Pittsboro’s Yoga Garden adds boutique

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PITTSBORO — Lexie Wolf, owner of Yoga Garden in Pittsboro, is about to celebrate the second anniversary of her business by opening a yoga boutique at the studio.

Wolf started doing yoga about 20 years ago when she was an “eight months’ pregnant ‘gym rat.’”

“I was not hooked immediately, but I stuck with it,” Wolf said. “I started because I wanted to do physical activity and I didn’t think I could lift weights when I was that pregnant, but I realized it involved so much more than the physical. There are spiritual aspects as well. I went in and out of practice and then became completely hooked.”

It’s become much more to her now.

“It’s calming your mind,” she said. “It’s unifying you body, mind and spirit. It brings you to the present moment.”

After moving to Pittsboro four years ago, she noticed there were great yoga teachers in the area, but not a dedicated studio. She began talking with her yoga instructor, Dharma Richards, who owns Yoga Garden in Apex, who she says is also the “mentor and muse” of the studio.

“Dharma came to me and asked me about Pittsboro,” she said. “She and I started talking [about the idea] and I got inspired and she said she would help me.

“At first when Dharma and I started talking, her studio is downtown in an historic area; we both very much believe in downtowns,” she said. “Then this building came on the market.”

Wolf purchased the home, located at 184 East St. in Pittsboro, which was built around 1900. She rebuilt and preserved the building including its front porch. It now houses a large studio on the first floor and a smaller one on the second which is also available for rent. There is a lounge, a kitchen where “you can make tea,” and now a boutique. She also created a garden on the side of the house for quiet contemplation. There’s also plenty of parking in the rear of the house. Many of the elements in and around the home were created by local artisans.

“We were thinking of creating a yoga home and here’s this,” Wolf said. “It’s a symbol of the sense of place we have here. We wanted it to feel homey. Yoga can feel intimidating and we didn’t want that. We take yoga seriously but we don’t take ourselves seriously.”

There are 10 teachers who have about 15 classes per week. The classes focus on different types of yoga with most being all-level so anyone can come whether a beginner or experienced. They even have a Sunday morning meditation and conversation. It’s not yoga, she says, it’s a conversation with the community and meditation — her “version of a Sunday service.”

Yoga Garden’s class passes come at several levels allowing guests to drop in on five, 10 or 15 classes a month. It also offers a summer membership with three months of unlimited classes. Wolf says she wants to make it flexible for people.

“I think it’s the only place in Pittsboro where you can do it,” she said. “You can get class pass and drop in so it works even if your schedule changes.”

The boutique is an extension of the collaborative business Wolf has tried to create. The boutique is curated entirely by the teachers — everything is carefully chosen. It will sell books, clothes, essential oils, mats, blocks, bolsters, and even some jewelry.

“It’s either something they make themselves, something they love, or something they believe in or all three,” Wolf said. “We very much believe in local, in community, in history. This boutique is an extension of the belief in buying local.

“I love Pittsboro,” she said. “I thought it was a fabulous community. Pittsboro has such great character and sense of place and we feel very rooted here.”

The Yoga Garden boutique officially opens June 1. It will also be open all day Fridays and Saturdays and each First Sunday. There will be an open house from 1-4 p.m. at First Sunday on June 2 which will include refreshments and a raffle. For more information, visit the Yoga Garden website at www.yogagardenpbo.com.

Casey Mann can be reached at CaseyMann@Chathamnr.com.

Pittsboro, Yoga Garden, Yoga, Boutique