Hot yoga junkies across the country may have been bewildered when they showed up to class at their Moksha Yoga studio this month and the sign had been replaced with one that read “Modo Yoga.”
But the studios, it turns out, haven’t really changed at all. The Canadian brand, which has been steadily expanding internationally, says it decided to change its name in the US and abroad because it turns out Moksha is a more popular name than they realized, and they don’t want to be confused with other brands like this festival or this Las Vegas band.
“Nothing has changed about our studios—our practice, the people involved,” says Modo Yoga New York City co-owner Britton Darby. “Only the name has changed.”
From now on, all new studios that open in the U.S. or internationally will be Modo Yoga. In Canada, where Moksha has been established for longer, the studios will keep their original name.
And Modo yogis are finding meaning in the new name, Darby says. Moksha means freedom or liberation, which was especially significant when the brand was establishing itself as a more accessible, less rigid alternative to Bikram. “Modo means the way you choose to live in each moment,” she explains, which seems like a great mantra for a growing yoga movement. —Lisa Elaine Held
For more information, visit nyc.modoyoga.com
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