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Building Community and Healing in Kansas City

Inner Space KC Blends Yoga, Coworking, and Local Engagement to Create a Hub for Growth, Connection, and Change

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Devin: What is your superpower?

Alexis: I think that my superpower is my sense of scale. I think of it as kind of the capacity to fractal in and out.

In Kansas City, Missouri, Alexis Penney is redefining what a yoga studio can be. Inner Space KC, their innovative business, combines yoga, movement classes, coworking spaces, and a community hub under one roof. The historic building, with over a century of history, is now a bustling center for connection and growth.

“Our studio anchors a community of diverse tenants, including estheticians, nonprofits, and energy healers,” Alexis explained during our conversation. “It’s an experiment in coworking that brings together different communities and customer bases.”

Inner Space also plays a vital role in its neighborhood. Situated on Troost Avenue, a street with a fraught history as Kansas City’s historic redline boundary, the area is now a focal point for redevelopment. The studio aligns with local organizations fostering healing and support, from recovery housing to affordable childcare. “There’s an energy of healing here,” Alexis shared. “The site of so much conflict has become a place for growth and recovery.”

To expand Inner Space KC’s impact, Alexis launched a regulated investment crowdfunding campaign through Honeycomb Credit. This effort invites the community to invest in the studio’s growth while supporting the broader revitalization of Troost Avenue. Highlighting the alignment between their values and the Honeycomb platform, Alexis noted, “We didn’t want someone owning the business who didn’t share our mission. Honeycomb’s approach resonated with our vision of community and connection.”

For those inspired by Alexis’s work, visit s4g.biz/inner to explore the Honeycomb campaign and contribute to this grassroots movement. Inner Space KC stands as a beacon of innovation and unity, proving that community-driven ventures can lead the way in urban transformation.


tl;dr:

  1. Inner Space KC combines yoga, movement, and coworking spaces to foster community and connection.

  2. Alexis created a unique work-trade system, offering yoga classes in exchange for services.

  3. Troost Avenue’s history inspires Inner Space KC’s mission to support healing and urban revitalization.

  4. The Honeycomb Credit crowdfunding campaign empowers grassroots investment in Inner Space KC’s growth.

  5. Alexis’s balance of detail and big-picture thinking drives sustainable systems and community impact.


How to Develop a Sense of Scale As a Superpower

Alexis’s superpower, their sense of scale, allows them to move seamlessly between focusing on intricate details and seeing the big picture. They balance these perspectives to create systems that foster harmony and functionality, whether in their business, Inner Space KC, or in broader community contexts. This dual focus enables Alexis to build a thriving environment that supports individuals while addressing systemic challenges.

When Alexis took over Inner Space KC, they faced challenges with maintaining the cleanliness of the space. Initially, Alexis personally cleaned the studio to establish standards, discovering hidden details like cobweb-prone corners. Recognizing the need for a sustainable solution, they introduced a work-trade program, offering yoga classes in exchange for cleaning services. This innovative system not only met the studio’s needs but also attracted skilled participants who contributed unique talents, such as planting pollinator-friendly gardens. The result was a thriving, clean, and aesthetically enhanced space that reflected the collective efforts of the community.

Tips for Developing a Sense of Scale:

  • Reframe Problems: View challenges as opportunities for curiosity and growth rather than immediate fixes.

  • Keep a List: Note recurring issues or observations to understand patterns before jumping to solutions.

  • Categorize Needs: Group tasks into categories (e.g., facilities, HR) to identify systemic solutions.

  • Engage Stakeholders: Regularly assess who is impacted by and contributing to your environment, including community members.

  • Systemize Processes: Develop systems that empower others to contribute independently, reducing personal micromanagement.

By following Alexis Penney’s example and advice, you can make a sense of scale a skill. With practice and effort, you could make it a superpower that enables you to do more good in the world.

Remember, however, that research into success suggests that building on your own superpowers is more important than creating new ones or overcoming weaknesses. You do you!


Guest Profile

Alexis Penney (they/their):

Owner / Lead Care-Taker, Inner Space KC

About Inner Space KC: Inner Space is a yoga studio, healing arts center and collaborative working space.

Website: www.innerspacekc.com

Company Facebook Page: fb.com/innerspaceyogakc/

Instagram Handle: @innerspacekc

Other URL: invest.honeycombcredit.com/campaigns/inner-space-kc

Biographical Information: Alexis Penney (they/them) is an artist, teacher and spirit worker based in Kansas City, specializing in holistic embodiment, energy medicine and spirit-guided transformation. They are the owner and lead caretaker of Inner Space KC, a community movement and collaborative healing arts space, share soul-tending and transformational work through the vessel of Star Service Holistic and offer art and writing regularly through Heartland Mysteries on Substack.

Alexis endeavors to support contemporary people living in challenging times in reclaiming their power, purpose and wholeness, rooted in a regenerative relationship with earth, land, body and spirit. The vision they tend through all their work is a world where queer and trans people remember their belonging, artists remember the necessity of their gifts, and all people remember the earth-honoring community as their birthright.

Alexis draws on over a decade of teaching as well as a life-long apprenticeship to service and spirit along many diverse paths, including music, drag, performance art, Wicca, yoga, western mysticism and the Taoist martial arts. Born and raised in Kansas City, Alexis spent 13 years teaching and practicing in Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York City before moving back to the Midwest. Alexis is an active leader in the Cycle Community, a non-local spiritual community endeavoring to live in authentic animist relationship with the earth, and has been an active student of the Cycle of Transformation, the initiatory process led by Christina Lee Pratt, since 2018.

Personal Facebook Profile: fb.com/alexisblairpenney/

Instagram Handle: @heartlandmysteries


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Superpowers for Good
Superpowers for Good: Empowering Changemakers for Social Impact via Regulated Investment Crowdfunding from the SuperCrowd.
We host changemakers who are using regulated investment crowdfunding for social impact--impact crowdfunding--as impact investors or social entrepreneurs, catalyzing change with leadership skills we call superpowers.