Eagan Company Harasses YogaSoul Center and Pushes It Out of Community Space in Eagan Professional Building

EAGAN, MN, March 07, 2014 (Press-News.org) YogaSoul Center in Eagan is being pushed out of its community space of over five years after landlords and owners of the Eagan Professional Building used strong-arm tactics and tried harassing the studio into entering a long-term, high-rent lease.

When YogaSoul didn't surrender to the tactics in late February, Eagan Professional Building owners Paul Becker, DDS, and Greg Preusse told the studio that it suddenly had just 60 days to vacate its space and find a new home. They also claimed to have signed a lease with a new tenant.

The news came as a big shock. YogaSoul owners had thought they had signed a lease through September 2014 with Preusse and Becker after exchanging verbal and written agreements and providing a formal lease addendum with agreed terms that the yoga studio signed. But the company representatives held on to the paperwork without signing it. YogaSoul and the Eagan Professional Building had had a five-year-long relationship, so they assumed that when they agreed by e-mail to the terms of the contract and then signed it, they were safe. But then the company representatives made a devious move. Without any notice or communication since they asked YogaSoul to sign the addendum, Preusse and Becker surreptitiously told the yoga studio that they hadn't actually signed the lease, and said that the studio needed to enter a seven-year contract at a higher rent rate - or else they would move forward with another tenant and YogaSoul would need to be out by the end of April.

"YogaSoul does not participate in strong-arm tactics," said Tarisa Parrish, a longtime owner of Minnesota-based, female-run small businesses. She feels that, based on past interactions, the landlord is acting in a harassing, sexist manner toward YogaSoul. Parrish is co-owner of the studio along with yoga instructor Susan Kulbitski. "We want to do business with a company that acts with integrity and respects its tenants."

The studio is now calling on its community for support, rallying for donations and help looking for a new space to host its yoga, Pilates and wellness services. It needs to raise at least $50,000 and other kinds of support, and is doing so at this fundraising website: http://www.youcaring.com/help-a-neighbor/rallying-support-for-an-unplanned-move-keep-yogasoul-open-/145018

YogaSoul had planned to locate a new space for its growing yoga operations in the fall. The yoga and Pilates center opened in November 2008, in the midst of a historic recession. Despite the world's economic woes, the studio over four years grew the staff size from six to 17 people, and most class sizes expanded to five times larger from when the center opened. In the fall of 2013, the center held a grand re-opening ceremony, unveiling a new mobile app and a fresh class schedule.

"YogaSoul has been dedicated to the health and well-being of our community of students, clients, teachers, healers, volunteers and friends for more than five years," Parrish said. "We don't want to see this come to an end."

YogaSoul's mission is to help clients win the battle against stress. It has an extensive class offering in several styles of yoga, including Kundalini, Hatha and Yin. It boasts a fully equipped Pilates studio and offers many kinds of classes, including Tai Chi. Its full roster of teachers and healers provide clients with a variety of healing services, including intuitive readings, energy work, Reiki, Thai yoga bodywork and more. YogaSoul also hosts special workshops and teacher trainings.

To see a full schedule, make an appointment with a healer or sign up for a class, visit YogaSoul's website, http://yogasoul-center.com/. New students get their first class free and one month of unlimited classes for $39 per month for the first month.