CAYA Yoga Studio Design
The problem: An empathy gap
Given the vicinity of skid row to downtown Los Angeles, it is truly impossible to ignore the homelessness crisis in our community, but how often do we actually interact with these people in a meaningful way?
For many of us, the answer is "never." Without real interactions with the homeless population, it’s easy for us to accept the stereotypes that have been reinforced by media and popular culture: "dangerous", "failure", bum", "beggar", "crazy", "addict", "dirty", "violent", "crackhead".
It’s hard not to buy into these labels because to some extent they're all true. If you spend enough time on Skid Row, you can find someone to fit each and every one of these descriptions. But the problem is, these words don't paint an accurate picture of the problem, not even close. In reality, there is no one word that can accurately describe a person experiencing homelessness. Each person's life story, reasons for being homeless, and conditions are unique.
The words which have created a stigma around homelessness
There is no “one word fits all”; there is more to each person’s story
Closing this empathy gap between the Los Angeles community and people experiencing homelessness has been the north star for our team.
Our Approach
Furthermore, lack of empathy and detachment are some of the main reasons why pro-homelessness legislation doesn't get passed in many neighborhoods-- they only see homeless people as dangerous and violent and not as real people with real needs.
To start creating this change, we have zeroed in on in-person experiences being the best way for people from all walks of life to connect and empathize with each other.
In particular, we want to use the practice of mindfulness and yoga as the facilitator of this shared experience.
Introducing “Come as you are”, a community wellness studio that focuses on bringing people from different walks of life together to bond and grow with the shared experience of yoga, mindfulness, and art.
Here’s what the interior of the space might look like – a simple design that anyone would feel welcome and comfortable in. Our yoga studio will look like any normal, modern space – creating an environment where any patron would be excited to learn and practice mindfulness.
Uniforms & Lockers
We believe that giving a person experiencing homelessness the ability to shower before sessions and store their belongings will help them feel more comfortable. We will offer standardized body-positive clothing for all patrons to wear, which will further make everyone feel equal.
Artist in Residence Studio
CAYA will also offer art classes taught by an artist in residence. With the art classes, we will showcase all of the work that patrons create and also plan on designing the actual studio space so that it can be converted for art gallery events, which will serve as another way for the local community to connect with one another.
Dualistic by Nature
While our core value offering is fun and beneficial wellness classes aimed to improve the mental health of every consumer, the classes will also offer an opportunity to learn more about others’ journeys, stories, and engage with members of communities that otherwise exist at a distance. Through the former, we hope to create an avenue to lessen the societal gap.
441 S. San Pedro, Downtown L.A. - The goal of our location will be to provide easy access to both of our stakeholder groups. Many individuals not experiencing homelessness live on the same block as those that do, but there are no places currently for them to freely interact and learn about one and another. Downtown LA's Little Tokyo is a fantastic example of a young, culturally forward, and gentrified neighborhood adjacent to homeless communities. Young and open minded individuals neighbor people experiencing homelessness, and we believe they'd be the most likely to get hooked on a well-priced and well-intentioned wellness studio.
*** How we will reach individuals experiencing homelessness
*** How we will reach paying consumers
As for next steps, we will be reaching out to some of the organizations we’ve identified as potential partners to begin a proof of concept. Specifically, we will start by reaching out to the yoga and art studios we see as potential locations for our traveling studio model, which will allow us to begin building our brand and testing with patrons.
