Note: The Lawrence Times runs opinion columns and letters to the Times written by community members with varying perspectives on local issues. These pieces do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Times staff.
Want to submit a letter or column to the Times? Great! Click here.
Sharyn Harley’s OmTree Shala yoga studio has been a fixture in Lawrence since 2012. She was excited to share the new digs and vision of OmTree at Sunflower Outdoor & Bike Shop, 804 Massachusetts St.
Harley’s newly created role at the shop is multi-layered. When asked what her job title is, she smiled with confidence: “Hospitality and Wellness Manager.” Harley is currently managing the bustling cafe and shop events and moving her yoga studio this week.
The wellness part of her role will partly be fulfilled by the yoga studio, which will help promote the new mission of Sunflower: “Getting people outdoors and looking inward.”
Harley said she and Sunflower owner Matt Gilhousen have been talking about this on and off for years.
“Everything aligned this fall to look at it again,” Harley said.
Along with Dan Hughes — partner and general manager of Sunflower — they created a team to expand the focus of the shop.
“We want Sunflower to be the third place for people — people have their home and work, and we’d like to be the third place where they meet up with community and get their social needs met,” Gilhousen said.
The yoga studio will operate like the pre-pandemic studio at the original location, at 1405 Massachusetts St. There will be yoga and Pilates classes along with opportunities to meet with trainers and other activities.
Additions to the studio include two showers with bathrooms, lockers (bring your own lock) and new props.
The yoga space is located on the second floor on the south side. It is an expansive space, with a tall ceiling and floor space that stretches about 30 feet with three monumental, original floor-to-ceiling windows facing Massachusetts Street.
New, wide plank oak flooring and adjustable lighting have been installed. There will be space for up to 35 people to practice.
The familiar team of teachers will migrate to OmTree Sunflower.
I asked Harley about those who will miss the cozy space at 1405 Massachusetts St.
“We deserved a little more space to be in community. A class would end, and the next class would be ushered in,” she said. “We will now have time before and after class to be with each other, perhaps enjoying healthy food and drink together.”
Harley reminded me that two-hour meter parking is available on New Hampshire Street between Eighth and Ninth streets. She also recommends downloading the city’s mobile parking app.
Downtown is the crown jewel of our community. It’s why many of us choose to live in Lawrence. I welcome the opportunity to practice yoga in a building that was rebuilt after Quantrill and his men burned the original building.
Also, 25 years ago, on this day in 1998, Sunflower celebrated moving back into this Mass Street location one year after a devastating fire. In November 2022, the store celebrated its 50th anniversary.
Thanks to business owners who invest in our downtown by renovating buildings we get to enjoy, as will future generations of Lawrencians.
OmTree at Sunflower Outdoor & Bike Shop will surely be a “third place” for me.
About the writer
Tom Harper is a Realtor at Stephens Real Estate helping people in Lawrence and Douglas County buy and sell real estate. He is the founder of Lawrence Modern, a group whose mission is to raise awareness of midcentury and modern architecture. You will find him posting frequently on Instagram under @lawrencemodern, sharing his daily observations of his favorite place on earth: Lawrence, Kansas. Read more of Tom’s writing for The Lawrence Times here.
If this local platform matters to you, please help us keep doing this work.
Don’t miss a beat … Click here to sign up for our email newsletters
Click here to learn more about our newsletters first
More Community Voices:
Letter to the Times: City should create oversight committee to guide pool renovation project, rebuild trust
”Our petition’s 1,764 signatures, our supporters’ 75 letters, and our research into the extensive flaws in the (pool renovation) community engagement process all indicate that the previously proposed plan did not reflect public opinion,” Holly Krebs writes in this letter to the Times.
Shawn Alexander: Say his name – Fred Harvey Smith (Column)
”Racial violence has been omnipresent in American history, and in far too many of the incidents, the perpetrators of the crime are acquitted or not even brought up on charges. When I think of such cases I am often haunted by the heinous murder of Fred Harvey Smith here in the land of John Brown in May 1936,” Shawn Alexander writes in this column.
Letter to the Times: Are veterans’ sacrifices for democracy worthless?
”My father (Navy), mother (Army), and many other family members served our country in World War II. … They gave of themselves, in countless ways, to stop the spread of authoritarianism, suppression of freedoms and tyranny of the many by the few,” Sandy Sanders writes in this letter to the Times.
