Rishin Pandya and Pritesh Patel came up with the idea to open a yoga studio at the beginning of a global pandemic.
Perhaps not the best timing.
But they also recognized the need for inner peace when stress levels reached their peak, so childhood friends came forward.
After exploring several options, Patel and Pandya last month opened their first YogaSix location in Naperville to offer customers a different take on their traditional fitness routine. YogaSix features six different types of classes, from hot and vigorous to slow and conscious, each with a skill level.
“The psychological stress during the pandemic was underrepresented,” said Patel, the radiologist. “Yoga is a mind-body experience. Being able to help people both physically and mentally heal themselves was something I was really excited about, despite the pandemic.”
Pandya and Patel engaged in yoga during Sunday School classes when they were kids, and both continued to do so periodically. Patel reconnected with yoga during a trip to India, while Pandya used yoga to heal from leg, back and neck pain.
“I was fascinated by yoga and its ability to recover and also the idea of being a small business owner,” said Pandya, who works in the banking industry. “It was something I wanted to explore. We discussed it for several months but decided he was right.”
After six months of searching for a location and seeing gyms and fitness centers reopen, Pandya and Patel chose a location south of downtown Naperville at 8 W. Gartner Street.
YogaSix has several membership and package options as well as individual classes available. Partners believe that the combination of lights, smells, sounds, temperatures and the general environment allows all the senses to participate and helps differentiate YogaSix from other fitness routines.
Pandya said the main idea is to find the perfect experience for everyone.
“YogaSix is truly made for you,” said Pandya. “Because of the mind-substance experience that is inherent in yoga, you start to feel this melt away from the tension. But then you start to have the sensory experience, the aromatherapy, and everything else. Everything wakes up.”
