Together We Grow: House of Yoga
House of Yoga’s Donation-Based Studio is Thriving in York City
What happens when you give people the option not to pay?
Jackie Dahlheimer, owner of House of Yoga, ran this experiment in her own life. What she found was that people did pay for donation-based yoga services and House of Yoga was then able to provide support to those who needed it.
Dahlheimer built her donation-based yoga studio from the outside in, garnering community support well before anything was official. In 2016, she landed in her original Market Street location with the support of dedicated teachers and students who helped House of Yoga raise funds for their business license, security deposit, and all the other fees that accompany a new business. “All of that was generated by the small community of people that we had started to grow,” she says.
Recently, Dahlheimer purchased the adjacent building to the original House of Yoga. “We just kept praying for the space next door to open up,” she says. “And then one day, it did.” She cut a doorway to combine the spaces and expanded the small studio to a 3,000-foot building that includes a retail area.
House of Yoga operates on three guiding principles: Take what you need, give what you can, and there’s always enough. For Dahlheimer, this isn’t just about money, but overall support. Above all else, Dahlheimer’s donation-based operation is about inclusivity. “What I knew when I started teaching yoga is that yoga needed to be accessible for everyone,” she says.
When the community bands together to give and receive support, Dahlheimer says, “Somehow we all just feel abundant.” House of Yoga offers classes and workshops to help people ground themselves and clear their heads, bearing in mind the trauma and unrest many people still carry from the pandemic. Anyone can join their restorative classes, multi-week chakra series, or other offerings in person or online. As she expands her studio, Dahlheimer understands that the space is a byproduct of the thriving community from which it was born. She says, “House of Yoga is proof that, at our core, humans are good and kind.”
YRK Perspectives
What is your hope for York County in the next five years? “Oh man I love this town. It’s got heart. My hope for York City is that it continues to thrive, continues to be a hub for artists, free thinkers and innovators.”
– Jackie Dahlheimer, Owner, House of Yoga
- 19 W. MARKET ST. YORK, PA 17401
- 717.793.2393