OM SHALA
A mini studio in Middletown, MD with cozy vibes.
Explore our classes, events, and 1:1 offerings.
OM Shala is a space born to support and prevent burnout from the busyness of unsustainable oppressive systems. It is a space where you can feel at home.
Come rest with us!
No more than 5 people in a class.
Practices are slow with spaciousness rather than heated with handstands
Restorative Yoga, Yin Yoga, Breathwork & Meditation, Reiki, Sound Healing, and Community of Kind Souls.
If you're a practitioner and you’d like to host a small group, reach out to carrie@selfcarewithcarrie.com so we can co-create an offering.
Rest is Resistance
“One of the most vital ways we sustain ourselves is by building communities of resistance, places where we know we are not alone.”
bell hooks
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If you're interested in OM Shala’s offerings, but you don’t know where to start, complete this form.
The Story of OM Shala
OM is the sound that the ancient yogis informed us contains all the frequencies and vibrations of the universe. When I chant OM, I can really feel its pervasiveness connecting the past, present, and future. It’s how I remember that my practice is not just for me, it’s for the collective - the other humans, the animals, the trees, the ocean, the earth, my ancestors, and those who I will be an ancestor to.
Shala is a Sanskrit word meaning home. Sanskrit is an ancient, sacred language of India in which some of the foundational texts of yoga were written. The fact that these texts were written in Sanskrit is one of the many ways that higher classes have historically gatekept yoga since Sanskrit was not understood by lower caste systems in India. It has also been washed away from the modern yoga as some teachers choose not to speak the language in their own interpretations practices. As a yoga teacher, using Sanskrit is just one way I can honor the history of yoga that has deeply impacted my life and my connection to spirit.
The first studio that I found a home in was called Ananda Shala in Frederick, MD and where completed my first yoga training. My hope is that OM Shala can be a place where people feel like home and can come home to their body and breath.