Source Meditation | space offers a place to find self and community, one breath at a time.
By Liza Long
One Monday evening after work, I found myself in an unexpected place: looking out from The Fidelity Building’s second-story window over one of the busiest sections of Eighth Street in downtown Boise. I had come to source meditation | space with a healthy curiosity about the benefits of meditation. What I found was an energy oasis in the center of the city, a place that promises to change the way people think. In a simple 30-minute guided meditation, I stepped out of quotidian anxiety and relaxed into lightness and love.
“This place just wants to happen,” co-founder Susan Cole told me as we spoke after the meditation session. “You feel held here.”
Cole and co-creator Marisa Weppner, who owns Sage Yoga & Wellness adjacent to the new studio, conceived the need for a community meditation space on a 2019 retreat in India. Their yoga practice had increasingly led them both to meditation and mindfulness. A third partner, Paul Graham, teaches organizational resilience to corporations, is an Ayurvedic Health Counselor, and has a keen interest in the science of stillness practices, including mitigating workplace stress. Together the team brings a wealth of experience, knowledge, and passion to the new project.
This simple, high ceilinged space is decorated in muted earth tones, a mandala mural on one wall, shelves bursting with plush sheepskins, locally sourced cork yoga mats, bolsters, pillows, eye masks, and other tools designed to help users achieve the ultimate interface of mind, body, and spirit. In the center of the mandala is a mirror, reminding those in the space to look within themselves for peace.
The meditation studio has given Cole a space where she can integrate her personal passion with her professional expertise. With extensive experience in marketing and technology, Cole currently works for Cisco Networks in Silicon Valley. She became involved with the Wisdom 2.0 conference in San Francisco, and the experience impacted her so deeply that she worked to bring an offshoot of the conference to JUMP in 2016. “Wisdom 2.0 Connect was held in London, New York, Tel Aviv, and Boise, Idaho,” she said. “The Boise conference sold out.”
As Cole and I chatted about her experiences, Weppner stopped by. “We saw the studio as a place for people to find peace,” Weppner told me. “There are plenty of mindfulness apps, but it’s not the same as being in collective community with a guide in real time. There’s a special energy here.” Weppner wrote the relaxing guided yoga nidra meditation that I experienced, encouraging participants to go inward and examine every part of their bodies. The 30-minute journey began with the simple phrase: “Welcome home.”
Open since December 31, 2019, source meditation | space already has a full schedule, with 25 instructors and 20 volunteers. Classes include guided meditations, chanting, sound journeys, yoga nidra, tai chi, and more. “The energy and enthusiasm have been amazing,” Cole said, adding that meditation attracts everyone from young people to parents to retirees who want to explore the numerous well-established mental and physical health benefits. “You don’t need to get away to drop in,” Cole said. “You can clear your mind right here, in the middle of your day.”
In addition to drop-in classes, which may include everything from guided meditations to chanting to sound journeys, unlimited memberships include the option for members to stop in any time during the day to meditate. A full schedule and pricing can be found on source meditation | space’s website.
Cole is especially excited about the studio’s new deep-dive series, including a four-week “Align and Transform” workshop designed to help participants deconstruct their past experiences in a safe space, bringing healing and alignment. A six-week series, “Mindful Parenting,” will help parents to learn how to be fully present and to interact with their children in purposeful, mindful ways. “It’s not about being a perfect parent,” Cole, herself a mother of teenagers, told me. “Moving out of auto-pilot mode can help us to create a more positive environment for the whole family.”
I left source meditation | space that evening feeling lighter, calmer, and more whole. On the mat, I took a few minutes to connect with my self—the most important work I did all day, and as Cole, Weppner, and Graham know, the work (and joy) of a lifetime.
For More Information: source meditation | space, 242 N 8th Street, Ste 210, 2nd floor of the Fidelity Building, Boise, ID 83702, www.sourceboise.com
