Hi Friends,

We did a thing… we did a very big thing.

A few days ago, on Monday, April 25th, we signed papers and are now the proud owners of the J.J. Newberry Building in the heart of Brunswick. The Newberry sits across the street and two doors up from our current studio space, right next door to the Brunswick Heritage Museum. The Newberry is the future home of Roots & River Yoga, but after we spend about a year in renovation!

The journey to buy the Newberry has been a long one with quite a story.

This August will mark the 6th anniversary of Roots & River Yoga opening its doors in the charming, albeit still a little gritty, historic district of downtown Brunswick, Maryland. The first month, I was the only teacher leading 1-2 classes each day - seven days a week. Neighbors and friends said, “You opened a yoga studio in BRUNSWICK? Why Brunswick.” My answer immediately was, “Because, BRUNSWICK!”

All one has to do is step back and see the reality of the this area to know how truly special it is.

Brunswick is situated into the side of a pretty steep hill alongside the beautiful Potomac River. This area has a long and rich history from the Susquehannock, Iroquoian-speaking people, who resided here, to the early Germans who took up residence and called it “Berlin,” to being adjacent to many Civil War battlegrounds, a central hub of the the C&O Canal and the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad boom. Heck, even Patsy Cline performed here several times and met her first husband in Brunswick. Brunswick was historically a pretty bopping place. We are confident that it will be again… and soon!

This area is a mecca for outdoor exploration and adventure. Not only is the Potomac River, the C&O Canal Tow Path, and the River’s Edge Trails just footsteps from the yoga studio, but also we are just minutes from the Appalachian Trial, the city of Frederick, and the states of Virginia, and West Virginia. Historic sites, other charming towns, vineyards, breweries and so much more are peppered all around us. We have the slower pace and less traffic of small town living but we are still within an hour of all that DC and Baltimore have to offer.

Why Brunswick? BECAUSE BRUNSWICK!

In late 2016 and early 2017, as word got out about our sweet little studio, people really began coming in to join us for meaningful practices. Soon more teachers joined us. I bow with so much love to the first incarnation of the studio with teachers with Lika, Ruthie, Danica (Ani), Alison and then soon after Sierra, Carrie, Jaclyn. So many other incredible people have been a part of our teaching tribe offering weekly classes, workshop, and teacher trainings. Some have moved on to other adventures. Many are still with us as we continue to flourish and build community and genuine friendships with people like you.

Within the first two years, Eric and I knew that we wanted to stay in Brunswick, invest, and be a part of this river and railroad town’s rejuvenation. A local church was considering selling their building with plans to build on a new location. We make them an offer but ultimately the congregation voted to stay and postpone new construction. Another church went on the market a few months later and again we made an offer, but someone else’s was accepted first. We started to look for land to possibly build a studio with a garden but then realized we really wanted to stay in downtown Brunswick and commit to its revitalization. I called property owners of unoccupied buildings only to be met with rejection by landlords not wanting to sell.

This has been the problem with Brunswick. Investors who bought up the commercial property years ago who neither renovated nor made their spaces habitable for renters. I assume it is because they can use them as tax write offs, but it leaves a place like Brunswick full of empty, deteriorating buildings and essentially holds the town’s commercial central hostage, unable to thrive.

I started getting more involved and volunteering on local committees like the Brunswick Main Street Design Committee, working on projects to beautify the downtown. Eventually I joined the Main Street’s Board. I made it a point to pop in and regularly talk to city officials and develop relationships for how to best serve the downtown. Brunswick Main Street and the City of Brunswick have done so much for me as a downtown business owner. I am so grateful.

And when the JJ Newberry went up for sale in 2018, we jumped on it.

Four years ago, Eric and I made a fair market value offer on the Newberry only to be countered with a number by the owner that would make anyone shake their head with disapproval. We were so discouraged that I reached out to one of our newest city council members, Nathan Brown, who is now Brunswick’s amazing mayor.

Mayor Nathan Brown at the Wine & Chocolate Walk

Our conversation and his vision for Brunswick sparked a fire in Nathan, and he took it to the top of the State of Maryland. He learned that there are grant monies for designated towns, like Brunswick, that have incredible potential but are struggling for various reasons.

