Moving Into the New Yoga Space
By Theresa Shay
At the end of 2023, my husband Glenn and I purchased the house across the road from our home in Spring Mills. The 1800’s house needed Glenn. Anyone else would have pushed it down and thrown up something new, square, and plumb. But Glenn loves bringing old houses back from the brink, and this one qualified.
As Glenn began the process of taking the old down to the bare bones, we discussed where TriYoga might find a space there. Gradually the upstairs south-facing room began to speak. “Pick me!” it whispered. While the room offered nothing visibly inviting, the room knew its potential. Glenn listened and the vision formed.
I was scheduled to lead a Level 2 Teacher Training beginning in the fall of 2024. Usually, training programs begin in September. I thought ahead and scheduled opening weekend for October. Perhaps that extra month would give enough time for the room to be ready.
October came and went, as did the rest of the fall, and then the winter. Each month I would say to the interns, “Maybe next month.” Meanwhile, we flowed in the small broadcasting studio at my home and took walks down to 151 to see the progress.
Finally, Glenn gave the word to finalize my carpet choice, as he knew it would take some weeks to get it installed. He was pretty sure he’d be ready for us to use the room for our final Teacher Training weekend in April.
Last weekend, April 26-27, 2025, everything came together, and the Level 2 hands-on Teaching Methodology program was held in the new space. This “soft” opening at 151 exceeded any and every expectation.
Three interns drove in from out of town. One joined by Zoom, and Jill dropped in to be present for opening day. Downstairs, where we gathered, construction was (is) still well underway, so making our way to the only “done” area required our group to process up the stairs, shoes on. I carried lilac flowers, while we chanted to Ganapati, the aspect of the Divine responsible for auspicious beginnings. When all of us, including Glenn, arrived in the room, we formed a circle and chanted three rounds of Aum.
People oooed and ahhhed. Glenn smiled rather bashfully. We took pictures. Then it was time to begin the training. We stood holding our mats, discussing the best way to arrange them since no one knew. I ended up with my back to the south wall, with the students looking out at the tulip poplar tree and up toward Vanada Gap.
Jill moved to her tabla, and I opened up the harmonium. We chanted some more. When the singing ended and Jill returned to the circle of mats, I said what I almost always say at the beginning of Level 2, “We’ll begin in Tortoise with Trinity Breath.”
I set my harmonium to the side and arranged my props. I did what I do. I lengthened my spine into natural alignment. I adjusted my scoliosis curve for more balance. I placed my hands in Om Mudra. I closed my eyes and lifted my gaze to my inner eye. I observed my Natural Breath.
At that point, nothing was the same. I felt the soft carpet under my mat. I sensed the ceiling vaulted with the majesty of a cathedral and the sparkle of the lights like stars shining upon us. Through closed eyelids I sensed the glow of the golden wall across from me. A gentle breeze flowed in through the open windows and graced my skin.
My awareness moved out past the eight windows trimmed in chestnut, which Glenn had finished nailing up only hours before. The tulip poplar and walnut tree gazed down upon us, elders blessing the new arrivals. The bright greens and soft pastels of spring glinted through the windows. Carolina Wren, Cardinal, and House Finch led Spring Chorus, surrounding me on all sides with the sounds that Glenn has heard every morning he’s gone down to work on the house this spring.
Then my very favorite amphibian friends rose in welcome. The trill of the American toad reminds me of the vibration of Prana. I hear them each spring from my bedroom window. These toads were further downhill, their music coming from the banks of Muddy Creek. One would sing. Another would chime in a little higher, the next one a little lower. I could not contain my smile.
And I could not begin Shining Breath.
The score was too perfect. I wanted to disturb nothing. I wanted to sink into the vibration of the incredible sounds of nature in spring without adding my short, quick exhales. I wanted to soak up the essence of the room, down to the tiniest details of 16 applied mitered beads on the window trim, which I had seen Glenn making the day before. I wanted to bask in the gift of the beautiful beings who also love TriYoga sitting with me in the circle, our five senses alive to each other’s presence.
The longer I sat, the deeper the space moved into me. The others in the circle must have sensed all of this. No one began Shining Breath. The quiet expanded.
I don’t know how long we sat. It was at least 20 minutes. It might have been 40.
I began to perceive a quiet trickle of possibility growing into a stream. By the time we emerged from the sit, my heart felt fuller than it has in a long time. My trust in the Flow was strong. My joy was overflowing.
Of all the spaces I have created as a “hOMe” for TriYoga of Central Pennsylvania, none have felt like this. Surrounded by nature, infused with beauty, filled by our focused intention and energy, built specially for our community, the space holds us with love. Her arms reach out with welcome. Simultaneously she cradles us with intimate protection. We are hOMe.
Now we set out to discover what will fill the space that Love built.
An official opening for the yoga space at 151 will be held once the mudroom and bathroom are complete. The rest of the house, including the kitchen for community meals and guest rooms for overnight lodgers, will take longer to complete. As we often say at the end of class, the Flow continues, as Glenn’s hands continue to bring the house at 151 to life.
To follow Glenn’s work at 151, subscribe to his Substack account PrayerNotes from the Homestead.
Theresa Shay is the founding director of TriYoga of Central Pennsylvania, where she teaches weekly yoga and meditation online and trains others to teach TriYoga®. Each week, she shares wisdom cultivated from decades of TriYoga study and practice.
Learn more about her here. Theresa can be reached at Theresa@PennsylvaniaYoga.com. Find her on Instagram @theresa_of_triyoga for more inspiration and light.