Matt and Rebecca Fritz opened up the yoga studio Sutra Midtown eight years ago with the dream of turning what they love into something that benefits their community. They continued that dream Monday with the opening of their second location on First and Portland streets.
Sutra Studios is a yoga and barre studio focused on healthy living. The staff offers classes such as vinyasa yoga, skulpt barre, skupplt fit, prenatal mum deva, massage spa zucci, several types of meditation, rooftop vibe high and yoga teacher training. The classes typically have both regulars and walk-ins, Matt Fritz said.
Rebecca, who designs all of the classes, said healthy living can be enjoyable.
“We decided it would be fun to bring the things we enjoy into the neighborhood and offer a fun, healthy lifestyle in a creative collaborative,” she said. “So we decided to bring all things in a unique and different way.”
The opening comes after developer Chuckie Duff proposed plans to open a second location for the coffee bar Lux last year in the space next to the new studio. Duff said the plans fell through, with no further comment.
Related: Lux Central to open new location downtown
Meagghi Bitz, a yoga instructor who started as a student, emphasized the importance of the community feel at Sutra.
“I loved the feel and the people and vibe of the whole studio,” she said. “It’s a very welcoming and ego free place to practice and work on myself and meet people without feeling bad if I didn’t know how to do something.”
She said she finds this idea of community in the classes she teaches.
“We work on ourselves together and it’s a good safe place to do so,” she said.
Sutra hosts community events beyond their studios as well, like yoga in the park and rooftop yoga. Their next event is Lunar Flow, a nighttime, rooftop yoga class held under the full moon, which will take place October 25th at 8 p.m. at the Clarendon Hotel.
“Those are fun because there’s a beautiful view of the city with the moon right over your head,” Matt Fritz said.
Jackie LeGrande, a student of Sutra who attends classes regularly, said she was first attracted to the studios for their variety of class options. Sutra classes are typically 75 minutes long.
“Their teachers, atmosphere, everything has a community feel,” LeGrande said. “Everyone knows everybody.”
She said the new studio looks cool, and she hopes it will contain some of her favorite elements of Sutra Midtown.
Matt Fritz hopes that in addition to the regulars who already live downtown, all the new developments downtown will bring in some new residents and customers. Membership to the studios is $109 a month and allows for unlimited access to both studios. Drop-ins are welcome to come for a fee of $15 or $10 for students.
The downtown studio is still expanding and will increase their schedule of 22 classes a week to a full schedule. There are currently two classrooms in the studio which hold up to 50 people each compared to about 30-40 in the midtown studios. Matt Fritz said it will eventually expand to feature a café, like the midtown studio does.
These changes and the downtown studio as a whole are something Matt Fritz welcomes.
“It’s a constant state of evolution,” he said. “We never let it get stale; we try to keep it creative and really interactive.”
With Monday’s opening of Sutra’s new space, there will be two evening classes at 6 and 7:30 p.m.
Contact the reporter at Kara.Carlson@asu.edu
