Save Our Yoga Sweat Life!

“I've been told they will no longer accommodate my yoga studio and I have to leave.”

My heart sunk into my stomach. Now this? On top of everything else?

All the other life-scrambling, soul-destroying announcements she'd told me over the last few years ran through my head, one after the other:

“A virus triggered a heart-attack, causing enough damage that I can't manage a full-time Bikram Yoga studio anymore.”

“A gastrointestinal parasite has decimated my immune system.”

“I had a bad fall and now I have to have hip surgery to fix it, so that I can be mobile again without pain.”

“They botched my blood test and punctured my artery; now I have a massive sub-haematoma pressing on my ulnar nerve... the pain is consuming.”

“I'm in hospital about to have emergency surgery... my appendix has burst.”

And, arguably the worst one of all:

“There was a horrible accident... my Dad has died.”

What could I say to this, now? After everything? Most people only have to deal with ONE of these things in less than a decade, if at all... But not ALL of them, one after another in the space of four years. 'I'm so sorry, Kate,' had now become a meaningless mantra.

I hopelessly floundered for what to say.

“Could you... start again somewhere else? You've done it before.”

She shook her head sadly. “With everything that has happened... I would love to, but I can't afford the costs to build out yet another studio space from scratch. This might be it for me.”

“No... I won't let it be. And I'm sure there are plenty of others who won't let it be, either.”

For those of you who know Kate well, she has amazing determination and resilience, despite having been thrown more challenges in just a few short years than many experience over the course of their whole lives! As a close friend, I am so inspired by her perseverance and willpower to remain focused on how she can make lemonade out of the sack of lemons life has handed her time and time again. She keeps creating, educating and inspiring others with the precious and powerful knowledge of health and wellness that she so gracefully personifies.

This is the third studio Kate has lost as a result of events beyond her control; all three of them built with the help of her amazing father and, in the process, creating communities that feel like family. Now, after this latest blow of losing the last space built with - and containing the last living memories of - the person she loved most in this world, I would like to help her create studio number FOUR so she can continue to do the work she was put here on earth to do. I hope her community and other like-minded individuals would be willing to help her during this time when she will have to start from scratch yet again, so that she can continue to share her passion for mindful movement and healing with us all.

I have been told that to rebuild another small “hot box” would require at least $15k, which was how much it cost Kate and her father to build TheSweatLife, even with his free labour. Kate thought it might be possible to turn her own garage into such a space (so she will never again have to face the uncertainty of being a tenant elsewhere) but there are unknown renovation costs involved in making it a suitable, insulated space at this stage. Knowing Kate as I do, she is incredible at turning blank canvases into something magical and it would be a healing project for her to do so. Therefore, I am hoping to raise at least $15k for her to be able to do this, as it would fund most of the cost, and if it costs anything above this, it would at least be financially manageable for Kate to cover it.

I plan to leave this campaign open until we reach our goal of $15k, so it may take time for Kate's new studio to come to fruition, especially as we face these uncertain times caused by Covid-19. Therefore it could take a good 6-12 months until we get there, but just as Kate has always done: we will persevere for as long as it takes to achieve it. As the Japanese proverb goes: “Fall down seven times, stand up eight!”