Cristie ThomasDowntown Marietta is home to a wide array of retail shops and local restaurants. Ranging from boutiques to antiques to craft beer, pizza, and fine cuisines, the commercial district of Marietta’s downtown is the place tourists love to explore, locals love to show off, and business owner’s love to open up shop.
The same applies to Megan Dowler, owner of Blossom Yoga, a brand new business preparing to build a thriving yoga studio on Second Street. Blossom Yoga hosted their soft opening during June’s First Friday, a program of Marietta Main Street, and offered refreshments, wine, and discounted classes to visitors who welcomed Blossom Yoga into their new space.
I had the opportunity to interview Megan Dowler about her love for Marietta, her journey to open a yoga studio, and the power of yoga to completely transform someone’s life. Read along below, give her Facebook page a “Like”, and show Blossom Yoga some love!
Q: How long have you been in Marietta? What compelled you to move here from Cleveland?
M: My husband and I met while we were both students at Marietta College. He’s from Parkersburg and was just beginning his career so I eventually made the move in 2011. It was a hard move that I really struggled with because I knew there weren’t a lot of opportunities for me in this area. While I was in college, Marietta seemed to be stuck and unable to move into the 21st century. In the 6 years that I’ve lived here, it amazes me to see how much Marietta has changed.
Q: How long have you been involved in yoga? What’s your journey with yoga been like, especially to get you to the point of opening a business?
M: I have been practicing yoga on and off since I was in high school. I was on swim team and we often did yoga as part of our dry land workouts. I also took Hatha Yoga classes while attending Marietta College and that’s when I really started to make it part of my life. I was diagnosed with anxiety and depression at a very young age and had been to counselling and prescribed medications but nothing worked. Yoga really provided an outlet and finally gave me a way to manage daily stress and anxiety. When I moved to Marietta, a friend of mine convinced me to attend a regular yoga class with an amazing teacher, Stephanie Biehl of Simply Breathe Yoga. Stephanie teaches in the Kripalu tradition and inspired me to attend a workshop at the Kripalu Institute of Yoga and Health in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. While there, I heard from so many other people explaining how yoga had changed their life and I knew I wanted to bring that to as many people as I could. Luckily, after I decided I wanted to teach yoga, Full Circle Yoga in Vienna, WV announced they would be holding a 200-hour teacher training course. I had full support of my husband to move forward with this dream so in 2016, I completed the course – while pregnant. It was a huge challenge but I think it’s the perfect testament of how important this is to me and the impact I believe it can have on people.
Q: Why open a yoga studio? What pushed you in this direction?
M: Opening a yoga studio was not in the immediate plans but plans change. I began teaching more and more following the completion of my teacher training and was receiving amazing feedback. People were telling me how yoga and breathing techniques were helping them relax, cope with surgeries and injuries. A former marine told me it had been years since he was able to wake up in the morning without back pain but attending my yoga classes had changed that. The thought of opening a studio became more of a dream and before I knew it, a friend was telling me about an available space. As soon as I saw it, I knew it was perfect. I envisioned a studio that provides a space of self-care and relaxation that anyone can benefit from and I hope people see that when they come to class.
Q: What are you hoping your new business will add to Marietta? What are you hoping the community’s response will be?
Marietta is progressing like crazy and is so appealing to a huge variety of people. I think a yoga studio just adds to that and gives people another reason to support this growing community. Yoga is big right now and being in a downtown space is going to allow more people to give it a shot and really make it a part of their daily life which is going to improve individuals, their relationships, and ultimately the community. I hope members of the community and even visitors to the area come by and take a class – yoga can only make your day better.
Follow Blossom Yoga Studio on Facebook for updates, classes, and more!
