Roots Yoga, A Year in Review

This coming Saturday Roots will be celebrating its one year anniversary.

"This past year has come and gone so quickly," said Roots founder Ginger Boermeester, who held the grand opening party to a full house last June.

Roots has covered quite a bit of ground in a year's time, with the studio generating buzz from students, the community and businesses. In just a year’s time, Roots has offered specialty classes and workshops, including Beginners and Intro to Yoga, Yin Yoga, Pilates, Arm Balances for Beginners, Hip Opening and Stress Reduction. Live Music Classes, Nutrition Seminars, and Corporate offerings coined Roots on the Road have been successful ventures, as has in-house Massage and Body Work.

“Our unique community of beginner and seasoned yogis are so kind and supportive,” said Boermeester.

Just three months after opening, Roots was voted Burlington’s #1 Yoga Studio for the Readers Choice Awards on the Burlington Patch. When asked why she thought Roots has attracted so many newcomers, Boermeester replied, “People are finally catching on to the enormous benefits of yoga. Roots provides a comforting space for all levels of practice. Our talented instructors are approachable, welcoming, and able to identify and teach students at all levels.”

"I love Roots Yoga!” said one enthusiast. “The minute you walk into the studio, you feel completely connected to your inner being, and leave all the stress of the outside world behind. It's a really calm, beautiful, and soulful place."

Boermeester’s desire to teach and share her knowledge and love of yoga led to her supporting local causes. 

“I wanted to introduce people to the yogic lifestyle, one that would help them slow down. Through yoga, we learn to come into stillness and pause, while at the same time we work our bodies to develop unbelievable strength, flexibility, and balance,” she said.

Though the entire year was spent growing and developing, springtime brought the most growth, transition, and fun surprises to the studio.

The month of April was devoted to Yoga Reaches Out, a fundraising campaign dedicated to raising money for Children’s Hospital Boston and the Tumor Research Foundation. The studio hosted four benefit classes taught by recent RYT 200 Hour trainees, which allowed them to get comfortable teaching in a studio environment. Roots also formed a student and instructor fundraising team that set off for the event at Gillette Stadium. All told, Roots raised over $2,000 for Children's Hospital Boston.

"It was a great experience to see the biggest and the best yoga instructors and presenters coming together as one to lead 1,000 yogis at Gillette to help children in need by raising half a million dollars," she said.

New partnerships also formed during the spring. In April, Soni Yoga decided to close their Burlington doors. Ginger collaborated with the Soni owners to create a transition plan so that Soni Yoga Students could continue their practice at Roots. In May, Roots partnered with Lululemon to host a Boston One Fund Benefit Class to support the Boston Marathon Bombing Victims. Later in the month, Roots sponsored both the 9^th Annual Burlington Education Fund Road Race, and 3^rd Annual Women of Wilmington Kim Forte 5K Race, offering a pre-race stretch for runners.

One of Boermeester's proudest moments happened just last weekend, when she was asked to become Lululemon's newest Yoga ambassador. Lululemon chooses people who are active within their community, who are passionate about their activity of choice, as well as about the Lululemon product and culture. True to Boermeester's beliefs, Ambassadors give back by hosting events, giving feedback to the store about product and involvements, and by being an active part of the store and its community.

“They caught me off guard at the studio. I was surprised and thrilled. It felt somewhat like the rose ceremony from the reality show The Bachelor,” laughed Boermeester.

Boermeester already has plans to present to the Burlington Lululemon Team.

“We’ll be doing a workshop on work/life balance that will discuss how to fit your passion into your busy life. It will be thought provoking and humorous,” she said.

Next up is this summer’s two part, six-hour seminar titled The Teachings of Yoga. Part I is Body and Breath, which will take a deep dive into the practice of postures and breath.  Part II will be Meditation through the Anatomy of the Mind.

“This will be an exciting series for folks. Many of our students are ready to progress beyond the physical aspect of yoga, and are ready to expand and focus on how to incorporate the breath and meditation to deepen their practice,” she said.

This fall, Roots plans to add more instructors to their family, as well as offering more relaxation and meditation classes, life balance seminars, and other specialized programs.  

Please join Roots this Saturday night on June 15^th, 7-11PM for their One Year Anniversary Party. You can also learn more or sign up for classes and workshops at www.myrootsyoga.com

Find them on Facebook at  ww.facebook.com/rootsyogaburlington