After spending some time with the ladies of Moody Interiors, I popped up to The Salty Buddha for a visit which was lovely. Their space is so full of light and good energy, it was super easy to photograph. Check out the pictures below and be sure to check them out if you’re looking for a studio in Salem.

Tell me a little bit about yourself and your shop.
Well, the salty Buddha is co-owned and created by Jacqueline Moran and Toni Visone. The salty Buddha was lucky enough to find it’s home in a beautiful building in downtown Salem overlooking this eclectic and creative city. The studio is on the second floor which keeps us above all of the chaos and allows our students to let go of the external stimulation and just chill for a bit. We wanted to create an urban oasis, a getaway if you will for people to come and really focus on themselves while being part of a community based in health & wellness. We’ve created a space that is a living breathing yoga get away. Putting it in words just doesn’t do it justice, you’ll have to come and see for yourself. 😉

What was the inspiration for opening the shop?
The yogic way of life was the inspiration for our studio, we wanted to spread the love and good vibes. We hope to help our students and all those we come in contact with find a true connection to the world around them and themselves. We wanted to create a place where people were free to just be themselves without judgment. Yoga has been an integral life changing practice in both of our lives and we actually met and started this amazing journey through yoga. We met while practicing and instantly felt a soul connection. We immediately felt like family and knew that something special was about to happen, hence The Salty Buddha. Yoga brought us to a place of acceptance, awareness and inner peace that we felt we needed to share with others. We began sharing free yoga classes on the wharf in Salem and decided from there that opening our own studio was the way to go.

What made you choose the name?
The salty Buddha name is a combination of things. Salt is something the human body can’t live without. The word salty has been deemed a negative word as of late, so we thought it’d be cheeky to use it. It’s like if you’re getting too salty, you need to check yourself tone it down a bit or maybe you don’t have enough salt and you need to add some to the mix lol. We take the practice of yoga and the personal growth that it brings in all seriousness, but sometimes people can get too uptight and forget that life is meant to be fun as should our yoga practice. We wanted our name, as soon as you hear it, to make people smile. Salem of course being right by the ocean can get a bit salty as well. We are also both water signs. Buddha translates to enlightened one, something we think we all aspire to be. Add a little salt and you’ve got The Salty Buddha.

What made you chose Salem for the location of your shop?
Salem was our first choice when looking for a studio space. Salem has a very rich history and we both grew up coming here and loving the atmosphere. Salem has gotten even better since then with its eclectic, creative, and spiritually open group of humans living and working here. We wanted to be apart of that and share the practice we love so deeply in a space where our roots run deep.

What has the biggest challenge been for you as a business owner in the witch city? What advice would you give to someone considering opening a shop in Salem?
We believe all businesses especially small businesses have challenges so we choose to focus on the positive. If we had to speak on a challenge I think we would have to say that it would be not realizing just how big Halloween in Salem really is. We both grew up very close to Salem so we had an idea but we opened our business right around the Halloween season and had to navigate our way through. Always a lesson to be learned. The advice we would give would just be to talk to your neighbors and get to know all of the other business owners in the area. We’ve had such a warm welcome and have met so many amazing individuals that have been supportive of our business and we to theirs.

What’s one thing you’d want people to know about your business that may not be inherently obvious?
It’s pretty obvious that we are yoga studio, but we are also a community and a way of life. We offer an array of different workshops, community gatherings, artist space, private yoga and wellness sessions, Full moon circles, Group healings and so much more. We strive not only to be a place where people can come practice yoga and work on themselves but to also be a place of community, where we can expand our minds and grow together.

Is running a business in Salem in October as chaotic as it sounds?
Salem was wild around Halloween and the energy that surrounds it it was just as wild. We wouldn’t have it any other way. Looking back at question number five about the biggest challenge for us, and it definitely was Salem in October LOL So yes it was pretty chaotic but we learned to go with the flow and make the most of the season.

Do you have any future or upcoming events you’re excited about or want to share?
We are very excited to share all of our salty Buddha events in the upcoming year we have Yoga for True Beginners, Intro to your moon sign, Children’s Yoga Training , and of course Buddha Budz with another local business Witch Dr. Just to name a few. Check out our website for all the latest happenings!!!

Do you have a product or service that is your specialty? Is there something specific you are known for?
We hope that we are becoming well known for our yoga classes and the community atmosphere we encourage because that is definitely our specialty. TSB is also on our journey into retail and our intention is to make comfy, earth friendly clothing to be worn in and out of the studio with love.

Do you do anything specific or special during certain times of the year? October or non.
We have special classes and workshops going on all throughout the year that coincide with the different solstices & seasons, yogic tradition, and of course we get in touch with our Darkerside for Halloween. It’s all about the dualities of life, One cannot have the light without the dark. We really consider all of our classes and workshops special because of the people who attend them, the energy shared, and the magic that is our community is created.

The Salty Buddha is located at 201 Washington St. Suite 206 Salem, MA 01970. Their website can be found here and they can be reached at (978) 414-5097.