Meet Kunja of Studio Om

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kunja.

Hi Kunja, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
My husband and I had been practicing and teaching meditation and Bhakti yoga for around a decade before we met. After we married and I moved to Los Angeles (I’m from New Zealand) I joined him in directing the Music Meditation Club at University of Southern California. We also started a once a week vegan lunch program on campus called Conscious Eats, as I’ve been a plant-based chef for years and currently studying plant-based nutrition because I want to help people live the benefits of a whole-foods, plant-based diet. Connecting with the student population as wellness teachers meant students would often reveal to us their personal struggles with mental health, stress, relationships and lifestyle regulation like eating and sleeping. This really sparked our desire to open a more permanent wellness space where people could come and relax, take yoga classes, sound baths, mantra meditation and conscious workshops and learn about a more holistic lifestyle in like-minded association. We also wanted the element of plant-based food to be a part of the space because the quality of what you eat also plays a big role in your levels of happiness and health, so every Sunday we host a Soulfeast program which involves mantra music meditation (chanting ancient Sanskrit mantras with music), a wisdom talk by a guest speaker often discussing spiritual wisdom topics and delicious plant-based dinner and dessert to end the night. It’s like a conscious party night!

How we got the space – in April 2024 both of our visa statuses became stable and that meant we could plant our feet more here in the USA. One night, in the middle of the night, I woke up and just had this gut-feeling that now is a good time to start actively searching for a space to open a wellness studio and that we shouldn’t wait. I woke up my husband and told him. He agreed, but was surprised that I was telling him this in the middle of the night! Anyway I started looking at commercial spaces online and one of the first places I saw was the space which is now Studio Om. It was all very miraculous how it came together. We went to view the space and the agent happened to be an old acquaintance of Vraja’s (my husband) from Mantra House in Culver City. So naturally, as we shared our idea for how we wanted to utilise the space, the agent understood exactly what we wanted to do and was very onboard. In May 2024 we signed the lease and now Studio Om has been open for just over a year.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
We are very fortunate to have many friends and supporters who have voluntarily offered us their time to lend a helping hand in the opening and running of Studio Om, whether that’s been help in teaching a yoga class or sound bath, hosting workshops and sharing knowledge, putting up signage, sweeping or mopping the floors, giving business advice, moving furniture, building our website, social media and so much more.

One big obstacle was in June 2024, only two weeks after we opened our doors, I had to fly to New Zealand for 3.5 months for personal reasons. This was a big challenge for us because we were not only recently married and it was unexpected but also meant Vraja would have to run the studio on the ground on his own. Somehow we managed to make it work, and I helped from afar with graphic design, marketing and it gave me a good chance to finish designing our website. In zoom meetings we created workflow systems for forward planning our workshops and marketing which we still use now to help us keep on top of everything.

We’ve been impressed with Studio Om, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Studio Om is a conscious events and wellness lounge. We offer a variety of conscious events every week like yoga classes, sound baths, mantra meditation (kirtan), workshops (examples of our workshop hosts include aromatherapy teachers, relationship coaches, life coaches, nutrition experts, traveling monks, meditation and sound healers, breath work teachers, art therapy teachers, spiritual counsellors, writers and journalling coaches and more) and plant-based food.

What people say about Studio Om is that it’s a very warm and welcoming space where they feel relaxed, they can meet other conscious individuals or like-minded individuals, they can talk about deeper topics in a non-judgemental space, they learn a lot from the workshops and they love the food! People feel that they have found their community when they come to Studio Om, and that’s exactly what we wanted. We never wanted it to feel like a corporate style yoga studio, gym or wellness space where you walk in, take your class and walk out. We value personal connection and relationships with all our members, we want to get to know you, we want to build connections and create community. We aren’t doing this as a business or a way to make money, this is our way of offering back to the community by sharing practices of wellness and Bhakti Yoga. It’s a personal investment of money and time, but we feel we get the greatest reward from giving in this way.

Another element which sets us apart is our plant-used food! We just started offering organic, vegan, gluten free and refined sugar-free desserts in the Lotus Lounge which is one of the rooms in the studio. We have a new dessert every week, and they are not only delicious but very healthy too. The Lotus Lounge is where people hang out before or after yoga, share food and drinks, chat, connect. Eventually we plan to offer even more food and beverages in the Lotus Lounge as we expand, such as house-made smoothies and decaf coffee.

Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
The most important lesson we have learned along the way is patience and trust. When we first opened our doors, many of our yoga classes and workshops were unattended for the first few months. It took a lot of patience and trust in the beginning that things would expand. Now seeing how the studio has grown in such a short time and thinking of all the special people who are becoming regulars and part of the family, it’s really amazing to both of us.

Pricing:

• Monthly Unlimited Pass: regular $69
• Monthly Unlimited Pass: student $49
• membership prices are very nominal
• student prices are available

Contact Info:

• Website: https://studioomla.org
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/studioomla/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61562231971630