Post Covid-19

AGW has been serving the needs of so many beautiful souls in East County San Diego and beyond since 1996.

We are teaching nationwide LIVE on Zoom!
We offer small, supportive weekly Zoom classes.
We also offer 1-1 mentoring, 1/2-Day Yoga retreats, and week-long retreats.

What a gem we created!
Our little studio brought so many students into the life-changing practice of yoga.

Many felt they could never fit in, keep up, or safely practice traditional yoga or exercise. It has provided a safe haven for those who have been emotionally wounded, physically injured, or were facing life-threatening illnesses. It has helped the aging population find effective, slower, safer ways to continue to move with joy. And yes, even the younger and older “fit-keeping fit” students have found their way into our classes and often stay, finding our classes safer and just as effective as their once harder physical practices. Students with PTSD and trauma have found deep relief in our classes, and large-body students knew they were “home” when they walked into our Studio doors.

Where are we at today?
Updated January 2024 - by Lanita Varshell

Due to COVID-19, I closed the doors of our La Mesa physical location in March 2020 and do not have plans to open another physical space. It has been a tough four years, but despite all, we have kept some of our yoga family united and together and gained new students from other States as well.

We remind ourselves that true strength and inner peace come from being flexible in mind and body. We practice allowing change without resisting it, flowing with the river of life, and embracing novelty not as a burden but as a transformation. Yes, even welcoming it.

Students love our online classes!
At first, we were astonished that our virtual classes were better attended than in our physical studio. Many students simply prefer the safety and ease of practicing from their homes, not having to drive, and not worrying about getting to class on time or dealing with parking.

Students love seeing each other before class, chatting together, and then having the choice to be “seen” by their teacher or going “dark” during practice. Many stay online after class to ask for advice about their body and poses or just to share what’s in their hearts. In many ways, we have become more personalized than ever before!

Our Current Focus

With our yoga community's help and continued support, we will continue to offer our group classes and private sessions live on Zoom. We are also:

  • We now teach monthly in-person group classes and hold AGW Member social gatherings.

  • We have learned how to record classes and are working on a Video Library.

  • We will return to the Feathered Pipe Retreat Center in Montana in August of 2024.

Yes – these new opportunities are exciting, but I know that many of our long-time Studio students feel abandoned.
I understand. There are not many small Yoga Studios left in East County San Diego.

Although I will continue to be a lifelong yoga student and teach as long as I can, my era of being a studio owner with a physical location is over. Twenty-plus years was more than enough.

I know how disappointing this news is, as I feel every bit of it deep in my soul. I miss so much about La Mesa and the love of the thousands of people who came through our doors, but I will never miss managing a yoga studio.

Please know that this does not mean that A Gentle Way has gone away! We still teach Weekly LIVE ZOOM classes where we get to connect every day. We still have yoga community meet-ups in San Diego, CA.

As I stated above, we are embracing the changes we have been forced to make and are looking forward to a bright future with the possibility of many interesting new partnerships and endless possibilities. Your support during these COVID-19 years, and for many of you over decades, has meant more than words could ever express.

My gratitude to you is boundless!

We hope you will stay on this wild, wonderful ride with us!

My heart is with you always!

~ Lanita Varshell ~