Annie Hanson, owner of the Kenwood Yoga Studio, and studio space located below Birchbark Books. (Images: Paula Chesley)
Annie Hanson had owned Nordeast Yoga for 13 years when she saw the writing on the wall. Ownership of her building had turned over five times since the pandemic, and each time the rent was raised. Due to a city variance, she couldn’t have any signage for the studio. A change was needed, but what would that look like?
One day, she was at Cedar Lake East Beach with her friend Pallas Erdrich and talked about her studio issues. “I have a crazy idea,” Pallas said. “We have a bunch of storage space in the basement of Birchbark Books that isn’t used to capacity. What if you had a yoga studio there?”
With her boyfriend, Justin, who is “very creative,” Annie went to visit the space. “I thought, ‘This was pretty rough; I don’t know if we can do it.’ But Justin said, ‘I think it’s possible — let’s sit on it for a bit.’ And he was the one who helped me transform the space into the studio you see today.”
Kenwood Yoga Studio opened in March, and many students from Nordeast Yoga followed Annie to the new location. For Annie, who lives in Bryn Mawr, Kenwood wasn’t a far jump.
“The community has been very welcoming and supportive,” she said. “They’re thrilled to have a business that provides an amenity they use.”
Walking into the studio, a first sight is the many plants, followed by the charm of an older building with exposed brick and wooden beams. A faint smell of incense or palo santo creates a mood without being overpowering (notes this allergy-afflicted writer). The bright colors evoke a 1970s vibe, a similar aesthetic sought on the studio’s social media.
“I wanted to get back to basics,” Annie said. “There’s no app, you don’t sign up online, you just show up. If there’s a class on the schedule, someone will be here.”
As students trickled in for a class, the feeling of community quickly became apparent. There was background chatter about weekend plans, families, and gardens in both the lobby and in the studio while students stretched and prepared for class.
“I wanted to get back to basics. There’s no app, you don’t sign up online, you just show up.”
The Saturday morning 10 a.m. class is one of the more energetic practices on the schedule, but even that, Annie says, is built with all bodies and all levels in mind. Multiple invitations throughout class reminded yogis to listen to their own bodies and that they are the experts in what they’re feeling.
Annie discussed her yoga mentors and philosophy with the clear passion of an experienced practitioner. Her first passion in yoga is Ashtanga, a rigorous, energetic, set sequence of poses. “But Ashtanga can be a polarizing practice, and I love everything.” It was important to her for Kenwood Yoga to have all types of practice, from yoga nidra, a practice of stillness and meditative rest, to energetic vinyasa, with gentler practices of yin, restorative, and slower movement such as hatha.
