Missoula News

Yoga On & Off the Mat

Missoula’s Newest Yoga Studio: Down Dog

By Brooke Hewes, 9-17-07

John Squillante lays it all out on Down Dog’s website. First, what the newest yoga studio in Missoula is: gentle, welcoming and affordable. Second, what the studio is not: competitive, snobby and inaccessible.

And sure enough — once you get past the neighborhood that looks more like the set of the Truman Show than western Montana (the studio is behind Home Depot in the Hellgate Meadows development) — the space is simple and unpretentious. Pleasant music fills the airy, naturally-lit room, whose wide east-facing windows look over Missoula toward Hellgate Canyon and Mount Sentinel.

New West: Tell me a bit about yourself and your background with yoga.

John Squillante: I was born in Long Island and went to different schools all around New England. I lived around there for 15 years and then moved to Missoula in 1998 with my ex-wife because we wanted a change.

I started yoga after I was in a couple of bad car accidents in 1991 within five weeks of each other. Both times the car was totaled. I started doing yoga, chiropractic and massage, and that sort of became my routine ... I learned yoga in an informal way with tapes and a couple of good teachers. I didn’t think of it as a spiritual thing then; it was exercise. I’ve done it on and off for 15 years and it’s always what I come back to.

When I remarried about a year ago there was this time between our wedding and reception and my wife and I were just sitting there. Everyone else had gone, and we asked each other what we wanted to do with our lives. I said that I wanted to teach yoga and she said OK. Then I went to Colorado for training.

NW: When did you open the studio?

JS: We opened back in January … One of the reasons I started is that I think some studios are snotty. Here, we are all about comfort and safety, and not just physical but emotional safety. We welcome new students and don’t stick them in the back of the room. The important thing about the studio is that anyone who walks in the door feels comfortable.

I have had a couple yoga snobs come into the studio and it is clear they have different expectations. There are some studios where no one says hi or welcomes you. We’re not going to heat the room to 100 degrees or spend a half hour on foot alignment. That’s just not what we are about. I think yoga in America is scary enough without lecturing or badgering students. I want people to come and feel comfortable.

NW: You also talk about “yoga snobs” on your website. In fact, I saw Down Dog’s advertisement for new teachers in the paper saying that “yoga snobs” shouldn’t apply. What is a “yoga snob” and why aren’t they welcome?

JS: I think a yoga snob is someone who tries to intimidate a novice with the impression that they know the mystery of yoga. Yoga is a 5,000 year-old practice and they think they got it right. None of us do. For someone to think that they know the only right way to do yoga, that is a yoga snob.

For instance, Bikram’s is right for some people. Iyengar is right for some people. A mix is good for others. But that is for each person to decide. A yoga snob is someone who thinks that they know what’s right for someone else … It is someone who does yoga with a sense of moral superiority. They think that they know the mystery.

NW: What type of yoga do you teach here?

JS: Hatha Yoga with an emphasis on the Shambhava Style, which means the natural way. We emphasize safety. You go to so many classes now and get four or five adjustments for a single pose, and it becomes a kind of test. Instead, I walk around and say these are beautiful warriors and I won’t tell Yoga Journal that you are actually smiling.

We are really relaxed here. Given that I have been injured, I don’t want anyone to get hurt. I once heard a Sivananda teacher say, ‘this is a can do, not a must do,’ which gives everyone an option to stay where they are. I think your teacher can fall over and not do everything right. We are human, too.

I know a teacher who calls Yoga Journal “yoga porn” because there are all these beautiful, smiling women doing very advanced poses. The message is that you need to get to this level of perfection versus you come to a class and basically it is you and your body weight. Yoga is for everyone and it is supposed to be enjoyable. In India, it is a physical act that prepares you for a spiritual activity … You listen to some teachers here in America and you get the impression that yoga is a measure of worth based on the number of trips they have taken to India. All I want to do is make students feel comfortable. A successful class is one where students come in and enjoy themselves and come back.

NW: Can you describe some of your classes?

JS: Again, the focus is on safety and comfort. Most of the classes come out of the basic Hatha tradition.
• On Friday Becca [teaches] Yoga Pilates Fusion because some students want more core work.
• Kimberlee teaches Shake, Rattle and Roll on Wednesday evenings. Her thing is that if you can walk you can dance, and if you can breathe, you can do yoga.
• Partners Yoga is great, and if your boyfriend is intimidated by yoga, what better way to learn in a safe environment.
• Kicking Asana is just more challenging. We might hold things a little longer. We might do a flow to heat things up and put on some up-beat music.
• Quick Lunch is something I really like. It’s a half hour. You walk in the door, you warm up, we do yoga and then you are gone. That’s like the no frills class … It’s postures and nothing but.
• Mid-morning Hatha tends to be a more relaxing, general yoga class.

[Visit downdogmissoula.com for a full list of classes offered.]

NW: What yoga niche do you see Down Dog filling in Missoula?

JS: Something like: It ain’t magic, it’s just yoga. It’s about introducing the practice of yoga and letting each student know that they are welcome ... I think of it as a non-mysterious yoga practice. I don’t want anyone to not come to class because they didn’t understand what we were talking about. And I want someone to not ask questions when they don’t know what is going on. You need to feel free to ask questions. It’s mystery-free yoga.

NW: You mention that yoga can be intimidating. Sometimes when I invite friends to a class that is new to them they don’t want to come because they aren’t familiar with the sequence or are intimidated by the level of experience of the other, regular students. It’s as if people think they need to have it all figured out before they even come to class.

How do you encourage people to try a new class?

JS: For some the yoga experience is, ‘I went once and won’t come back.’ I want people’s “once” to be something they want to come back to. If this is someone’s first time I try to make it enjoyable. I focus on the newcomer, but not at the expense of the other students. I will talk more and slow down Surya Namaskar [the Sun Salutation] a bit … You bring your own experience of yoga to class and I will say this is my sun salutation, but I won’t try to change yours.

NW: What guidelines do you give the teachers at your studio?

JS: I tell my teachers to welcome all students to class and make sure that people look safe and feel comfortable. I say, ‘you teach yoga your way, but don’t push anyone.’

NW: How do you suggest that someone new to yoga or new to your studio get involved? Should they just show up or would you prefer they come talk to you first about an appropriate class?

JS: Just come in and tell the teacher that it is your first class and that’s really it. Again, first timers shouldn’t have to pick a beginner class. Anyone can come into the studio and try about any class.

NW: On your website you call Down Dog “affordable.” What does that mean?

JS: It means that the price is inline with what other studios in Missoula charge. That means a student discount and a senior discount. First thing that people ask [about the punch card] is “when does this expire?” It doesn’t expire. I’m not going to force anyone to come to class because they feel they have to. God love every other studio that does, but I think you can still make money and not make people feel bad about not coming to class. I don’t want people to go to class because we said you need to go within a certain time frame. Yoga is fun and challenging and relaxing all at the same time – I don’t want to throw guilt into the mix.

Down Dog has classes every day of the week starting as early as 6:30 a.m. and ending as late at 7:45 p.m. Half-hour lunch classes cost $5; all other classes cost $12 unless you have a punch card or are a student or senior. A full schedule with class names and times, as well as brief bios about the studio’s four teachers, can be found at DownDogMissoula.com.

Brooke Hewes writes her Yoga On & Off the Mat blog each week. Check back in at www.newwest.net/yoga.

Like this story? Get more! Sign up for our free newsletters.