Right before Covid-19 began, the City of Brunswick began the process and applied for the Strategic Demolition Fund through the Department of Housing and Community Development. The name is deceiving because it is used not only for demolition but also for other improvement and rehabilitation projects. The City of Brunswick applied to use it for the acquisition of blighted properties in their city limits.

This grant would give the City the purchase price to buy the Newberry from the dead-beat landlord so they could turn around and sell it to a someone with a viable vision and plan for reviving business downtown, at a fair price. As a requirement for the state grant, the City needed a small business to guarantee interest in purchase and commit to at least 100K of improvement on the building. We stepped up and started a process with our bank to secure that we could be the guarantor, though we knew that didn’t mean we would be picked as the eventual purchasers.

The City of Brunswick was able to buy the building in December 2020. That news was tremendously exciting. My heart sang to see this beautiful building change hands away from someone who was not caring for it and towards a promising future. The Newberry was going to finally get a chance to come back to life and it is a key player for revitalizing Brunswick. The City went on to apply for the grant the next year and was able to buy the most beautiful building in town, the Kaplan! That will be their next project to put a call out for proposals that can bring an investor(s) to open something extra special in the Kaplan (my fingers are crossed for an upscale restaurant or something similar).

It took a while for the City and the their lawyers to do all the behind the scenes work to be able to list it for sale, but when they did list it, our offer, proposal, and plans where in their hands just three days later. We already had a couple of years of thinking, dreaming, and planning.

Brunswick Mayor and Council minus Brian Sandusky

However, ours wasn’t the only offer! There were three other offers - one of them being a great idea to expand the local bike shop. However, after meetings and presentations before the Major, local officials, even the community on live TV at the City Council meeting, our plan was chosen!

So here is our plan.

The Newberry is just over 8000 square feet and currently it is a mostly an uninsulated, historic wooden box! From the street level, there are three store fronts and a private entrance to the second floor. Roots & River Yoga will utilize one of the storefronts and inhabit about half of the building’s total square footage. We will expand to have two studio practices spaces so that we can accommodate a variety of classes at peak times. There will be three treatment rooms to offer healing modalities like massage and other body/mind services. We will even have a little boutique, open as a regular downtown shop.

The other two storefronts will be available for aspiring small businesses to rent the spaces. Although we are open to ideas and proposals, we would really love to have a visionary open a coffee shop/juice bar (maybe wine at night) that sells a variety of breads and goods from local bakers on one side and a retail shop of some kind on the other side. I so look forward to seeing what ideas come forward to elevate Brunswick’s downtown.

Upstairs there will be an additional three spaces to rent that share a private stairwell entrance. I vision these serving counselors, therapists, artists, someone looking for a more affordable 2nd floor retails shop, or others who could benefit from an office space away from home. We are open for conversations with any interested parties.

So here we are and it is nearly time to start the mighty renovation that will include every square inch of this historic structure including HVAC, electrical, plumping, insulation and more. We will keep a keen eye on preserving the character and history while elevating the look and use of this beloved building.

Before we dive in, however, to celebrate the Newberry purchase and to settle our nervous systems after 2.5 years of this stressful roller coaster of a process, Eric and I are headed to Caye Caulker, Belize to visit his brother and our sister-in-law. Our wonderful tribe of teachers will be subbing my classes and holding down the fort at Roots & River Yoga from May 1st - May 12th.

When we return. the work begins.

If you would like to follow along with the transformation on social media - I would love to share with you. Check out and follow our Facebook and Instagram pages as we renovate the Newberry.

Before I close this epic post. I want to thank YOU!

Whether you live locally and started practicing yoga with us at Roots & River in the last 6 years, or you are a beloved friend from the other places I have lived/taught and we still share practices in-studio or online from places like Frederick, Silver Spring, and Kensington Maryland or South Bend, Indiana, or wherever you now live, you have given us so much encouragement and meaningful community and kinship to get us to where we are now. I adore you.

It’s been quite the journey. With what started as my first tiny yoga studio that could only accommodate 8 people in my house in South Bend, Indiana, we have shifted, grown, and transformed. We had some major highs and lows, we made it through the shutdowns of Covid, and pulled through. We did this in part to due to our tenacity, love, and dedication to the practice and to our communities AND also due to YOU who continue to show up for yourself in your commitment to self-care and a grounded approach to self and spiritual development We have created something beautiful together!

Cheers to what comes next!