A Test of Faith (Part 5 of 6)

“Faith is the evidence of the unseen. And it is the seeing of the heart.” ~ Maya Angelou

In late 2019, I felt a clear nudge to expand and chose to do it before circumstances made it necessary. After four years on Brown Station Road, I felt grateful to have been pushed out of my nest and beyond my self-imposed limitations. The space allowed me to connect with more people, hear their stories, and give them a place to feel loved and appreciated. Even in a busy shopping center, we managed to create a nest where people felt safe enough to heal and connect.

The studio grew so much that students became teachers, many of whom went on to do wonderful things with yoga and wellness beyond SEY. It confirmed again that I was on the right path and that the work was making a difference. As I expanded the training programs, the need for more space became evident. When I saw that a larger space had opened across the parking lot, I found the courage to ask about it.

Once I received the numbers, fear and panic set in. Managing both spaces would be a financial stretch greater than anything I had faced before. Maybe I was supposed to wait until I was forced to move, or maybe I was being too ambitious to take this leap before the need became absolute. Things were tight and at times inconvenient, but still manageable.

Then, as fate would have it, I completely filled one of my largest yoga teacher trainings. We were busting at the seams with six months ahead together, and I took it as a sign. Once again I thought about the bigger space. With planning and financial guidance, couldn’t I make it work? Looking back at how far I had come, I reminded myself that I had faced hard things before.

So in November 2019, I started the process of expansion. I found support in a local company that specialized in funding for small businesses. They had a strong reputation, and when I met the person handling my account, I knew I had made the right decision. They were warm, patient, and believed in my mission.

Momentum began to build. All the paperwork was signed and construction started. After some mishaps with the contractor, I realized I had to step in and oversee the work to keep things on track, all while still teaching, training, and seeing clients.

Then, just days before Christmas, sickness swept through my household. At first, I thought it was just a seasonal cold, but we weren’t getting better. My asthma flared after years of being under control, and my youngest, who also struggled with asthma, began having severe respiratory issues. Medicine wasn’t working and my doctor was stumped. Soon, contractors also began falling ill, slowing progress even more.

After weeks of illness that stretched into the new year, reports of COVID-19 began to surface in January 2020. Suddenly, it all made sense why nothing was working. I had to stop, let my body heal, and that was surrender. By February, things began to pick up again, and just as construction was nearing completion, the shutdowns began in March.

I was scared and unsure of what to do. Was this a test of faith, or a message to pivot and give it up? As the weeks passed and tragedy mounted, progress slowed to almost nothing. I thought about stopping altogether. I still had the first space, and expanding in the middle of a pandemic felt irresponsible. All around me, yoga studios that had stood strong for years were closing their doors, and I wondered if I was being asked to do the same.

As I sought answers in prayer and meditation, I kept feeling the nudge to keep going. It was clear this was a test of faith. Do I give up because it felt easier, or do I trust the strength I had built over the years and keep going?

I chose to keep going, even when it was painful. The community, who had been there since day one, continued to show up with love, strength, and prayer. Together we made it through those hard months and celebrated the opening of the studio in September 2020.

Looking back, I am grateful for the journey, for how every challenge prepared me for the next step, and for how faith carried me through when my mind told me it made more sense to stop.

Read the Final Chapter - Part 6: When One Door Closes, Another Always Opens

With love and gratitude,
Dana Andrea

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