Unity Yoga: Changing People’s Lives Through Yoga

Arielle Ashford Profile

By: Nenagh Sheehan

Arielle Ashford is a business owner, yoga instructor, and activist who dedicates her time and soul to individuals recovering from substance and mental health disorders. As the co-owner of Unity Yoga, alongside her husband, Robert, she utilizes her background, knowledge, and personal experience with sobriety to cultivate a safe haven for those in recovery. Unity Yoga strives to create a welcoming atmosphere where everyone feels like they belong, regardless of ability or flexibility. “We’re just trying to bring some healing using ancient yoga techniques,” Ashford said.

Since opening their first studio in Manayunk, Philadelphia, in 2019, Ashford and her husband have expanded to a second location in Chestnut Hill, PA. The Ashford’s met at the White House in 2015 while Arielle spoke at an event sponsored by the Office of National Drug Control Policy and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Both in long-term recovery, the couple realized they wanted a more official way to bring together yoga and a safe healing environment. Ashford has brought together her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in social work from the University of Utah. She also earned her E-RYT-200/RYT-500 (yoga teacher certificate) from the Himalayan Institution in Honesdale, PA. She has met teachers from Los Angeles, Chicago, and the UK throughout her training, all inspiring her to constantly be in a practicing mode. “I’m always in some sort of student space, just to keep up and learn,” Ashford explained.

As a youngster and throughout adolescence, Ashford was a ballerina. She always knew that she wanted to open her own studio, assuming it would be a ballet studio. But after going through substance use disorder and finding recovery, the practice of yoga became her focus. “It was a lot easier than ballet; it was a way to get into my body and work stuff out, work through stuff,” “she said. Better yet, “Yoga is always there; you can take it with you everywhere you go.” Throughout the years, no matter where she was in the United States, she would pop into studios and take a variety of classes, sparking her passion for yoga even more. Things kicked into high gear when the Ashford’s moved to Philadelphia six years ago. She had the idea of blending yoga and recovery together after reading and discovering that one option for treatment is yoga and that there are a lot of yogis in recovery. But it was Ashford’s concept to “bring a community center and a yoga studio under one roof.” The idea of Unity Yoga was born, and three years later, while Ashford was pregnant, the couple looked for a space to open their first studio. During her third trimester, they found a location on Main Street in Manayunk, Philadelphia, and proceeded to sign the lease right before her daughter Penny was born in August 2019.

Unity Yoga is not your typical yoga studio. They offer free recovery classes online and in-studio on Sundays, setting them apart from other yoga studios. They also offer a huge choice of classes: ‘Vinyasa,’ which is breath and body flow through asana; ‘Yoga Conditioning,’ a pilates-like class that conditions the body and the mind together; ‘Restorative Yoga,’ a passive rest practice where they place the body in gentle asana with support through props (blankets, yoga blocks, etc.) to soothe the nervous system; ‘Yin Yoga,’ a passive practice where the movements are gentle and relaxed in order to control stress; and ‘React & Recover,’ stimulates the body’s stress response so people can develop and hone skills in self-regulation. ‘React and Recover’ was created by Brittany Emmanuel, a teacher at Unity Yoga. It’s a process that Ashford describes as “mindfully incorporating the restful practices separates us from other studios; we encourage people to rest when they can. I even encourage my teachers to do it all the time.”

Emmanuel has taken advantage of that and has been a teacher since Unity Yoga opened. She adores the staff and their steps to understand how their team operates by encouraging practices that best support the staff. Emmanuel claimed, “Unity Yoga has completely transformed my career and has opened so many doors for me. It is the best thing that has happened to me in my adult life.” She has never come across another studio that safely, openly, and invitingly discusses recovery and trauma like Unity Yoga.

Maintaining a well-built relationship with Unity Yoga’s staff members is a priority for Ashford, making sure to communicate the very moment there’s any sort of policy change from the city of Philadelphia- most recently, the mask and COVID-19 vaccination mandate. Businesses located in Philadelphia had the option to either have their staff and everyone who enters wear a mask or enforce proof of vaccination. Unity Yoga decided to go the fully vaccinated route, ensuring the safety of their employees and students. Ashford explained that the yoga students drove this policy change via Instagram Polls. When asked, the majority voted that they wanted their teachers to be fully vaccinated, and in response, the staff complied.

Before the pandemic in March 2020, Unity Yoga was making some serious strides, but when COVID-19 became rampant, they had no other choice but to move everything online. They used Facebook and Instagram Live for about two months, later switching to Zoom classes. Ashford noted that even though the transition was difficult, their teachers, staff, and students were supportive, patient, and understanding. Luckily, the yoga classes were allowed to be held outside in the summertime, including spots loved by locals, like the Manayunk Bridge and the Manayunk Canal. Once restrictions lessened, they were only able to have five people in a class at a time. “It was like we were doing what we needed to do with our feet stuck in the mud,” Ashford explained. Despite COVID-19 struggles, they could still hold teacher training and events online, including people from all over the nation, thanks to Ashford’s yogi network. “Although it was this, you know, weird time, it was also very expansive at the same time.”

