Case Study: Circle Yoga, LLC
Outstanding Achievement by a Small Business

Circle Yoga is a community-based yoga studio in the District with a mission to bring stress reduction to as many adults, children, and families as possible, and to do so within the context of environmental excellence. We founded Circle Yoga in 2003, and purchased a 1950’s-era building that had been in dangerous disrepair for many years, keeping the original structure and renovating in a way that improved the environment and the neighborhood. The photos below shows our building after we replaced the chain link fence, but before the major renovations. All of our employees are 100% dedicated to our efforts at improving the environment inside and outside of Circle Yoga, because all of what we do is based on our spiritual commitment to the earth and all beings.

When renovating and maintaining the building, we focused on creating a space that is pleasing and relaxing to our students and our neighbors, free from unhealthy elements, and non-toxic to the environment, including replacing all of the existing casement windows and doors with insulated Low-E casement units, when repainting using non-toxic Low VOC paint, and we are in the process of converting the entire building to solar power. We beautified the building frontage with glass doors, sidelights, planters and metal panels, added a beautiful public-access Zen garden, using drought-resistant plantings, and a sun trellis on the west side of the building to control temperature and enhance the look of the building.

We discourage the use of bottled water by providing a filtered water cooler where our students can fill their own bottles with freshly filtered tap water.  We offer only biodegradable cups, and only upon request. 

We encourage our employees, visitors, and students to take public transportation whenever possible - many our students and employees commute to the studio by foot or bicycle. All of our graphics are printed on recycled paper, and all of our schedules and brochures are printed at Ecoprint on 100% recycled paper using non-toxic inks. Our cleaning service only uses natural products, including all bio-degradable garbage bags.  Our bathrooms use only cloth hand towels to reduce paper waste. We use refurbished computers, rather than buying new. In our shop, we feature many eco-friend products, including bamboo yoga blocks, bamboo and organic clothing, eco-friendly yoga mats, and our shopping bags are all made from recycled paper. Nearly all of our paper products are made from recycled paper, including toilet tissue and facial tissues, folder, and binders. We communicate mostly through email, including our monthly e-newsletter in order to save energy. We use high-efficiency washer and dryer for cleaning mats and towels. And we aim for zero waste, providing separate cans for paper, plastic, aluminum, and we reuse copier paper as much as possible. 

Here are selected quotes from students and neighbors that gives an idea of the impact Circle Yoga has had on the community:

"Every month I am delighted to see the breadth and depth of what you and your colleagues are offering at Circle Yoga. Thanks for the good work you are doing in the world."

"It really feels that it [Circle Yoga] is evolving in to a community center (in the best use of the words)."

"Know that I am grateful to you for having the vision for the studio, and, most especially, for having that oasis of a little garden."

"Circle Yoga has provided an amazing link in the circle of support and friendship I enjoy in DC. This is a fragmented place in which people live compartmentalized. By building community you make it a circle, a mosaic, a kaleidoscope."

"Everything about, and everyone connected to, Circle Yoga is wonderful. Circle Yoga has played a vital role in helping me re-adjust my own life."

"Circle Yoga was the best possible use of this space." (From a neighbor)

Circle Yoga Green Team (left to right)
Anne Kennedy, Linda Feldman, Annie Mahon, and Gayle Hager
(not pictured) Karen Soltes