Cultivating Belonging and Community in Yoga Studios
ABOUT GRACE STUDIOS
Located in Silver Spring, Maryland, Grace Studios offers a wide variety of classes and programs, including yoga, strength, and pilates that nurture minds and bodies in a welcoming, supportive environment. Founded in 2014, Grace is dedicated to serving the downtown Silver Spring community and creating a sense of inclusiveness through its fitness and wellness offerings.
THE OPPORTUNITY: XXX
In 2020, Grace Studios, like many other organizations across the country, sought effective ways to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic and respond to the racial reckoning which ensued after the murder of George Floyd. Hiba Haroon, a former student and in 2020 a Grace teacher, knew there was more that could be offered at Grace to both support its students and its leadership team. At the heart of the inquiry were the questions that organizations across various sectors were asking: How do we meet the needs of this moment? How do we create communities where people truly feel like they belong?
THE IMPACT: XXX
Between 2020-2025, (un)jaan’s partnership with Grace was characterized by two important engagements: the design and launch of a BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Color) Healing Sangha and a community impact survey.
“The Sangha was [Hiba’s] concept, her idea that she brought to us, and we fully supported it because we had so much trust in her.”
Drawing on her experience in healing-centered community engagement, Hiba designed and launched a BIPOC Healing Sangha—a dedicated space for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color to gather, connect, and practice in community. The offering was intentionally free to remove barriers to participation and reinforce a simple yet radical principle: healing should be accessible to all. The sangha was offered from 2020-2025, first as a weekly and then as a monthly offering, and included trauma-informed movement, meditation, breathing, and other contemplative practices as well as community discussion. The impact extended beyond participation. The Sangha became a visible expression of Grace Studios' values and attracted new community members who had not previously seen themselves reflected in traditional wellness spaces.
As Grace Studios expanded its commitment to inclusion and representation, leadership increasingly turned to Hiba as a teacher and thought partner to help the organization navigate complex questions around community, accessibility, and belonging. This led to the development and implementation of the studio’s first community impact survey to which over 100 community members responded. The survey asked respondents to share key demographic data as well as their thoughts on topics such as the degree of safety and belonging they feel at Grace; the degree to which Grace’s offerings were accessible; whether they had experienced any harm at Grace; and suggestions they had for the Grace team. The survey was illuminating for the Grace Leadership team, because it provided insights into what the team was doing well and where there were areas of improvement to enhance the sense of belonging experienced by their community members. The process provided leadership with actionable insights while creating a stronger culture of listening and continuous learning. The findings helped Grace Studios move beyond assumptions and invite intentional discussions to support organizational culture and community impact. Intentional programming and organizational reflection revealed the importance of expanded representation across its student body, teacher training programs, and instructional leadership.
“Hiba has an incredibly kind and generous spirit. I really learned a lot from her about inclusive spaces. She knows how to go deeper with things and brings up recommendations we wouldn’t have otherwise considered. I just trust Hiba so explicitly.”
LOOKING AHEAD
While both of these engagements had a positive impact on Grace Studios, the leadership team still feels like there is work left to be done. This sentiment is worth noting because it conveys an often-forgotten truth–that there is no “finish line” when it comes to efforts aimed at cultivating belonging and community. As yoga, pilates, and other fitness studios continue to surge across the United States, (un)jaan extends an invitation to the owners and leadership teams of these institutions to explore how to build and sustain truly accessible spaces.
“Her advice and the feedback that we got from the survey that she helped us with was really valuable, and we took it really to heart. [And] we still have work to do. We’re not done. We absolutely have work to do.”
