A Q&A with Erika Hawks
The newest place to find books from Books & Books is the Key West Yoga Sanctuary, which is run by Erika Hawks. We asked Erika, who is also a long time Books & Books volunteer, for some background on this partnership and to share a bit about the Yoga Sanctuary.
Q: Tell us a little about yourself, if you would?
A: Born and raised in Miami, I moved to Key West from Miami Beach in 2014. I’ve been practicing yoga for over 2 decades – yikes, acknowledging that makes me feel old.
Q: When did you buy the Yoga Sanctuary? How did that come about?
A: I started teaching at KWYS about 7 years ago, and when my dear friend Gretchen Mills decided to relocate to upstate New York this Spring, it was a natural decision to keep this community alive and take on the business. After a long hiatus for Covid, we re-opened our doors this Fall.
Q: How would you describe your philosophy for the Yoga Sanctuary? What makes it different?
A: The Key West Yoga Sanctuary is a school dedicated to offering the community a space to practice and experience the 8 limbs of yoga. So, we are much more than just a place to come and do poses (Asana) and move your body, although we do have lots of that on the daily schedule, we strive to bring world class instruction in yoga philosophy, meditation, pranayama and more to our tiny little island.
Q: How is the business doing given Covid? How are you coping?
A: Covid has had a huge impact on our industry world wide, but we managed to pivot and thrive during this unprecedented time. We closed the doors of our space at 612 Fleming St. in March of 2020, but we continued to offer daily yoga online and have had the Zoom program running continuously and uninterrupted since then. In June of 2020 we began to offer outdoor classes in the park at Truman Waterfront 3 times a week, and we kept those going until we reopened our doors. Our biggest shift came this Summer when we built a yoga platform in our garden at 612 Fleming Street and now we can offer daily yoga outdoors in our very own garden. It’s been amazing to see this all unfold. We are so grateful for the community of students around us!!!
Q: What will we find in your store besides books? Why did you decide to add books?
A: Our partnership with Books & Books is really exciting for me because I love books, but also because I love sharing books and yoga with my friends and students. The collection of books that we keep in stock at KWYS includes a selection of titles that represent the different styles of yoga that we offer here, as well as covering all aspects of yoga philosophy and Ayurveda (Yoga’s sister science for whole body wellness). You can also find all the tools that you might need to support your yoga practice in our shop, including yoga mats, blocks, bolsters etc…, as well as some handmade local products.
Q: What are you reading and recommending these days?
A: I am preparing to lead our upcoming Teacher Training, so I am mostly immersed in yoga titles right now, but beyond yoga I am reading Brene Brown’s Atlas of the Heart, she really inspires me. Her book Dare to Lead helped prepare me to take on my new role at KWYS and her newest book is informing the way I interact with the world every day. For a good, very accessible yoga read, pick-up Eddie Stern’s book One Simple Thing.