When Stephanie Robb wondered how to better utilize the second floor space above her store, Turnstyle Designs at Lexington and Ashland Avenues, she began talking to people. Through these conversations, the idea of a contemplative and healing arts studio emerged like a shell washing up on the shore. A nautilus shell is the symbol that Stephanie chose for the space and as it turns out – it is also the symbol for Felicitas Kusch-Lango’s MaLa education which is now housed in Sea Studio. That type of synergy is just the beginning of the story of Sea Studio as in Source-Energy-Arts.
A year after these conversations started, Sea Studio has developed into a beautiful, welcoming environment where several practitioners share a purpose and space. That purpose is to support contemplation, relaxation and well being; it happens, in my experience, as soon as you enter the space. Instead of distractions which pull us outward, this is a space that pulls us inward into stillness, where we can be restored.
There is a massage room, a lifestyle coaching studio, a yoga space, reflexology chair and Turnstyle’s jewelry workshop, where crafts people engage in the focused meditative work of jewelry making. The décor includes jewelry on display which blends in with the beautiful, simple but elevated space. When I went to one of Felicitas Kusch-Lango’s yoga classes, I found the small, intimate environment conducive to focusing on the teacher and my own practice.
The homelike environment was a cooperative creation from the beginning. For some of the practitioners, including Kusch-Lango, setting up in Sea Studio is returning to a smaller, simpler way of operating a business. Many of the practitioners have travelled a long way, to arrive here, to return home to a model that is simple and synergistic, sharing their joy and love of the work.
That sense of practitioners working cooperatively with love and joy is palpable. Clients’ intentions to support small and local combined with practitioners working together, creates an experience at Sea Studio that is more than the sum of its parts. Its parts include seasoned practitioners: Felicitas Kusch-Lango Integral Coach, Contemplative Educator & Stress Reduction Expert; Dennis Knipfing, Massage Therapist; Paula Missana, reflexologist; Annie Allen, yoga teacher and mindfulness trainer; Maureen Hann, Author, healer and freedom guide; and Jack Greeney, Life Coach and Spiritual Advisor. Contact any of them for an appointment.
After a class or session, you can go downstairs and shop for women’s clothing and accessories. If you are seeking help in negotiating life with the highly sensitive trait (a specialty of Kusch-Lango) or even if you are looking for a way to balance the stress and stimulation of modern living, visit their website theseastudio.com, or stop by Turnstyle on Ashland for more information. The entrance to Sea Studio is on Lexington around the corner from Ashland. Walking up the creaky, old stairs for many of us in the neighborhood is like going home.
Sea Studio @ Turnstyle, 238 Lexington Avenue, Buffalo, NY 14222
Websites, contact info:
www.FelicitasKuschLango.com; www.MaLaEducation.org, 716-601-8244
Dennis Knipfing, 716-867-8826
Paula Missana, 716-359-2458
Annie Allen, annie.scherer.allen@gmail.com
Maureen Hann, www.wellvibrations.com
Jack Greeney, www.StirringTheEmbers.com