Solomon's Porch Embraces Holistic Health

For some, "church" is a Sunday-only affair. Not at in Kingfield. 

During the past year, the church has nurtured a yoga studio and a holistic wellness center within its tawny brick walls at 46th and Blaisdell.

“A church community ought to involve all areas of people’s lives,” said Doug Pagitt, pastor at Solomon’s Porch.

The church’s Faith, Health & Wellness Center opened January of this year. The center was the brainchild of Alan Bachman, a life, leadership and mediation coach who now serves as the center’s director.

Bachman presented his idea to a team of Solomon’s Porch representatives last summer. During the fall, the second floor of the church was converted to accommodate the eight independent practitioners who now inhabit the space.

The Faith, Health & Wellness Center provides a wide range of supplementary health services, including acupuncture, Chinese medicine, conflict resolution, counseling therapy, holistic health care, life coaching, massage and shiatsu.

“This is a very holistic approach to well-being,” said Bachman.

The church’s holistic perspective regarding community is also evident in the yoga studio. Yoga Sanctuary opened on June 21 — the day of the Summer Solstice.

The studio is the result of a collaboration between Pagitt, his wife, Shelley, and Shirley Krohn, a yoga instructor and a member of Solomon’s Porch.

Prior to opening the studio, the church had offered yoga every Sunday morning for years and served as a worship space for five yoga instructors.

“We wanted to utilize the people that are part of our community,” said Shelley, who is now the studio’s curator and a yoga instructor.

Solomon’s Porch is currently in the process of purchasing their worship space on 46th Street, a decision that allowed the church more freedom when renovating the yoga studio. The space, which was redesigned specifically as a yoga studio this spring, is located on the building’s garden level. Yoga Sanctuary is one of two nonprofit yoga studios in the Twin Cities.

The studio offers 16 classes each week taught by one of six instructors. Classes include traditional yoga options, such as Vinyasa and power yoga, as well as less conventional choices, including date night yoga and children’s yoga.

Adult classes cost $12 or $120 for 12 sessions. Childcare is available during the studio’s weekday morning classes.

For more information about the Faith, Health & Wellness Center or Yoga Sanctuary at Solomon’s Porch, visit the church’s website.