About Harrisonburg Bikram Yoga: Opened in February of 2013, this business is one of a new trend of health focused expansions in Downtown Harrisonburg.
Kendall, give us some background on your company. What do you do and why do you do it?
Bikram Yoga Harrisonburg offers yoga classes in a traditional Hatha yoga sequence of 26 postures and 2 breathing exercises performed in a room heated to 105 degrees and 40% humidity. We opened the studio with the dream of bringing the yoga series and its many healing benefits to the Harrisonburg community and surrounding areas.
Do you have an ideal client? If so, what do they look like?
Our ideal client is human. 😉 Seriously, though, anyone can do Bikram yoga. As Bikram says, “It’s never too late, it’s never too bad, and you’re never too old or sick to start from scratch once again.” Bikram yoga gives you control over your own body and health. Anyone interested in doing that is an ideal client.
What is your favorite success story in the past few years?
Our grand opening weekend was packed! We had lots of new and experienced yogis and they all came out with smiling, happy faces. I consider that success!
What do you like to do for fun? Favorite restaurant? Favorite place to spend a Saturday afternoon?
When I’m not in yoga on Saturday afternoon, I love to spend my time watching movies, going for beautiful hikes, or eating good food at local restaurants like Local Chop, Clementine, or Little Grill (where I can get delicious vegan food).
What is on your (iPod, radio, phone) while you work?
I have a Pandora station I’ve created with Bob Marley and Frank Sinatra. It comes up with some really interesting song choices. This is probably my favorite thing to listen to while I work. When I’m driving, I love “This American Life” podcasts or “Ted” talks.
What is your favorite book?
Fahrenheit 451
What is your favorite app for your phone or iPod?
Pinterest. I love browsing around for recipes, new ideas, and yoga posture pictures!
Where is your favorite place to vacation?
the beaches and rain-forests of Costa Rica (my husband’s country)
What historical figure would you most like to have dinner with and why?
A toss-up between Alan Watts and Andy Warhol. Both extremely intelligent and I admire their work for different reasons. I would want to soak up the philosophy of Mr. Watts and absorb the curious creativity of Mr. Warhol.
Architects are a different breed. They find romance in restoration, poetry in a portico, and harmony in a historic district. A romantic dinner date is filled with observations about the exposed beams, glazing patterns, and a long list of how to redesign the space to make it flow better. A quick getaway is planned around the significant architectural treasures that need to be observed, critiqued and documented. Dreams are filled with a blank canvas, unlimited design budget, and exemption from the laws of physics. So when it comes to Valentine’s Day how can you show the architect in your life that you care and potentially divert his attention away from that wall section for a couple of hours?
The AIA Store suggests everything from a Mondrian Mug to Architect Stick Figures. Could this be the answer?
Or perhaps an architectural place mat from Spot Cool Stuff Design, It would bring focus to the table rather than the building – as conversation would focus on why he /she should have gotten the design commission to create it and how the proportions are all wrong.
Or perhaps a LEGO Architecture Creation to remind us that one day LEGO is going to call to ask to feature one of our buildings.
No, at the end of the day, Architects have simple needs. Your appreciation for our work, acknowledgement that not just anyone with plan software can actually design, and a signed proposal for that next big project. Hope you have a wonderful Valentine’s Day!
Ventilation refers to the exchange of indoor and outdoor air. Without proper ventilation you could be trapping in harmful pollutants, such as carbon monoxide and moisture that can harm your home and the occupants.
You have certainly heard the phrase from a carpenter – “you don’t want to build too tight.” This was a concept that many people knew and understood in the construction industry for years. We then realized our electric bills were going through the roof. The old way of building was to let a house ‘breath‘ or be ventilated through gaps, cracks, and joints in your thermal envelope (walls and roof). Now that we are building tight efficient homes that don’t ‘leak’ or ‘breath’ we need to bring in fresh air for the purpose of better indoor air quality and dehumidification.
I say it all the time, your home is the most complicated machine you own. One of the main reasons for this statement is your (HVAC) Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning Systems. If you have a forced air Heat Pump that is controlling the temperature in your home, you are like most in our area. This is the least expensive option for a system and most often used solution for heating and cooling. Notice I left out the V (ventilation). This is one place where the problems start. If you build a tightly sealed efficient home you need to have a HVAC system that is bringing in fresh air for air quality, dehumidification, and for health. Another place where the wheels fall off of a traditional ducted HVAC system is the supply registers in your rooms. If they are installed properly, you will not see the edges of the metal duct when you take off the register cover as you see in this picture:
If done properly, a duct boot has mastic on it at the sub-floor creating a tight air seal so you will see directly into the duct and will not have air space around the edges:
This proper duct sealing also shows up on the ducts themselves – which you can see here:
These simple steps done during construction could cut your energy use for Heating, Ventilation, and Cooling by 30% monthly. Now that really could add up quick!
Doing the first LEED for Homes certified project in the Southeastern United States in 2005 was a great honor and helped us build a solid reputation for delivering innovation at an affordable price. Over the years we have done multiple LEED projects and have shown time and again, innovative design done right can be done on a tight budget. Using LEED as a tool instead of a goal allows the designer and contractor to deliver the best value project for the homeowner.
Leed for Homes is a green home certification system for assuring homes are designed and built to be energy and resource-efficient and healthy for occupants. Compared to a conventional home, a green home uses less energy, water, and natural resources; creates less waste, is smartly located and built with as little impact on the land it sits on as possible; and is healthier for the people living inside.
It is exciting to announce that we have two more successful LEED SILVER projects finished with happy clients living healthier and paying lower utility bills. 501 / 503 was our first LEED for Homes duplex project for repeat clients Habitat for Humanity of Greater Charlottesville. This project has a long list of innovations that saved the client money, lowered the impact on the site/environment, and cut utility costs.
All Native Plants to reduce the need for irrigation
90% permeable lot to reduce stormwater runoff
The strategic location of trees to shade hardscape areas thus reducing the heat island effect
Effective landscape design that prevents erosion
Water efficient plumbing fixtures
30% more energy-efficient than the average home built today
Advanced Framing
95% of all construction waste diverted from landfill
Proper ventilation system integrated with the heating and cooling system
