Soul City Yoga recently opened in Malden on September 22nd, 2020. It is located on 210 Pleasant Street in Malden Center across from City Hall. The owners are Shanel Anderson and Sara Bailey.
This is not the first location of Soul City Yoga. Anderson and Bailey’s first studio was opened in 2016 in Lynn. To them Malden is a lot like Lynn. They really liked the cultural diversity of Malden. Anderson and Bailey explained that Malden is the most diverse community in the commonwealth and “it fit perfectly.” The pillars of their mission statement is to offer yoga to communities that do not already have it. They chose Lynn because Anderson and Bailey were both born and raised in Lynn and after doing much research they decided that Malden was the right place for Soul City Yoga and “the pieces fell in line.”
Both Anderson and Bailey love Malden. Anderson said “[she has] been impressed with Malden with the accessibility of the authority and the administration,” adding that they have really “stepped up to help [businesses] and they really want them to succeed.” The community itself, the people who come to the studio are “enthusiastic” and “welcoming” and happy that they are coming into the studio.
Anderson and Bailey really like how the new building turned out. They have been involved with it for a long time and watching it come to life has been exciting and a “test of patience.” COVID-19 was a big obstacle for them so seeing the place now has made it even more special. Bailey said that it feels very professional and she loves the “aesthetic of the building.”
At Soul City Yoga there is a daily yoga practice. There are different varieties: they offer yoga, restorative yoga, yoga sculpt, and they also host Barre, workshops, events and offer retail. These classes are currently offered both virtually and in the studio “so you can take your yoga anywhere.”
They both have their own story as to why they began yoga and started this business. For Anderson, yoga really helped her with a difficult pregnancy. She realized how helpful it was and decided that she wanted to get certified in yoga. To her the general part of yoga teacher training was questioning herself constantly about what she would do as soon as she completed the training. Growing up in Lynn she knew that there was no yoga available so she wanted to do something where the city would benefit from it. At first it started off as something small and it just grew from there.
The reason why Anderson decided to open a yoga studio was the lack of diversity in Yoga and “there weren’t a lot of black women in the class.” So to her it never felt welcoming so she wanted to change that. Anderson said, “If you have a dream or an idea, be patient, follow through and don’t give up.”
Bailey was actually a practicing attorney for six years after law school and “it wasn’t the right fit for [her].” Her husband realized that and encouraged her to try yoga since she loves dance and is pretty athletic. During her first few classes she felt like the outlier but she kept going and it became part of her daily routine, so she began yoga teacher training. She soon began to teach yoga and really enjoyed it so she decided to quit her job as an attorney and started teaching full time. Later on she met up with Anderson. They have known each other since they were about 10 and 8 and since Anderson owned a yoga studio and Bailey was a yoga teacher they decided to partner up. “That’s kind of how the whole thing went down.”
Like Anderson, Bailey Also felt uncomfortable when first walking into a yoga studio. They believe “the more diverse the better” and everyone is welcome at Soul City Yoga. Bailey said [it is hard to do something new but “if you go to soul city you will be welcomed and if you keep at it and just keep trying it’ll do wonders for your health and wellness”
Visit the Soul City Yoga website for more information, click here.
