A message from the purusha of Heartland
The Heartland space has a special energy that people immediately sense. The floor to ceiling East windows, and south wall of windows bring in tremendous light and beautiful views, but the magic of the space is far deeper than that.
I purchased the space in 2008 from Drs. Candida and Michael Santagelo, owners of Eastwind Healing Center. The space had originally been part of Eastwind, housing the massage school that they ran from 1999-2003. The space has always been dedicated to healing practices. When the sold the school in 2007, the space became empty and because I was working at Eastwind at that time, I found myself in the empty space with a fellow colleague doing some yoga and enjoying the light over the noon hour.
My colleague said, “wouldn’t it be amazing if this could be a yoga studio?” The vision of this landed so firmly in my mind and body that I couldn’t let it go. That night I called 3 separate yoga friends to see if they might be interested in buying this gorgeous space and starting a studio. All of them laughed and said, “not me, no way”. I couldn’t shake off the vision. That night I told my partner about it, and he offhandedly said, “why don’t you do it?”
This felt like a ridiculous statement! I had just finished yoga teacher training, was totally green as a yoga teacher, knew nothing about running a business, or filling a studio with students AND I was 8 months pregnant with our second child. This was clearly not meant to be a project for me.
But the vision wouldn’t go away, and when I heard from the owners of Eastwind that they may have found a buyer, I felt sick about it because I was so certain it was meant to be a yoga studio. That night I called the 3 people I thought would absolutely tell me that buying this space was the most ridiculous idea: my financial planner, my banker, and my sister.
Much to my surprise they all told me I should go fo it. My sister’s exact words – “you thrive when you are busy and doing a lot of things, I think this is meant for you!”
So in June 2008, right in the midst of the flood, I opened a yoga studio! The old Iowa adage, “build it and they will come” really did come true. As a gift to the studio, Candida Maurer, the former owner of the space, painted a Heartland Yoga piece that still hangs in the entry way of the studio.
Many teachers came and went over the years, one of them an artist. Joe Rhodes was teaching yoga at Heartland and working on a project where he was creating 108 paintings of the symbol OM. I purchased one of them from him in 20xx and it still hangs in the studio above the entry way into the studio space.
Other powerful art in the space is the Chakra series, also by Candida Maurer. It is 7 small pieces, each one representing symbols of the energy of each chakra.
The space has changed over the last 16 years, mostly notably when I built an office and check in area in 2014. That was also when the yellow pole in the middle of the space became blatantly “in the way”. Since it was helping hold the building up, removing it was not an option so I decided to make it beautiful.
I had recently met a Des Moines based artist named Amy Putnam Koenig, who worked for the well known furniture and art company Sticks. I asked if I could commission her to paint a mural on the pole in the studio and she said YES. On this beautiful piece that has now became literally the centerpiece of the studio she integrated many yogic symbols, including:
Ganesh – The Elephant God who helps remove obstacles and swallows the sorrows of the Universe.
Lakshmi – The Goddess of prosperity, beauty, and physical health who is also an agent for social change.
Om Symbol – Thought to be the most primordial sound of the Universe (the first sound after the big bang) and the Universal symbol of Divine presence.
The Chakra Symbols– Each symbol represents 1 of 7 energy centers in our body.
The mantra “Om Namah Shivaya” – which translated means “I bow to my inner teacher”.
Two ears of corn – An homage to the state of Iowa
Most recently we added some more beauty, but it requires “looking up”. With the guidance and master curation of local business owner Jeet Sanini, we hung a total of 8 crystals on the ceiling to further enhance positive energy in the space. The stones include:
Amethyst (purple stone hanging in the East) – It facilitates spirituality, contentment, stability, strength and peace. It is excellent for meditation and can enhance our psychic abilities.
Citrine (yellow stone hanging in the North) – It helps dissipate any negative energy, and facilitates warmth, joy, and optimism.
Danburite (pink stone hanging in the South) – It helps remove toxins from the body, aids with communication and positive relationships with others, and is a powerful activator of our intellect.
Smoky Quartz (dark brown/balck stone hanging in the West) – It dissolves negativity, and grounds and balances energy. It is excellent fro meditation.
Selenite (4 white stones hanging in the corners of the studio) – It brings clarity of consciousness, awareness, insight and good judgment.
Another piece of unexpected art is the burn mark on the floor that came after a candle was left burning on a yoga mat and a small fire ensued. I initially was going to replace the entire floor, but Heartland students encouraged me to see this floor blemish as representative of our own human imperfections and that the space is as beautiful with this new beauty mark as it was before.
But I believe what makes this space so powerful is the years of devoted practice that has happened daily in this space for the past 16 years. When we do yoga, we do elevate to higher planes of consciousness and we do resonate at higher energetic frequencies. There is an accumulation of this life force that has built up in the space, and we all feel it and benefit it each time we enter. (Even my teenage children beg to come to Heartland to just “hang out” while I am teaching. They too “feel” the good vibes of this place).
We now have a big online presence with students all over the country, but if you are local and have the option to be in the space with us, join us for a class. If it has been years since you walked through the door, you will always be welcomed back! Many tears have been shed in the space, many insights have been received, and many hugs have been given and received.
I have no idea what the future holds for this space, but I do know that while Heartland Yoga is here, the energy of healing, compassion, and growth will be emanating from its doors.
