origin story
Archetype Yoga: What’s in a Name?
What does Archetype Yoga mean?
The heady answer is…There is a multi-faceted application to the word Archetype. In western culture the word was popularized by Joseph Campbell’s 12 archetypes of story such as: The Outlaw, Magician, Lover, Caregiver, Ruler, Sage, Jester, Everyman, Creator, Explorer, Innocent, and Hero.
In eastern culture there are numerical Archetypes used to describe the organization of the physical world. These consist of the numbers 1 - 10, and when imputed into a Magic Square creates an Archetypal Map.
The takeaway is…
Katonah yoga uses the Magic square as a metaphor for the map of the body.
But… Why name your Yoga Studio - Archetype Yoga?
Archetype Footwear circa 2019
… Before opening a Yoga Studio we started a footwear line called Archetype Footwear…
So you named your Yoga Studio after your Footwear Line?
…Yes and No…Kinda
Prior to starting a Footwear line, Owner Sara Blumenkranz was suffering from terrible plantar fasciitis. A foot condition that makes it hard to walk. The irony was that Sara was a Footwear Designer. Designing terribly uncomfortable yet fashionable forward heels.
Sara was living in New York City where she had to walk all the time. This led to chronic plantar fasciitis which led to Sara seeking remedies for her feet which led her to Katonah Yoga. Where she received her first foot reading and started to learn techniques that help heal her problem.
Also, also… Katonah teachers study feet. They can give a student a foot reading to help get an idea of what is happening in the body. This was a game changer for Sara and she quickly wanted to know more.
And, the Archetypes?
Sara admired the way Katonah teacher’s studied and speak about the body with deeper purpose in a class. Having just completed her Yoga teacher training she was looking for ways to deepen her education.
She discovered through word-of-mouth a new and most fabulous Yoga studio called Sky-Ting, where she began to take classes with teachers with Katonah Yoga backgrounds.
Sky-Ting was offering a Teacher Mentorship Program which for Sara as a new Yoga Teacher was wonderful because it enabled her to take workshops with Yoga-Jedi-Masters Abbie Galvin from the Studio and Nevine Michaan from Katonah Yoga.
Sara as a STUDIO APPRENTICE circa 2019
Becoming a Katonah Yoga teacher is hard but Sara loved every second of it. She continued her Katonah Education at The Studio NYC under the apprenticeship of Abby Galvin.
Fast Forward years later, Sara is a practicing Katonah Yoga Teacher but there’s a pandemic raging and Yoga studios are faced with embracing hybrid models or going out to business. The footwear industry is also not doing too great with China closing its borders. Sara and her business partner Jen decided to leave New York for California.
They find themselves back home having lost livelihoods, communities, friends, a culture and lifestyle. Then- One night, maybe on a full moon, Sara is searching Craiglist for a new apartment, And, as fate would have it… She sees… it.
The most beautiful space she has ever laid eyes on. She sees white walls, french doors, a full kitchen where people will one day brew delicious teas, and a 60ft balcony where said teas will be indulged…
Within weeks Sara rented “the space” and intrinsically just knows this place is special. It’s so very special every time she walks through the door she feels a deep resounding calm pour through her soul. She sits in the space and thinks of all the ways she is going to rebuild her life and fill it with marvelous yoga loving people.
Now all she needs is a name. What do you call the thing you most love in the world?
People are advising her to pick a cute name. Pick a flashy name. Oooh. Pick a fun name! But- When she thinks of the journey.
The ups and downs and how the foot pain led to a footwear line and the footwear line evolved into a yoga education and finally a yoga studio.
She doesn’t know it yet but the story is Sara's origin. Sitting in an IKEA chair, white paint drops on her yoga pants, the stink of Pine Sol in the air. Faced with the crossroads of a new venture it all felt very Archetypal.
Sara knew exactly what to call the space. It was literally etched on her shoes, Archetype… which in the Greek Translation means first form. For Sara it’s new beginnings and all the forms she had to take to get where she is now.
Sara at the Archetype Grand Opening Party circa 2022.
The END.
