In the middle of a busy intersection in Dorchester, 4 Corners Yoga + Wellness is an oasis of spiritual and physical well-being. Christina Rose co-founded 4 Corners with Karuna O'Donnell to make yoga, massage services and wellness classes available to people who may not be able to afford them, as she told host Paris Alston Monday on GBH's Morning Edition.
As part of Black History Month, Morning Edition has been highlighting small Black-owned businesses in Boston. Alston noted that yoga is not often seen as a practice with a lot of racial inclusion. Rose wants to change that.
“I believe that people look at our studio as a place that they can feel comfortable — because we are Black-owned and the teachers, the staff that I hire, it's basically a mixed group of men and women,” Rose said. “And that doesn't mean to say that it's just about the skin color, it's about the body shape,” she continued, pointing to her shirt that says “yoga is for every body.”
“We're not saying that you have to look a certain way to come in here,” she said. “You can come in wearing your sweatpants and a T-shirt.”
Rose has noticed that the Four Corners area of Dorchester for which her studio is named is becoming a “wellness corridor,” featuring a number of new health-focused businesses. A brick and mortar yoga studio like hers, incorporated in 2016, is new, and she says the community response has been overwhelmingly positive.
“People in this neighborhood, they come in and they say, ‘thank you for coming here. Thank you for taking a chance. Thank you for giving us this opportunity,’” Rose said. “And it's not about the money — I mean, we are a for-profit business, but it's really about making sure we offer affordable services so that everybody can come in and feel like they are able to participate.”
"Something about just hearing the teacher speak that just makes you just feel empowered."-Christina Rose, co-founder 4 Corners Yoga + Wellness
Rose told Alston that because yoga was never offered in the neighborhood, many are hesitant to try it or worried about the price. According to 4 Corners' website, classes range from $17 for a single session to $125 for 10 classes. She hopes her accessible, inclusive approach will encourage more people to try yoga, even if they’ve never done it before.
“As you're doing the yoga poses and movements and doing the flow, there's something about the collective energy in the room,” she said. “Something about just hearing the teacher speak that just makes you just feel empowered.”
