History

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After two years of constructing a detailed business plan, Sadhana USA Corporation was formed in February 2011. That spring, our first step toward our goals of developing franchises throughout the country involved working many hours with one young boy on developing somatic skills that include core strengthening, speed development, balance and lateral movement, all chosen to help him succeed in athletics. As spring led to summer, the group began to grow, as did excitement that what seemed to make sense on paper was also coming alive in the bodies, minds and spirits of our small group in Indianapolis. A group that consisted of about 15 boys and girls, from age five to fourteen, was able to flourish as we worked together in a nearby high school stadium.

From the beginning, specific goals were set in place as to what type of facility would work for the Sadhana USA beta test site.  The use of church facilities was not considered, as the Sadhana USA brand, while supporting spiritual inclinations, should not be linked to any particular religious faith. In addition to utilizing outdoor facilities, we were fortunate enough to secure a reduced-rate sublease with a well-known gymnastics facility, which we still use today for our programs. We then started the After School Program, routinely adding members while confirming many of the variables speculated in the organizational plan. Like all of our programs, each After School session is focused on nurturing the body, mind and spirit.  Families from the summer training sessions were combined with additional families invited to join the beta test.

While the After School Program was gaining momentum, the first Parent’s Night Out (PNO) was offered in December 2011, a three-hour children’s work-out held bi-monthly on Saturday nights. Designed to nurture the children while also providing free time for busy parents, our first event drew 15 members, two weeks later we had 28 members, and in early 2012 there were 45 members in attendance. This growth in numbers was accomplished without formal advertising or outside financial support, relying instead on word-of-mouth recommendations from one parent and child to another. 

While continuing to offer our After School and PNO programs, we began preparing for the summer by testing out our planned Day Camp Program during spring break and other days our members were out of school.  This helped us prepare for summer 2012 activities.  Our Day Camps are generally seven to eight hours in length and are designed to incorporate at least three of our four areas of curriculum.  The length of our Day Camps makes them perfect opportunities for volunteer community service, while accommodating working parents. Our members serve in a variety of organizations from shelters to adult day care facilities like Joy’s House.  In 2012, Sadhana USA members were recognized by Joy’s House for providing more volunteer hours than any other organization, and in 2013 we served even more!

Our summer Day Camp schedule was organized so that members who only wanted to participate in the Somatic Skills workouts could do so without having to commit to an entire day.  This allowed families to select from our programming in a “a la cart” style, matching their daily availability and weekly budget with our offerings.  The summer of 2013 has just concluded with GREAT success!  Our daily Somatic Skills attendance was up 50% from 2012, our daily Day Camp attendance was up 30% while moving from a 3 day a week to a 4 day a week schedule.  This translates into nearly 1000 hours of service learning with 4 different organizations and over 1000 hours of fitness training in just over 6 months of 2013!   We are proud of our After School program, Parent’s Night Out, Summer and Holiday Day Camps, and look forward to making additional programs available with the opening of our first facility. We now have proof that our vision can be made a reality, as seen in testimonials from participants and teachers. 

In February 2013, Sadhana USA was granted 501 (c) 3 tax-exempt status by the federal government as a public charity.  This facilitated our ability to lease a permanent facility for the first time in Dec of 2015.  The large facility (30K square feet) we are calling Sadhana Studios, is on the north side of Indianapolis (86th and Ditch Rd).  The permanent home of Sadhana USA, Sadhana Studios (www.SadhanaStudios.org) will also house other organizations interested in enriching the lives of our youth and community. will continue to allow the beta site location to expand its offerings to the community.