The Balance of Offerings: Southport's Donation-Only Yoga, Pilates and Ta'i Chi Studio

By Francesca Soroka

Published Fall 2008

Beyond a hand painted door in the back of a building edged by tall growing grass the moon glowed bright at 9 a.m. sharp. Her children were gathered in quiet meditation, their feet planted in the sky in salutation. But the ones who came to say hello, to awaken within them a silent revelation did not say this. They spoke only with their silent breaths.

It is ancient enlightened being Patanjali who is attributed to saying, "yoga is the ceasing of the modifications of the mind-stuff." Through the practice of yoga, one strives to marry the movements of the body with the quieting of the mind. For in the mind we find worry, the countless firing synapses of the brain that hold to memory—to pain, longing, love—to hunger and thirst. To quiet the mind is to quiet desire, to quiet suffering and to open a realm of true peace. This peace, so satisfied with existence, with nothing more than breathing, is vast enough to wrap its arms around the moon.

It can be achieved anywhere. One such place exists with directions that read like suggestions: "In the old Art Shak building, next to Adventure Company Kayaks. Parking and the entrance are behind the building," 807 Howe Street, Southport, North Carolina. "Yoga" is painted next to the door, the word "offerings" tacked to the top. Three wooden steps lead up to an entrance, which opens to a short hallway and closet. Beyond the first (or last) door is a quiet room, a piano covered in tapestries and topped with a statue of smiling Buddha and a glowing rock light source. The floors are bare wood, though sanded smooth, and simple like the rest of the room. There are no mirrors or windows. The walls are pale blue and everything is calm. This is Offerings, Southport’s donations-only studio.

As the students trickle in, the occasional hand drops a monetary offering into a carved wooden stump.

"We’re a pay the rent business," says Bob Redden, one of the four instructors at Offerings, a studio that houses yoga, Pilates and T’ai Chi classes. Rather than sign up fees, contracts and commitments, Offerings runs on generosity, of those taking the class and those teaching. Redden, who teaches meditative yoga, also teaches at Southport Yoga and at St. James Plantation. Through his fifteen years living in Southport and his altogether calm and peaceful demeanor, Redden has cultivated relationships with many local residents. The community he lives in he serves, and the relationship is reciprocal.

Redden and Maria Swenson, one of the Pilates instructors, spoke before approaching Geri Karabin about the prospect of a donations-only studio. Karabin, an energetic, bubbly freelance writer and photographer originally from New Jersey, agreed to it. The idea was born, and from there Offerings grew to include Tom Wilke, T’ai Chi instructor, who Redden describes as a man who "meditates for more than I sleep." Two classes are offered a day on weekdays, one in the morning, and one at night, with an exception on Thursday. Saturday offers a T’ai Chi and relaxation class. In the future, the classes currently offered (beginner’s yoga, meditative yoga, all level yoga, Pilates and T’ai Chi/relaxation) may grow to include yoga dance and restorative yoga, taught by a retired dance teacher and practicing chiropractor, respectively.

Swenson, owner of Provisions Co. restaurant and Flavas ice cream parlor in Southport, is a founding sponsor of the local theatre company. The portion of the building now housing Offerings is also used as a rehearsal space, owned and generously rented by Briton Campbell. Through the efforts of these and other people in the community, Offerings has opened its door. "It is what makes Southport, Southport," Redden explains.

Those who attend classes at Offerings give, or "daan," from the Sanskrit "to give," what they choose as payment. Some trade services, like massage, or goods, such as bricks or tomatoes. It is an idyllic form of payment, to barter in the conventional world, and it goes beyond the walls of the studio.

Around the time the Offerings opened in early July, a Realtor friend of Karabin’s, Debby Deale, placed an advertisement in the local paper mentioning it. Tens of people called Karabin interested in enrollment.

Yoga, Pilates and T’ai Chi are kind to the body and mind. Increased flexibility, strengthening and improved breathing techniques are just a few of the physical benefits. Mentally, these practices can help calm and relax the mind. Offerings provides a place where all are free to explore, within the classes and within his own body and mind. For those who have never tried yoga before, for example, due to age or availability, it is a solution where the teachers are patient and monetary commitments nonexistent. The commitment that each is asked to bring is to the class itself. n

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