09/14/2026
Our beautiful SunSpark Yoga community: thank you for 14 plus years of health, joy, friendship and connection. This has been the most fulfilling (and longest) thing either of us has ever done. None of it would have happened without you.
But just like that, we are closing our doors. We're so sorry. We made it through the pandemic withhout giving up, especially because of your help during that crazy time.
Unfortunately, we are landfall for a perfect storm of badness. We are unable to survive paid parking, a pointless war causing high gas prices causing a terrible economy and corporations gouging all of us on every level.
So, because we're struggling, we're being evicted. We missed 1 month in 14 years (we've been good tenants). Not a year late, not 6 months late, ONE MONTH. We finally paid August last week and within minutes they issued another eviction notice for being few days late for September. Seriously. We've been honest with them, we've communicated our difficulties (anybody who knows us, knows we over share). But these things are of no importance to people who value money over everything else. We were presented with an opportunity to turn over operations to another kind, capable and experienced studio owner who would take care of back pay for our instructors and honor our customers existing memberships. These things are most important to us. However, after communicating our desire to close operations by Saturday, October 3rd we were inexplicably and angrily rejected. This would have given us all a chance to say goodbye and get our affairs in order. Her response has been that if we do not vacate immediately, she will not cooperate with anyone wanting to possibly take over and she won't tell us if she would anyways. So, we're moving out as we speak. Nobody needs this beautiful sanctuary to become an office, or ice cream shop or pizza place or the next TGI Fridays disguised as something else.
We have begged the City of Orange for help with parking. They offered us links to borrow money and a free business analysis. That's not at all what we need. A discount code or parking validation would have helped but the city hasn't offered and it's too late anyways.
Nobody goes to Finney's 5 times per week but they do come to yoga. The parking fees add up. Class attendance has plunged horrifically since paid parking started in February. This is not survivable. There is no end in sight to the influx of big chain restaurants with lots of diners and workers that cause the parking problems. A liquor store that once had 2 people working and 3 people shopping is now a restaurant with 20 people working and 50 people dining. Old Towne Orange is not the same. Progress. You know our motto: Breathe, move your body and settle the f**k down. We are failing on the last part because the business side of the business has drained us. By no means is this situation everybody else's fault. We love running a yoga community but better business people exist. We take full responsibility for what we're going through.
Thank you to the handful of loyal, hardworking instructors who showed up, checking their egos at the door and delivering themselves to you on the mat. Holding space for others is the gift you give willingly. It can be taxing but you do it anyways. You are champions. The ones not seeking to be yoga celebrities, not taking a 6 month sabbatical in Bali or Tulum or wherever and expecting to have all their classes back upon their return, demanding that they should be paid more than my primary care physician because we must be stacked with cash from operating in the oh-so-lucrative yoga industry.
Thank you to our friends and family that dedicated hours to helping us put this place together. You know who you are.
Thanks to the Old Towne friends that never came to yoga. Just folks we stopped to chat with on the street for a quarter of our lives. You will be missed.
We're here at SunSpark today, Tuesday, unexpectedly packing stuff. We thought we'd have more time to explain ourselves in person but that's no longer an option. Stop by if you'd like to see us as much as we'd like to see you.
Hint hint: we don't like IPAs.
We believe the studio will continue but we've been denied assurances. Studio is closed Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday this week. Please pretend everything is semi-normal but check the online schedule.
We love you.
Next chapter.
