Sarah Spiegel - Samudra Studio
- Brick + Tides
- Jun 17
- 8 min read
The Ocean She Built
Dark clouds drifted across the sky above Biddeford Pool as Sarah Spiegel stepped into the grass and looked toward the horizon. For 45 minutes, the sun had remained hidden behind a thick layer of blue-gray clouds, leaving only hints of what might happen before nightfall. Then, just before disappearing below the horizon, it found a narrow opening beneath the clouds and poured golden light across the water. The grass glowed. Lobster boats became silhouettes. The entire landscape seemed to pause for a moment.
The timing felt appropriate.
May 20th marked the tenth anniversary of Samudra Studio, the yoga community Sarah founded in 2016.
What began as a tiny studio in downtown Saco has grown into a thriving home at 50 Adams Street in Biddeford, serving thousands of students and supporting a team of teachers, volunteers, and practitioners who now consider the studio part of their lives. Yet after spending an evening with Sarah, it becomes clear that she does not measure success in memberships, square footage, or business milestones. She measures it in people.
"It feels really special," she said. "It's part of my heart."
That answer appeared again and again throughout the conversation. Every thread that led to Samudra eventually pointed back to community, connection, and creating a place where people could simply be themselves. The yoga studio may be the visible result, but the deeper story is about belonging.
Following a Feeling
Sarah grew up in Sharon, Massachusetts, a town half way between Providence and Boston.
After graduating from high school in 2003, she attended Trinity College in Connecticut, where she studied theater and dance. Looking back now, that education feels surprisingly relevant.
While she never imagined herself becoming a yoga studio owner, many of the skills that make her an effective teacher today—comfort in front of a room, awareness of movement, an understanding of human connection—have roots in those early experiences.
Life after college did not follow a straight line. She spent time abroad, moved to New York City for graduate school, watched that program disappear when funding was cut, and eventually found herself working for Lululemon. What seemed like a retail job became the first chapter of a much larger story.
Part of Lululemon's culture encouraged employees to take yoga classes. The company even reimbursed them for attending. Sarah began practicing regularly and eventually met a teacher who encouraged her to pursue yoga instruction herself. At first, she dismissed the idea entirely.
After graduating from high school in 2003, she attended Trinity College in Connecticut, where she studied theater and dance. Looking back now, that education feels surprisingly relevant. While she never imagined herself becoming a yoga studio owner, many of the skills that make her an effective teacher today—comfort in front of a room, awareness of movement, an understanding of human connection—have roots in those early experiences.
Life after college did not follow a straight line. She spent time abroad, moved to New York City for graduate school, watched that program disappear when funding was cut, and eventually found herself working for Lululemon. What seemed like a retail job became the first chapter of a much larger story.
Part of Lululemon's culture encouraged employees to take yoga classes. The company even reimbursed them for attending. Sarah began practicing regularly and eventually met a teacher who encouraged her to pursue yoga instruction herself. At first, she dismissed the idea entirely.
"I was like, 'No way. I'm not flexible. I'm not good enough at yoga to teach it.'"
Then she attended teacher training and discovered something unexpected: the physical practice was important, but it was the philosophy behind yoga that truly captured her attention. The mindfulness, self-reflection, and deeper teachings resonated in a way she had not anticipated.
"I fell completely in love."
Long before she owned a studio, Sarah had another obstacle to overcome.
She hated public speaking.
Today, she comfortably teaches classes, leads training, and speaks to rooms full of people, but that confidence was hard-earned. During her first yoga class as a teacher, held outdoors on Portland's Eastern Promenade, she was convinced she was about to embarrass herself.
"I thought I was going to throw up," she said with a laugh.
Only a few students showed up, but that did not make the experience any less intimidating. Standing in front of those first participants, Sarah remembers thinking, I can't do this.
Of course, she did.
That first class became another lesson in trusting herself. It would not be the last time she felt fear before taking a leap, and it certainly would not be the last time she moved forward anyway.
Around the same time, Lululemon encouraged employees to write down their goals every year. Sarah found herself returning to the same ideas over and over again. She wanted to teach yoga. She wanted to open a studio. At first those dreams lived only on paper, but they became harder to ignore with each passing year.
In 2012, an opportunity brought her to Maine. Lululemon needed a manager for its Portland store, and Sarah agreed to relocate for what she assumed would be a temporary assignment. "I thought I was coming for six months," she said. "Then I thought, 'I'm never leaving this beautiful place.'"
Building a Community
After arriving in Portland, Sarah spent several years working for Allagash Brewing Company. She first worked in the tasting room before moving into the marketing department, where she learned valuable lessons about branding, storytelling, and building meaningful customer experiences. From the outside, it appeared to be an ideal job. She worked alongside talented, passionate people who loved their craft, attended events, and helped represent one of Maine's most respected companies.
Yet every day she found herself thinking about yoga.
"It was a dream job," she said. "But it wasn't it."
One lesson from Allagash stayed with her. The company understood that people were not simply buying beer. They were seeking connection, experience, and community. Sarah saw similarities between that philosophy and what she wanted to create through yoga. Neither was really about the product alone.
Both were about bringing people together.
