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Re-Opening

Awakenings 😊

As we re-open our facilities after the coronavirus quarantine, we must implement the highest practices and standards to ensure the health and safety of our members, team, and community. Our purpose is building the health and fitness of our community and our response to the COVID-19 epidemic reflects that purpose. Several factors become apparent as we reopen our doors:

  • We will not be going back to a “business as usual” model.
  • We must be intentional and methodological in minimizing the risk and stopping the spread of the virus.
  • Fitness, health, and wellness is essential in the fight against this disease. It has been clear that there is an inordinate impact on vulnerable (unhealthy) populations.
  • The isolating effects of social distancing has shown us the value of the community and belonging members find at The Union.

Here is what Phase 1 of the reopening will look like:

Friday, May 22, Park Oaks reopens with 5 total classes. We have determined that our large yoga room can hold 20 people with adequate social distancing. Our gym space can hold 9 athletes for traditional metabolic conditioning classes and 18 athletes for bootcamp style classes. The number of classes on Friday and Saturday are intentionally limited so we can observe and review our operations and procedures and their effectiveness. We will be closed Sunday, May 24 to adjust as needed. There are a lot of unknowns we will need to address. An example being, what is our burn rate on cleaning supplies? Can we keep these in stock for 1, 2, and 3 studios? We will reopen Park Oaks on Memorial Day.

The Tentative Schedule for these first few days is below. Please note that this is a TEST WEEK and not necessarily reflective of our permanent schedule therefore bear with us. We will learn a lot this week and adjust the schedule and our practices moving forward. Obviously, the goal is to offer more classes at more locations as we are safely able.

Friday Classes

  • 9:00 am: U-60 Yoga
  • 11:00 am: Strength Training
  • 12:30 pm: Inferno Hot Pilates
  • 4 pm: Boot Camp – 45 minutes
  • 5:30 pm: U-60 Yoga

Saturday Classes

  • 7:00 am Power Yoga
  • 8:30 am: Boot Camp
  • 10:00 am: U-60 Yoga
  • 11:30 am: Strength Training
  • 1:00 pm: Inferno Hot Pilates
  • 3:00 pm: U-60 Yoga

Sunday: Closed

Schedule for Monday

  • 7 am: Mat Pilates
  • 9 am: U-60 Yoga
  • 11 am: Inferno Hot Pilates

9am: Murph @ the Olmos Basin Soccer Fields (651 Devine Road) – Memorial Day is one of the most important days in the San Antonio community as we honor Lieutenant Michael Murphy and all US Servicemen and Servicewomen who have sacrificed for our country. We will do Murph where we can socially distance appropriately but have all our athletes together. More details to come.

We will add these classes to the Mindbody Online and the website tomorrow (Tuesday) night. Please do not sign up for more than once class each day. Spots are limited, and we want as many students as possible to be able to take a class. We will release the schedule for the rest of next week after evaluation of our first few days.

Operational Changes and New Policies at the Studio

Let us start by saying that below are a bunch of do nots, cannots, no longers, etc. While it may seem like we are trying to be the biggest buzz kill of all time, we promise that we really aren’t! These are all for your and our safety, and we promise we will still have a GREAT time in class. Many of these new restrictions are required by our government, and some are just new logistical realities.

