She may have made her mark in sport in the cold of winter but finding an Olympic athlete on Capitol Hill as the 2012 games open in London means you’re going to break a sweat.
“There’s no reason why anyone can’t take a little time to come in and feel a little bit better,” said Jamie Silverstein, the founder of the new Vinyasa Yoga style studio The Grinning Yogi on 15th Ave E at Harrison.
“What are you doing in thirty minutes?” she asked before offering a free spot in that afternoon’s Yoga Jolt session.
Silverstein is feeling very Olympic today (Image: CHS)
Silverstein moved to Seattle from New York in April of this year to start her studio — but before that she was training under a Russian coach as a world class ice skater. After a difficult bout with eating disorders early in her career and a brief break from the sport, Silverstein came back to compete in the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin.
Yoga was originally just a way for Silverstein to increase flexibility for training, but slowly it became something much more.
“I started when I was 15 years old. I loved how yoga gave me an opportunity to let my burdens fall by the way side. Yoga’s not telling you to change anything — it’s telling you to let clutter fall away.'”
During breaks from ice skating, Silverstein found herself continuing yoga. Her enthusiasm is evident during classes, which she conducts with joyous reverence. The happy seems to be rubbing off on her customers, who rave about the sessions.
“Vinyasa is a lot about fluidity and stuff to open the body,” Silverstein said, “it links breath and movement and gives you time for meditation, which is really nice.”
Silverstein opened her studio on 15th Ave E in May. The Grinning Yogi offers a “New Student” 3 class pass for $18. “You don’t have to be flexible to do yoga—it’s for anyone who wants to take time to feel better.”
Before I leave, I have to ask Silverstein about a rumor.
“I can in fact confirm that everyone hits on everyone in the Olympic Village. It’s crazy, but you are taking the most beautiful, fit people in the world in the best shape of their lives, and putting them in one place,” she said.
“Plus, when you are at the Olympics, everything is heightened because you are competing, so — it gets crazy. My coach was part of the USSR system, so there was none of that for me.”
I would like “to let clutter to fall away”.
Jamie & all the teachers are an amazing inspiration to improve one’s health & harmony!
This is the studio I practice at and can confirm that Jamie’s enthusiasm is 100% genuine. Her studio is awesome and I encourage people to check it out if they’ve got an interest in yoga at all.
As for the whole “trashing my neighborhood” flyer gripe, I think there’s been plenty of long-winded arguments about the excessive flyering in the ‘hood, no need to beat the dead horse to a bloody pulp is there?
I like flyers! It makes me feel like we live in a city, where things are happening and opening. Also, the ‘hood isn’t too uptight and obsessed with being always picture perfect. I say flyer on!
Yoga good,,,
The Grinning Yogi is the perfect fit for Capitol Hill. The studio is unique and every class is truly an experience. I have been to so many heated studios that feel so commercial–each class is exactly the same, the students are packed in like sardines, and the teachers simply talk at you rather than teach. The Grinning Yogi and its grinning teachers are humble and make you feel right at home. Jamie is by far one of the most inspirational people I have ever met. Jamie is just someone that makes you smile. Her classes are fun, the tunes are rockin’, and she kicks your ass…in a good way. I promise that from the moment you walk into the studio to the moment that your sweaty ass walks out the door, you will be grinning.