When Noah and Jenny Providence opened the doors to the Providence Institute (PI) nearly 10 years ago, it was the manifestation of a dream fully coming to life. Parts massage school, body therapy center and yoga studio, the Providence vision was to provide a multi-faceted wellness center for clients while also offering career training followed by opportunities to practice. It was an ambitious undertaking to say the least, and for several years the Institute successfully hit on all cylinders.
To the many yoga instructors and body therapists (Swedish massage, shiatsu, cranial sacro) who received a short e-mail the morning of November 4, the end of Providence may have seemed abrupt. But for anyone paying close attention, the writing had long been on the wall, and like so many failed businesses, is directly linked to the flagging economy. The biggest hit came a little over a year ago when the banks stopped lending to vocational training programs. This essentially put an end to the massage school program and with that, the cash flow that helped subsidize other elements of the Institute.
As this article goes to press, the PI website (www.ProvidenceInstitute.com) states the yoga studio plans to open under a new name and ownership and that coming soon there will be posted info on how to connect with individual body therapists.