  • Alamo Heights Gym – We will not be reopening our Alamo Heights Gym location. To clarify, the Alamo Heights Yoga studio is a separate lease and WILL reopen. Our lease on the gym space expired in May and we chose not to renew. While the support from our community has been great, we had significant membership cancellations and holds, and given the economic conditions, we felt it was unwise to contractually commit to another lease and significant expense at this time. We know that many of our members prefer that location and we can only hope that some are willing to come see us just a few miles up the road at Park Oaks.
  • Open Gym at Park Oaks & Huebner Oaks - We will no longer be offering open gym indefinitely due to our increased sanitation requirements. We are not able to verify the sanitation of the gym and equipment with students coming and going throughout the day.
  • Locker Rooms – The changing area, showers and locker area of the locker rooms are open. You will be able to use the toilets as needed. Initially, we will limit it to 2 persons in the restrooms at a time for social distancing purposes.
  • Mats, towels, blocks, straps: We will not be renting or providing mats and towels, blocks, and straps at least for the short term and possibly the long-term. This is obviously to reduce the transmission of germs and viruses. You will need to bring your own clean/sanitized mat and towel and after class please clean them before you come back 😊. If you forget your mat and/or towel, we will have new ones for sale. The old provided mats and towels were a valued benefit to our annual members, but the Pandemic has made that offering unsafe.
  • Classes that require small implements and props (Inferno Plus, Yoga Sculpt, Yin Yoga) are temporarily on hold as we get a handle on this new environment with our simpler classes.
  • Water – We ask that you bring your own pre-filled water bottle as our old water filling stations will not be in service. If you forget your water, we will have water available for sale.
  • Phones – Leave your cell phone in your car. We will have specific stations for each student in our classes. At each station there will be a basket for your wallet/purse and keys. These baskets will be in a hot room if you are in the studio, so plan accordingly. And absolutely nothing kills a class vibe more than a phone ringing or buzzing in the middle of a class. So, please leave the phone outside.
  • Mask – you are required to wear a mask.
  • Hugs, high fives, and handshakes – We have zero interest in being the hug police, but we are required to have social distancing. We obviously love a hug as much as anyone, but realize if you are a hugger (I’m looking at you Stacey), the other person may be very happy to see you, but simultaneously not want to risk human contact. I mean who knows where you have been 😊!!! But seriously, people may feel bad and awkward about not wanting to be touched, but in these times, it is just a smart policy. So, to replace hugs and high fives, we will come up with a slew of new celebration dances and jigs to celebrate seeing you, your domination of a yoga pose or crushing of a new weight room PR!

Helpful Tips

  • Yogi’s wear flip flops. You will be able to wear these inside the yoga room and put them in your basket.
  • Arrive already dressed for class if possible as the locker rooms are closed (e.g. with an easily removable coverup)
  • Bring an extra towel for your car to sit on after class since you will not be able to shower.

How to Pre-Register for a class

There are two simple ways to register for a class online, via our Union Yoga + Strength App or via our website and the Mindbody Online software. If you have never done this before, you will need to create an account online. If you are an existing member but new to registering and managing your account online, once you login, you can “find and link” your existing studio account. Like anything techie, there could be some mishaps. Do not worry, we are here to help!

Cancellation Policy

As spaces will be limited at first, we will have a $10 cancellation fee for those who cancel reservations within 24 hours. If you are not sure if you can make it to class, then please do not register as you are keeping others from taking class.

Arriving at the studio

We will open the studio 20 minutes before class starts. You will notice there are a lot less chairs in the lobby than before! We are required to facilitate social distancing so the goal here is to get in, take an AMAZING class with your fellow Unicorns, and then go home.

As you enter, the team will take your temperature with a contactless forehead thermometer. If someone has a temperature of over 100.4 degrees, they will have to leave and cannot return until they have been fever free and without medical intervention for 3 days. Please know that this is NOT something we want to do but keeping everyone safe is an absolute must.

From the temperature station, you will proceed to the hand sanitizing station. With these new pristine hands, you will head to the room where your teacher/coach will direct you to your spot. We will have little baskets for your keys and wallet with you in the yoga room. Just in case you missed it above, no phones in the studio.

For Boot Camp classes, your Coach will guide you on when, how, and what regarding getting your equipment. Please do not go about doing this on your own.

Once class starts, commence total domination!

In all seriousness, you are likely detrained from the quarantine. Do not expect to pick up right where you left off! Ease back into it! Your fitness will return. The biggest obstacle to progress is not being able to practice because you tried to do too much too soon.

Once class is over, you will “deplane” with guidance from your instructor. This will prevent people from walking over others or any unnecessary and accidental contact. Please do not hang out in between classes as our staff will need to start cleaning immediately after class is over.

For our gym students, your coach will direct you on how and what to clean at your station before you leave.

Summary

  1. Reserve your spot online!
  2. Bring your own clean mat, towel, and water.
  3. Arrive 15 minutes before class, leave your phone in the car and enter one at a time with the guidance from our Awesome team.
  4. Refrain from hugging everyone in sight because we are all so excited to be back.
  5. Have an Amazing class and be kind to yourself while we all knock the rust off.
  6. Head home rejuvenated and refreshed!