Blue Nectar Co-Owner Amy Trietiak spoke to Virginia Yoga Week recently about her studio.
Amy and her business partner Jane Bahneman met in graduate school at the University of Virginia where they both were studying health and physical fitness. Over the years they remained friends, both working in higher education fitness programs. About 11 years ago Amy began practicing and then teaching yoga, while also managing fitness centers in the area.
”I was going through major life changes at the time and that was the tipping point for me,” she recalls. “When I started a regular yoga practice it was, as cliched as it sounds — transformational. It really helped me to manage the changes in my life and find my way.”
Those benefits, plus the shared passion for yoga with Jane combined with an entreprenurial spirit resulted in Blue Nectar. When Sacred Well, a long established studio closed, Blue Nectar was uniquely able to absorb some of their teachers and students. This influx from Sacred Well gave Blue Nectar some flexibility in class offerings in both traditional Hatha as well as Vinyasa style classes. Co-owner Jane Bahneman designed the training program at Blue Nectar for aspiring yoga teachers. “What ever teacher training program you are looking for, make sure you really like practicing at that studio because that’s what you’re going to get.” Amy counsels.
Trietiak acknowledges that yoga has exploded in recent years in Virginia. “I think it’s an antidote to our fast-paced lifestyles with high stress levels. Especially here, so close to the Nation’s Capital, there’s an intensity here, you can just feel it.” She goes on, “I think in particular women struggle with the work/life/self balance. We’re expected to be all things to all people and that’s just impossible.” Yoga, she believes, offers an outlet, a coping mechanism to assist in physical, spiritual and mental health.
As to what makes Blue Nectar unique, Amy believes it comes down to energy and education. “I’ve practiced at a number of studios over the years and rarely did people ever greet me by my name or thanked me for choosing their space to practice in. We make sure that we are welcoming here and we put forth a good vibe.” Educating about yoga is just as important. “As a teacher I strive to be authentic and real. I’m not just giving instruction in asana, I’m also responsible for moving that energy around with 15 people for an hour or so. That piece of me I’m sharing with them, that energy, is what makes us connected. That’s what makes yoga, yoga.”
Emphasizing that yoga is more than just the physical is important to Trietiak. “I think many people hold an image of yoga as a fit person in warrior two or a complex, party trick pose. Or that to do yoga you have to be bendy, you have to be a vegan. We want to say, you don’t need the have-tos. It’s okay to practice yoga as you are.” To illustrate her point, she recalled a conversation with Jane regarding their website’s images. They concluded they wanted to be more mindful about the site’s photos. “We want to show the full demographics of our studio community. We want anyone with an interest to visit the site and think to themselves, “Yeah, I can see myself there.”
Blue Nectar Yoga
513 W Broad Street, Suite 110C
Falls Church, VA 22046
703-533-0009
www.bluenectaryoga.com