In 2016, she found a small space on Main Street in Saco. The studio was tiny, roughly 800 square feet, and the lease arrangement was little more than a handshake agreement. But the moment she walked through the door, she knew it was the home of Samudra.
The early days were humble. Some classes attracted only one student. Sometimes nobody showed up at all. Sarah remembers placing a handwritten sign in the window announcing that yoga was coming soon and wondering whether anyone would actually walk through the door. Starting a business often feels glamorous when viewed from the outside, but those first months involved uncertainty, risk, and plenty of faith.
What happened next surprised even her.
Community formed naturally. Students got to know one another. Conversations happened before class and after class. There was no room to hide in that small one room space, and that turned out to be a good thing. Friendships developed quickly, and students began bringing friends and family members with them. Everyone was having fun together, sharing in the joy of practice.
"It almost felt underground," Sarah said. “Something special was happening; it felt like we were all a part of something. And we were.”
Word spread. Classes filled. The tiny studio became a gathering place.
Looking back, Sarah believes much of the studio's success came from the fact that it never felt like a business first. It felt like a community that happened to practice yoga together.
Finding a Home in Biddeford
As attendance continued to grow, Sarah began realizing that the Saco location would not be large enough forever. Around the same time, she found herself looking toward Biddeford. The city was changing rapidly. New businesses were opening. Creative energy seemed to be building downtown. More than once, she found herself thinking that someone should open a larger yoga studio there.
Eventually she realized that someone could be her.
When she first walked into the Adams Street building that now houses Samudra Studio, she experienced the same certainty she had felt in Saco years earlier. The space was larger, brighter, and full of possibility.
"It was a yes," she said.
The Biddeford location opened on January 1, 2020. A few months later, the pandemic arrived and turned life upside down for businesses everywhere. What initially felt like a disastrously timed move soon revealed an unexpected advantage. The larger studio gave students room to spread out and continue practicing safely when smaller spaces struggled to adapt.
Eventually the Saco location closed, and Samudra's future became firmly rooted in Biddeford. Today the studio occupies roughly 3,000 square feet and includes yoga space, meditation space, and room for future growth. Yet Sarah rarely talks about the building itself. Instead, she talks about the people inside it.
She lights up when discussing students who became teachers and the volunteers who help check people in at the front desk and welcome people in. She remembers students who have remained part of the community since the earliest days and visitors who return every summer while vacationing in Maine. The stories that matter most to her are almost always about people.
"I love that a lot of people don't know I'm the owner," she said. "The studio has become theirs."
The Ocean - Samudra Studio
The name Samudra means "ocean" in Sanskrit, the ancient language associated with many of yoga's foundational texts, which Sarah has spent the past few years studying to read and write.
The name came from Sarah's husband, Chris, who helped brainstorm possibilities when the studio was first taking shape. Over the years, the name has only become more fitting and more meaningful.
Today, Samudra includes about eighteen teachers along with a volunteer team that helps support daily operations. Several instructors began as students and completed teacher-training programs that Sarah has led at Samudra. Watching those transformations unfold has become one of the most rewarding parts of her work.
"I've had amazing teachers who said, 'Yes, you can do it. Don't worry about being scared. Just do it,'" she said. "It's nice to be able to pass that on."
Today, Sarah occasionally finds herself imagining what the next ten years might look like. A second location remains a possibility, and she has quietly explored opportunities in southern Maine. But expansion for expansion's sake does not seem to interest her. What excites her most is finding new ways to share the teachings that first drew her to yoga years ago.
In recent years, Samudra has begun hosting more educational programs alongside its regular classes. While yoga remains the entry point for many students, Sarah enjoys creating opportunities for people to explore meditation, philosophy, compassion, and the traditions that inspired the practice in the first place and lead to happier living.
"Yoga asana will always be offered," she said. "For many people, it's the doorway, and it's a beautiful one. It's also a privilege to share the deeper teachings that have been passed from teacher to teacher for generations."
Ask Sarah what yoga offers people, and she never begins with flexibility. Instead, she talks about mindfulness, compassion, patience, and learning how to navigate life's inevitable challenges. Many students arrive seeking physical benefits, but they often discover something deeper.
"They start practicing and they're feeling something good and powerful and transformative," she said. "Even if they can't name it.”
That philosophy extends beyond the yoga room. Sarah speaks often about community and the importance of finding people who help make life richer. She sees it in the friendships that form at the studio, in students who support one another through difficult times, and in the simple act of gathering together with intention.
Near the end of the conversation, she returned to a theme that had surfaced throughout the evening.
"Find your people."
Ten years after opening a tiny studio in downtown Saco, Sarah Spiegel still teaches yoga. She still believes in patience. She still believes good things take time. Most importantly, she still believes people need places where they can belong.
Perhaps the clearest measure of Samudra's success is that many students no longer think of it as Sarah's studio. They think of it as theirs. After ten years, that may be exactly what she hoped to build.
Sarah Spiegel set out to teach yoga.
What she built instead was a community.
Many thanks to Sarah for her time and meeting up at Biddeford Pool at sunset on Monday, June 15, 2026.
For more information about Sarah and Samudra Studio, visit online. Or, follow them on Instagram.
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