Kathryn Fitzgerald greeted her 10 a.m. Gentle Yoga attendees as each person filed in. She offered complimentary tea, asked about their families and prepared the studio space for her upcoming class. 

Fitzgerald co-founded and established Amara Yoga & Arts in 2009. To this day, she handles the business’s operations, organizes programming and teaches a selection of yoga classes as the Gallery Director co-owner, alongside her daughter Luna. 

Even with 16 years of experience at Amara, Fitzgerald said she doesn’t think of herself as its “leader.”

“I feel like the whole studio is a collaboration,” Fitzgerald said. “It’s not about me. I’m just here to keep it going — to keep the doors open, but it’s like a collaboration. Every single teacher’s bringing in their gift.”

Amara Yoga & Arts comprises over 20 drop-in yoga classes every week, a variety of workshops, kids yoga and arts summer camps and training programs. However, Fitzgerald prefers to teach yoga and arts to children, lead gentle yoga classes and guide Yogini Bliss — the studio’s prenatal and postnatal classes.

Fitzgerald started her Gentle Yoga class with two questions: “What are you bringing to your practice today? How are you feeling in this moment?” She sat on a mat, her flowing pants criss-crossed in front.

Serene instrumentals and ambient waves of sound underscored her hour of teaching. She continually reminded attendees to feel their energies and do what was most comfortable for their bodies. Fitzgerald said she strives to make people reach a flow state during her classes. 

“Not all of the teachers teach that way, but I want people to get to the point where that chitter chatter in your head is not there,” Fitzgerald said.  “You’re just flowing, you’re in the moment, you’re fully present and all of that stuff. The worries, they go away. Even if it’s just briefly.”

The positive effects from this type of movement and mindfulness aren’t just observed by the yogis themselves. The American Osteopathic Association reported that consistent yoga practice can create mental clarity, relieve chronic stress patterns and sharpen concentration.

Yvonne Vitosky attended Fitzgerald’s Gentle Yoga class and is one of the many familiar faces one might run into after a few classes at the studio. Vitosky has been a loyal visitor to Amara Yoga & Arts since 2010 and felt passionately about her experience growing with her yoga practice.

“It’s almost, for me, sacred,” Vitosky said. “It’s just like going to church, you just feel that intense inner connection.” 

Fitzgerald garners yoga enthusiasts from across the area, but the way she stumbled into the meditative business was anything but typical.

On New Year’s Eve of 2008, Fitzgerald sat with two friends in a hotel in Chicago. All of them had been pals in college, and they were discussing their life plans. Fitzgerald had moved back to the Midwest with her daughter after getting her Master’s of Fine Arts from the San Francisco Art Institute.

During Fitzgerald’s time in San Francisco, she owned a gallery that highlighted up-and-coming artists. Describing it as “underground,” she explained owning a gallery was a fast way of getting into the art scene. 

After losing the space in an earthquake, she ventured into personal projects and collaborations with others. For a while, she taught art locally and created a small business with a friend. Even with a job in Champaign-Urbana, she yearned for something else.

The women made lists on how to improve their lives together on that snowy night. Fitzgerald wanted to own another gallery, and her future co-founder Theresa Brandabur said she wanted to own a yoga studio. The third friend wanted to visit both of their future endeavors.

Within the hour, they had a name, a location and a web domain for the studio. The idea of Amara Yoga & Arts in Urbana had been brought to life. 

“We were two people who just wanted to take yoga classes,” Fitzgerald said. “We came to it from the opposite direction. We had no credentials. No expertise.”

Amara is the English nickname for amaranth. Amaranth — a flower, said to have grown on Mount Olympus in Greek mythology — means “unfading” or “immortal.” Fitzgerald also appreciated how the name featured three Aʼs, one for each woman during the studio’s conception. 

By the following December, Fitzgerald and Brandbur spearheaded the search for a space. They looked to the formerly desolate Lincoln Square Mall. 

On the same day the two planned to sign their lease for the studio they still occupy today, the National Bureau of Economic Research announced the official beginning of the 2008 recession. 

The NBER reported the United States had been in a recession since December of 2007. Financial analysts in the institution stated the deterioration of the labor market was a key reason to believe a recession took place.

Having heard the news, the pair began to have doubts about their newfound business venture. Lucky for them, Urbana’s Gallery District Incentive Program had been approved by the city council. The grant stated that if a business opened with an art gallery inside, the city would pay half its rent for a year.

With Lincoln Square Mall affording extra financial help with five-year loans and the gallery grant, Fitzgerald had the resources she needed for the final push. The two signed the papers not long after the incentive had launched.

“I mean, we still had to put money in it, but it was just like, when something’s meant to be, it all just happens so easily,” Fitzgerald said. “We were like, ‘This place is just doing it itself.’”

Before the cobwebs settled, the space used to be a restaurant. Now the building’s metal sinks aren’t for dirty dishes, but for paint-stained brushes. Its silver racks have instead been stuffed with towels, paper, markers, yarn and other art materials.

Beyond the eyes of the standard visitor, the back of the studio is filled with these creative supplies. These items contribute to Fitzgerald’s favorite part of her job: teaching a yoga and art summer camp for children.

For the first year of opening the studio, Fitzgerald worked at Cunningham Children’s Home. She taught art to the children and transferred that passion to Amara. In fact, a majority of the large collage paintings plastered outside and inside of the building were made by the children she taught. 

“Even though it’s a lot more intense working with kids, there’s joy working with kids,” Fitzgerald said. “It’s fun … They sew, they do all different kinds of things. I’m not a full-time art teacher anymore, but I do have eight weeks in the summer.”

The educational aspects of Amara’s programming don’t stop at age 12 — they are also a launching pad for prospective yoga teachers. 

Jesse Homann started practicing yoga 13 years ago with at-home DVDs. After moving to Champaign from Chicago, she began looking around for different community classes to try. Starting as a part-time studio assistant at Amara years into her practice, she became curious about the professional teacher training program.

This program is an all-encompassing 200-300 hour certification. The program aims to educate, provide mentorship and encourage professionals to continue with their development, according to Amara’s website. With the teachings lasting nine months, Homann described the process as a rebirth.

“Even doing 10 years of yoga, there’s just something in depth with going into teacher training that you would never experience before,” Homann said. “I’m hypermobile. I had no idea I was hypermobile until I did teacher training.”

Self-discovery is an important sentiment to students and teachers alike at the studio. Five years ago, Vitosky said she had an interest in living a plant-based lifestyle. So, she attended a workshop at Amara that centered around that theme and hasn’t looked back since.

According to Vitosky, the energy she received from those workshops gave her the boost she needed to make a life change. 

Fitzgerald centered reflection and intention during her yoga class. She invited attendees to set a focus for their practice, something they wanted to channel for the morning. Along with emotional and spiritual growth, Fitzgerald said she aimed to create a positive space that opens its arms to all.

“We wanted to open a yoga studio where people like us — just normal, kind of middle-aged women, not in great shape — could walk in the door and feel totally welcome,” Fitzgerald said. “We came in from that point of view. Not that we’re yoga experts, and we need to be the best yoga teacher in the whole entire world. We weren’t doing that.”

With dozens of glowing reviews online, the community warmly receives Amara. Fitzgerald said she doesn’t plan on taking the studio anywhere else.

As the next month of programming is planned ahead, Fitzgerald explained she runs the business day by day. Those interested in learning more about Amara’s classes, events and programs can find all the important information on their website and social media.

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