We all know someone, maybe even ourselves, who is tired of the grind. They feel disconnected from life; going through the motions everyday just to get up and do it again the next day. They can’t remember what it was that used to bring them joy.
Trisha Stotler saw this in her personal life as she conversed with other neighbors and parents. And she saw this through her work as a meditation teacher through her own practice and as a senior teacher with the Insight Meditation Community of Washington.
She decided to do something to help.
Modeling The Insight Shop off The School of Life, “a physical space in different cities around the world where you can go and take classes that are designed to help you better navigate life,” she says, Stotler, in May, found a space in downtown Vienna, an old white-washed brick rambler home with a welcoming purple door tucked behind popular dining venues like Chopt, Cava and Mod Pizza. Co-leasing the space with Laura Goyer Photography, she freshened up the home and had an official opening in September.
At The Insight Shop, Stotler is hoping there is something for everyone. Though her background is in meditation, she is working with area experts and teachers to bring their insight into the business with a goal of providing the space to create community around topics that are important to everyone and “to start engaging with what really matters and what is fun,” she says. “To bring fun back into life and gather people who might not get together around a shared interest.”
Classes are meant to be intimate, along with some larger, one-day quarterly workshops, to garner the best outcomes for those who enroll. And classes range from weekend introduction classes; to four-, six- to eight-week series; or freestanding classes, like Stotler’s own Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction class, to options such as Journaling Through Transitions (Jan. 9), Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (Jan. 18), and a full-day workshop called Clutter to Clarity: How Organizing Your Environment Leads to Peace of Mind, Body and Spirit (Jan. 20), just to name a few. And as her roster of teachers grows, more classes will be added to the schedule. She is even trying out some free salon series for intimate groups with the next one happening Dec. 5 called The Hero’s Journey as a Model for Self Discovery, and workshops such as Transitioning to Motherhood and How to Have End-of-Life Conversations. The Insight Shop also holds classes focused on creativity through writing, knitting, intuitive painting and other expressive outlets.
As Stotler settles in she wants “to offer classes that help people find in-person community, strengthen awareness of themselves and others, and, above all, learn something new.”