Ashford encourages all teachers to be gentle in their teaching, “just to make sure everyone is and will always be safe.” Due to the pandemic, it’s challenging to meet in person and discuss protocols. As a result, the entire Unity Yoga staff communicates through a messaging app, Slack, where everyone is attentive and responsive to whatever must be done or attended to that day. They’ve also just provided all of their teachers with an optional recovery yoga training as a “gift for them” and the hardships they endured during Covid. Ashford wants to ensure everyone stays updated on yoga practices and policy changes. Still, she also administers multiple training classes to continue their education credits for their yoga certifications- a perfect mix of self-care for employees and bolstering the business for the owners. 

 Since mental health and substance use disorder are so prominent in society, it’s crucial for people to have an outlet like Unity Yoga. A community of similar people can be found where wellness and healing are celebrated through body movement. According to a report from The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than half of Americans will be diagnosed with a mental illness or disorder at some point in their lifetime, 1 in 5 Americans will experience a mental illness in a given year, and 1 in 25 Americans live with a serious mental health illness. 

Strong staff relationship correlates to Unity Yoga’s bond with clients who regularly attend the studios. Jordan Aquardo has been attending Unity Yoga classes since August of 2020. Aquardo explained that they were struggling with mental health issues, and taking medication wasn’t working. “I was very strongly trying to fight the urge to jump off the Manayunk Bridge, and I was sitting there in Pretzel Park trying to be like ‘there has to be something that I can do to help me with this,’” Aquardo stated. The missing link turned out to be yoga. Aquardo searched Manayunk for many studios, and immediately, Unity Yoga caught their eye because they noticed consent cards for students. Teachers are trained to ask for consent before providing feedback and before touching any student, as communication is a pivotal factor in the healing process. Aquardo said having that kind of awareness is amazing, “so instantly I knew that that would be a safe space for me.” The very next day, they signed up for class and have been going ever since.

Unity Yoga is a chance to connect with people, whether it’s with their teachers or fellow clients, “not in an escapism way, but an escape to find freedom,” Ashford said. “Leave the city, leave your stuff, just come in and breathe.” Ashford shared that she walked into one of her Sunday classes, and everyone was lying on their backs in Shavasana. According to Yoga Journal, “Shavasana calms the brain and helps relieve stress and mild depression. It also relaxes the body, reduces headache, fatigue, and insomnia, and helps to lower blood pressure” (Costello, 2013). Ashford read the vibe of the room and noticed it was going to be a “slow and low” day. Nobody was super energetic, so they rolled around and enjoyed some “sacred playtime.” She noted that they did three standing poses and were on the ground the rest of the time. Her teaching responds to the energy of those in the room. When people are talkative, “let’s move and breathe.” When people are noticeably exhausted, “let’s keep it slow and low.” Ashford loves the idea of meeting people where they are mentally and delivering a class in which they can forget everything going on in their lives and provide a space to really get into their bodies. She has even had students cry in a cathartic release while working through trauma and negative emotions in her classes. Ashford goes the extra mile and holds time after class to speak with anyone who may need it. 

Special scholarships are offered at Unity Yoga. There are up to ten scholarships for aspiring yoga teachers who are in recovery. It allows for a full YTT- 200 and Recovery yoga teacher training at no cost to those who receive the scholarship. The 200- hour training started in September 2021 and will run until June 2022, with additional training times for the recovery yoga training. “We’re trying to bring down some barriers and make it more accessible, Ashford explained.

Mixing astrology and yoga has become more popular in recent years. Ashford took advantage of this and used her knowledge in zodiac signs to dedicate certain classes to the natal chart (astrology sings). Ashford reads astrology in the traditional way, which looks at one’s birth time and place to better understand their personality traits and spirituality. But what’s especially interesting is that she also looks at it in terms of one’s “sobriety date” and cross-references it with the natal chart to “dig deeper into how the stars and planets influence ones life.” 

On top of owning two yoga studios, Ashford and her husband also own Unity Taqueria, a taco restaurant, and Unity Recovery, a Recovery Community Organization (RCO). Both are located in Manayunk, PA. Similar to Unity Yoga’s beliefs, Unity Taqueria’s website describes the place as a designated recovery-friendly workplace. “We’re dedicated to promoting positive, recovery-informed policies, hiring practices, and support for our staff that is in or seeking recovery from substance use and mental health concerns” (https://unitytaco.com/). Similarly, Unity Recovery serves the Philadelphia community, “believing that recovery is an is an individualized and dynamic process and the importance of supporting those with mental health or substance use disorder, no matter the pathway you use” (https://unityrecovery.org/). Through a warm, friendly attitude, an inviting smile, and an eagerness to spread her positivity, it is not hard to see how Ashford is helping cultivate a variety of safe havens for those in active and passive recovery- and why so many clients keep coming back for more.