Our Story
Sara Blumenkranz
Dancer, footwear designer and yoga practitioner. Sara Blumenkranz has had a lifelong connection with movement and feet. She spent a decade designing for well known companies and traveling the world. But the industry took its toll on her and she found yoga as a remedy to de-stress and built a relationship between mind and body. Everything changed after she experienced a foot reading with a veteran Katonah Yoga practitioner, she was so intrigued she decided to immerse herself in the study.
Traveling on a one way ticket from NY to LA, Sara pondered what her life would be like after nearly a decade away from her native, California. Thinking back, only a short time ago, the energetic buzz of a cramped yoga studio, the scent of sweat nearly palpable, the thump of music vibrating off of the white walls. It’s 7:30pm, the city bustling below, bright lights spewing from the seventh floor of an unassuming Chinatown building, energy is brewing inside...class is about to begin.
“You have to experience it to understand, a really great yoga teacher will leave you feeling euphoric. You know it is worth your time. They have to be able to hold your attention.” - Sara Blumenkranz
Having learned from and trained with the best yoga studios in New York, she knew she could craft a vision and build the community, then accidentally stumbled upon the perfect space.
Jen Montoya is many things: a writer, reader, organizer, connector, and natural producer who enjoys bringing people together to focus on creative projects. Her life-long connection with movement has been a centering force. Jen moved to New York City to dance and choreograph; she started a dance company showcasing her work.
Jen has worked with and studied at the best yoga and dance studios in Los Angeles and New York City. Over the pandemic her job closed and she made the decision to return home to California.
Jen has a professional background in fitness management and her finger on the pulse of what makes great community. When she is not working for Archetype Yoga, you will see her in class. Jen’s passions are Yoga, Dance, Soccer, Golf, Writing, and Reading. A true bibliophile, she reads 75 books a year!
Jen started a little Library Charter for Archetype Yoga. She is also responsible for the obsessive use of Arches on this website.
Jen Montoya
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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 inputed 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 and every pose is an Archetype to reference it.