Breathing Room

The Studio Maui celebrates the power of movement.

 

Chad Blair

 

It didn’t hurt. Under-exercised and overweight, I was sure that a workout space nicknamed the “playroom for the spine” would subject me to torture worthy of the Marquis de Sade.
   
But the nickname is a tease, explains Kathryn Kendall, office manager of the
Studio Maui, a 7,000-square-foot facility in
Ha‘iku. It’s graced with two large studios dedicated to “the movement arts and healing arts.” The aforementioned playroom, officially known as “the gyrotonic and
massage room,” is smaller. It occupies an airy, sunlit corner of the building and is also called “Bob’s Romper Room,” named for
gyrotonics teacher Bob Samiljan.

The Studio Maui is the only place on the island where you’ll find gyrotonics (jy-ro-TON-ics) machines—a system of metal wheels and adjustable pulleys that provide “yoga with resistance.” However, it is certainly not the only place where you can take yoga and other bodywork classes; 37 health clubs and yoga studios are listed in the Yellow Pages, and that doesn’t even include the assorted resort day spas offering yoga, tai chi, Pilates, spinning, and other such classes.
   
Bodywork is big business across the country: Nearly 35 percent of Americans choose alternative healing practices, and the national health and wellness biz is valued at $70 billion annually, according to the Maui Visitors Bureau.   
   
The Studio Maui is a good example of how that interest has manifested itself on the Valley Isle. Gyrotonics is but one of the offerings there, where the mission is to “encourage health, happiness, artistic expression, and creativity in the individual and community by celebrating the power of movement.” Of course, the Studio Maui offers plenty of yoga classes—anusara, vinyasa, Iyengar, prenatal—but also instruction in hula, modern and jazz dance, ballet, and the Brazilian martial-arts export capoeira. Patrons will also find massage, acupuncture, reiki (a Japanese method of channeling energy), Feldenkrais (a blending of motor development, biomechanics, psychology, and martial arts), and Nia (a movement technique “to allow your child, athlete, warrior, and dancer within to expressively emerge”), as well as tai chi, qigong, tantric practices, and, as they say, “much more.”
   
People have noticed. I observed well-attended yoga and ballet classes during my visit.
   
“We do some advertising, but it’s mostly word-of-mouth, and word is getting out,” says Kendall. “We’re also working to bring in Mainland groups and individuals to attend conferences.”
   
Kendall hands me polished brochures that promote upcoming events, which she says transform the facility into a gathering place. The 2,400-square-foot Studio A holds up to 75 yoga students, or 300 people for, say, a concert (the musician Shimshai performed reggae, soul, and world beat during an April appearance), while Studio B is about half that size. The sprung hardwood floors in both rooms go easy on the knees, and the vaulted ceilings allow natural lighting and cooling. Pointing to a 12-channel soundboard, Kendall proclaimed, “We had an opera singer in here last month who sang ‘Amazing Grace.’ You should have heard her—it’s such a sweet space.”
   
Owner Geordie Jahner opened the Studio Maui in May 2004. Sitting zenlike in her upstairs office, the 54-year-old Jahner, a New Zealand transplant who lost her kiwi accent years ago, exudes a cool calmness. Picture Vanessa Redgrave with a Ph.D. in psychology (which Jahner has). She moved to Maui 16 years ago after falling in love with Richard Jahner, a local building contractor to whom she is now married.
   
“I’m fascinated by using movement as therapy, as medicine,” Geordie Jahner explains, referring not only to her academic and professional background—she is a former dancer, dance instructor, and chiropractic aide—but also to the Studio Maui’s purpose.    
   
Jahner feels that the Studio Maui has satisfied a previous need on the island for a sizable yoga venue. “Many of the existing movement spaces were small and not readily available,” she says. “And there was a need to fill a perceived niche in the local community for a stimulating, aesthetically beautiful gathering place, and a more informal Upcountry performance space.”
   
So, in September 2003, Jahner and her husband recruited investors and secured a lease for part of a former pineapple cannery warehouse—the spaciousness was essential—to convert into a yoga studio. Remodeling began three months later.
   
The couple selected Ha‘iku, Jahner says, in part because they live there, but more importantly because it is one of the fastest-growing areas on Maui, and close to open-minded Pa‘ia town, whose residents tend to consider yoga and related practices as normal as a walk on the beach.
   
Don’t be put off by Jahner’s location next to True Value Hardware at the Ha‘iku Marketplace. You know you’re in a different space when the first sign you see upon entering the lobby reads “Please do not wear strong perfume in class. Some people are highly sensitive. Thank you.”
   
Clientele are mostly local, says Kendall, but 30 percent come from the Mainland and elsewhere, and the percentage is growing. “Yoga is such a huge trend right now, you just can’t go wrong,” she says. “But we are also trying to bridge the gap into movement arts. You won’t find the run-of-the-mill-type classes you would get at a hotel.”   
   
Jahner herself teaches Gabrielle Roth’s “5Rhythms” movement technique, which, according to Roth’s web page, “builds on its own momentum, leaping from the fertile landscape of the body through waves of emotional content toward our realization of spirit. This dynamic encounter with your own psyche has the power to transform, revealing your passion, power, and presence.”
   
OK, it may sound New Age-y to some. And kundalini yoga teachers at the Studio Maui include the mono-named Moonjay and Amarsharan.
But these people are serious-minded professionals working in a major growth business. The Maui Visitors Bureau (www visitmaui.com) calls the “wellness and rejuvenation” market perfect for the island, boasting on its Web page of the Valley Isle’s well-
deserved worldwide reputation as “a center for the healing arts.”
   
Must be something in the Upcountry air. Just a few miles up the road, in Makawao, you’ll find the American Viniyoga Institute and the Maui School of Yoga Therapy. Look for the Kula Yoga Center as well. And in Pa‘ia you’ll find a Source School of Tantra.
   
Jahner has networked with the Hawai‘i Wellness Tourism Association to promote Hawai‘i as a premier destination for wellness travel.
   
It seems to be working. Despite the expected seasonal dips, Jahner says her books are in the black. A tiny retail store helps in that regard, selling clothing, books, CDs, and aromatherapy.
   
“We’re here for the duration,” says Jahner, adding that they are considering adding a nonprofit wing to the studio focused on educational programs for keiki, and perhaps to house a hula halau. “That’s a long-term vision, though. We’re still a toddler just learning to walk.”