Gandiva (gahn-dee-vuh):
The name of a bow given by Indra (god of heaven) to Arjuna, the warrior king and leader of The Pandavas in the great war of ‘Mahabharata’. Referenced in Bhagavad Gita, chapter 1.29:
My whole body is trembling, and my hair is standing on end.
My bow Gandiva is slipping from my hand, and my skin is burning.
When Arjuna is facing his greatest moment of doubt, he releases his material weapon and takes up the spiritual weapon of Yoga.
“I had been teaching Yoga for almost six years, and after seeing so many people I cared about open their own studio and be successful, I decided to try it myself.”
On September 12, 2022, Gandiva Yoga rolled out mats for the first class, in a little yellow house at 101 Emerson Street in New Haven, CT.
I didn’t have a lot of money saved to rent a space. I didn’t know if I would be successful in business, or if I would even enjoy owning a Yoga studio. But I knew I had to start somewhere. So I converted the main section of my house into a small studio with enough room for 9 people. I used Canva to make a logo and went through all the steps of creating an LLC, getting a sales tax certificate, business bank account, scheduling software, etc. The whole time I was thinking to myself:
“Whatever it will be it will be. Maybe people will follow me, maybe they won’t.
All I can do is be myself and start from where I’m at.”
Almost one year later I’d come to a crossroads. Business was okay, but I was still struggling on the inside as a business owner. I had so many students over the years who simply were not showing up to practice because the studio was at my house. I tried not to focus on the ones who weren’t coming and devote myself fully to those that were.
The people who did show up felt at home, and they truly kept me alive that year. They loved the big bay window, the hardwood floors and the sound of the woods in my backyard on cool fall nights. I loved spending so much time one-on-one with my closest students. There were many days when it would be only two or three people. Most days, there were none. It was not glamorous, but somehow I was surviving, and even though I had to battle it out with my ego EVERY DAY…I was determined to keep going.
I knew in my heart, I had not done all that I could yet to make Gandiva Yoga a success.
I had been quietly looking at spaces the whole time I was teaching out of my house. I looked all over Connecticut, and came very close to renting a couple spaces outside of New Haven, but they just didn’t feel right. I wanted to be in New Haven because that’s where I grew up, and even though there are a few other Yoga studios there I knew my offering was unique and would have a chance to shine…
…if I could just find the right location.
The day I found 59 Amity Road was truly magical. I randomly decided to stop by a huge rec center inside an industrial park, right near where the Starbucks is in Woodbridge. I asked them about their rates to rent out the gym for classes, and even though I wasn’t that turned on by the idea, I told myself to keep an open mind and follow my intuition. I drove around a bit more to see if any spaces around the industrial park were available. I only saw one realtor sign, so I called and asked to see what was available.
The guy was cool and came down a few minutes later to show me a place which had recently been flooded and smelled horrible. My shoes were squishing on the carpet and the outside of the building had a janky old broken refrigerator just sitting there. It sucked. But the guy told me he had another place not too far away he could show me, so I told myself again to keep an open mind and agreed to go take a look.
At that moment, something flickered in the corner of my eye and I felt something. Not a feeling like butterflies in my stomach or a chill down my spine, but I actually felt something touching me! I looked down at my left hand, and a small bumble bee had landed on the lid of my iced coffee, and was just sitting there…! Bees make honey, and represent abundance. This was truly a sign that something great was about to happen.
I spoke to the bee, and asked it if it was taking a ride with me to see my new space. I smiled and laughed out loud as I drove, because the bee stayed with me on my coffee cup the whole way there!! When I pulled up to the building, I took my eye off the bee for a moment to park the car and when I looked back down, it was gone!
If you’re anything like me, you know when the Universe is speaking to you, and in that moment I felt like the Universe was YELLING at me. This is it.
THIS. IS. IT.
We walked up to the second floor and went inside unit 7 for the first time. The space was the least fun shade of orange, it was fully carpeted with several large stains, drenched in florescent light and it didn’t look at all like a Yoga studio. But I could see it in my mind: knock down those two rooms, pull up the old carpet and lay down a new floor, replace the lights, add a little paint and boom…Gandiva Yoga 2.0!!
Now, I’m here. It feels amazing, and I really cannot wait for you to come check it out. It took just under 8 weeks to remodel and I’m proud to say I built this place with my own two hands, and a lot of help from my family, close friends, and my amazing girlfriend Ewa. We all love it, and I think you will love it too!
I’m formally inviting you come roll out your mat and bless the space with your presence. That’s the only reason it exists, is to serve you and provide you with an awesome experience. Thank you for stopping by and taking a few minutes to learn about how this dream became a reality, and if you are ready to take the next step, go check out the schedule and sign up for a class!! I promise you’ll be glad you did.
