embracing many styles of yoga as equally transformative.
Unconventional Classes, Two Locations
The schedule leaned fun and approachable, with offerings like Lean on Me, Ya-Ya Yoga and Hot Yoga Party — plus classes for kids. Brenner promised there was a class for everyone.
Classes were held at Conscious Mile Center for Spiritual Living in Mobile and Eastern Shore Dance Academy in Daphne, giving the donation-based model a foothold on both sides of the bay.