Prenatal Yoga Portland Virginia

Spiral Tree Yoga & Wellness Studio has been a dream come true for the founder Aleksandra Townsend. For numerous years prior to opening the studio she was imagining a place where the entire family could practice yoga together, a place that supports families through all stages and brings mindfulness into their daily lives.

Personal story of the founder

For me the journey of health and wellness started about 14 years ago upon entering graduate school in Recreation while living in Poland. During those years I worked in various roles with children, as a camp counselor, activity and recreational leader and many others. In 2001 I moved to the US and took my first yoga class and immediately got hooked. I also met my husband during that time and stayed in the US. I continue to work in the health & wellness field in various roles as a wellness educator/personal trainer and a movement teacher.

In 2003 I decided to deepen my yoga practice and took 200 h Yoga Teacher Training at the Yoga Source Studio in Richmond VA and I fell in love with sharing yoga with others. I served as a wellness director at a medical fitness center where I started to teach yoga to members and created a yoga room. I also taught yoga & mindfulness for the University of Virginia community. In 2006 I moved with my husband to Poland and co taught and co ran a Yoga International Studio in Cracow for residents and tourists of the city. It was a profound and enriching experience to run a studio in my home land. Two years later we came back to the US and I took a fitness coordinator position at the University of Vermont. I continued to study yoga and holistic health modalities and had my first daughter Natalia. I found myself craving to teach more and more, and also worked on balancing a full time career with being a mother.

In 2010 we decided to move back to Portland, ME to be closer to family, and this city is our true home. I started to teach more and more which allowed me to be home with my daughter and do what I love. I saw the gap in the community where I envisioned a studio that is designed for the entire family. I saw myself creating that space. On the long road to arriving at this vision I tried to follow more traditional career paths, and also started in a Doctor of Physical Therapy Program, and soon after transferred to USM where I graduated with my second degree in Health Science with a minor in holistic and integrative health. I had my second child Konrad during that time frame. My desire for the space was even greater.

I trained in Prenatal Yoga at ChildLight Yoga in Dover, NH and soon after I added prenatal and post natal classes to my weekly schedule. I also started to teach preschool yoga at Roots & Fruits Multicultural Preschool where my daughter attends and fell in love with working with children. Soon after I trained with ChildLight yoga to become a certified CLY instructor. I continued to teach and mentor with many amazing teachers and added Reiki energy healing work into my life and my teaching. I continued to put a deep trust and belief in the process and to wait. In December, 2012 I walked into a space that felt so right to me and that space is now the home of Spiral Tree Yoga & Wellness Studio. Our door opened in March 2013 with support and love from friends, family and the community.

Our Mission

Our mission is to make dynamic yoga and wellness programming accessible to individuals, families, adults and the greater community, and through our offerings to promote a holistic approach to health and well-being.

We do our absolute best to create an environment that is welcoming to all individuals and families, and one that fosters a true sense of community. We offer time share and scholarship options, run fundraisers and community classes, and exceptional yoga classes to allow for fuller access to yoga for everyone.

Our classes are intimate and offered by a knowledgeable and diverse group of teachers who are dedicated to yoga on and off the yoga mat.

Our enrichment programs for children are dedicated to promoting the concepts of kindess, mindfulness and peace towards ourselves, each other and the world around us.

We believe that yoga bring peace, contentment and love into one's life and that once we have peace within us we can bring peace to the world around us and share it with others. We believe that universal peace and love have the power to change the world around us, and that by introducing these concepts to our children from a very young age we can create a different future.

Why Spiral Tree

We believe that individual health & wellness leads to family and community health & wellness, and that we are all interconnected. As such, each action undertaken by individuals to improve their mind, body and heart benefits everyone. It is a dynamic spiral outward and upward that we aim to foster. We believe that this spiral connection is even stronger and more alive and dynamic when rooted into a foundation of peace and love and the ground like a tree…a Spiral Tree. The root of the Spiral Tree is yoga which grounds and stabilizes us and also branches us to the universe with lively energy, peace and love.