We recently connected with Ali Duncan and have shared our conversation below.

Ali, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

Urban Sanctuary is an all-inclusive yoga studio that was created in 2016 when founder Ali Duncan saw the BIPOC community being pushed out of healing spaces in Denver, especially in neighborhoods experiencing rapid gentrification.

Located in the heart of Five Points, our creative wellness offerings aim to disrupt this pattern by providing accessible programs that connect the benefits of yoga and meditation to creative practices.
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Instead of saying why, I created a space for myself and the community.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Urban Sanctuary is a yoga studio created for and by the QTBIPOC community, and our teachers reflect the community we serve. Ali created the studio to provide space for women, queer and gender nonconforming individuals, and people of color to practice radical self-care. While community members of all backgrounds are encouraged to attend, Urban Sanctuary provides classes that focus on specific racial and gender identities. As an all-inclusive space, we aim to provide safety and healing for those whose access historically has not been prioritized.

As a community full of different identities, building and growing a cohort of unique bodies for those to explore their natural capabilities and potential is essential to the core of Urban Sanctuary. Feeding passionate individuals into the collective and back into the Five Points community is what we will do as part of the two percent of black-owned yoga studios in the nation. Starting in 2023, we are using our presence and power to host equity training, educational workshops and providing awareness to what needs to change for Black and Brown lives. Our goal is to expand wellness, yoga, and community creating a more inclusive world; using intersectionality and connection as a way to fuel healing.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

The teachers at Urban Sanctuary show up from a place of compassion, understanding and know how to hold space.
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Urban is the studio that all communities can come to and feel welcomed while they are healing, connecting and learning about who they are.
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Our quote is “come as you are”, and students appreciate a space where they do not have to be someone different to feel included.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

My lesson is that everything changes and with the changes there is always expansion no matter how challenging they are.
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This is a time to clear on where I want to be on the other side of changes, what are my lessons as I move through them and how to I want to embrace the new way of being.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://urbansanctuary.love
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/urbansanctuary.love/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/urbansanctuarylove/
• Youtube: facebook.com/urbansanctuarydenver

Image Credits

@jag_soul