How we came to own a yoga studio and bike shop in Lakewood, CO

Turns out I tend toward more stubborn than I ever realized. This was a lesson that I've had to learn twice now. Hopefully in this instance two times is the charm. :) 
When we decided in August of 2008 that we were going to build a straw bale house there was a ton of paperwork, research, legwork between then and actually breaking ground. The biggest hurdle was convincing a bank to loan us money to build a straw bale house. Over time we learned that we instead needed to ask for money to build a house with "post and beam construction with cellulose insulations". Even still, bank after bank turned us down. I had take action in every possible way to show the Universe that this was what I wanted. I had taken practical steps and actions. I had prayed. I had placed rocks on the lot to outline the house and stood where I would stand to do dishes. I sat where I would sit and drink my morning tea and look out at Horseshoe Mountain. Seriously I'd done everything possible to make this loan happen. 

On the morning of the day we were going to hear from the final bank we could apply for a construction loan from I finally surrendered. I realized that if it wasn't meant to be I didn't want it to be. Regardless of the effort, I only wanted it to happen if it was in our best interest for it to happen. And I meant it! There was no pretending to be okay with something I didn't want. But I was truly actually okay with either outcome. So when the bank called later that morning and told us that we had been approved for the loan I was shocked and beyond grateful. We were married a month later. Went to Italy on our honeymoon then immediately broke ground on our straw bale house that we built with our very own hands in 6 months! 

Shortly after moving to Lakewood, CO, I started offering free yoga in the park, then moved inside renting yoga studio time from the Lakewood Dance Academy. Seven months into entrepreneurship (March 31st, 2015) I offered my first yoga class at 1492 Ammons St. with a one year lease with the option to buy. This past January, after 7 years, we faced the banks again. With CCYOGA being barely over a year old and CCBIKES being less than six months old we asked for money to buy 1492 Ammons St. The loan application itself was daunting let alone the following almost 4 months of back and forth. 

CCYOGA offered Free Yoga in the park before we had an actual yoga home from August to October of 2014!

Lakewood Dance Academy generously let CCYOGA use their space for 5 amazing months!

Our own yoga studio in Lakewood, CO!

A week and a half before our closing date we found out that one of the middle men working on our application had made a mistake that would seemingly cost us the the building. That Tuesday night I sat in surrender and tears. I am a "go getter" and have lists and plans that I expect to get done. To be told that what I had planned wasn't going to get done was truly astonishing to me. I began to realize that I wasn't devastated about not getting the building, I was stuck in the wave of fear that my business, the community, I had created would suffer. I just wanted CCYOGA to be safe. In talking with an wonderful friend, Laura, she assured me that everything would in fact be okay even if we didn't get the loan to buy the building and we had to move our businesses to a new location.

The loan application was literally over an inch thick!!!

Just like I did with the straw bale house, I had done everything humanly possible to make what I wanted to happen happen, and in the end I was not in actual control of any of it. That night Tuesday night, I experienced an epic feeling of surrendering to the unknown and trusting without a doubt that either way it would be okay. 
​The following day few days, we showed up and waited in business lobbies waiting for executives to walk through the door, as well as, other more practical footsteps to move toward buying the building. These actions were loaded differently for me now. All of the action was from a place of "either way it'll be fine". 
It was like watching magic seeing the pieces fall into place in a way that didn't see humanly possible over the next week and a half. And to my complete astonishment and gratitude it all came together and CCYOGA and CCBIKES gets to stay put! Container Collective Yoga and Bikes closed on the purchase of 1402 Ammons St., Lakewood, CO on Friday, March 25, 2016!!!!

In the car after signing all of the papers!!!!

Moral of the story once again, take action, do the woo woo, and let go…let go…let go...

Read more about our Straw Bale House building adventure here!

Read about our adventures living in Beijing here!