Summer Rodman, owner of Center Street Retreat Center and co-owner of Spiral Circle Bookstore, discusses her family's legacy with Amazon Hose, a rubber company started in 1919, and its transition to a woman-owned business. She highlights her spiritual journey, including the purchase of Center Street Retreat and its transformation into a space for collective growth and spiritual exploration. The retreat offers various events, including meditation, ecstatic dance, and sound healing. This conversation with host Julie Wilder emphasizes the importance of community, personal development, and the principles of Burning Man, such as radical inclusion and self-expression.
About Summer Rodman
With a knack for reimagining legacy enterprises through a spiritual lens, Summer Rodman has always been drawn to projects that weave together the rich tapestry of diverse spiritual traditions. Her collaboration with Julie Wilder to rejuvenate Spiral Circle Bookstore, a cornerstone for Orlando’s spiritual seekers since its inception by Beverly Ford in 1975, stands testament to her vision. This venture was a precursor to her most ambitious project yet: Center Street — A Place for the Heart.
Transforming the erstwhile Baba Sri Chand Ashram into Center Street, Summer has ushered in a new era for this sacred ground. Known for decades as the heart of Orlando’s Kundalini Yoga community, the property has been lovingly restored and now offers a 15-bed retreat center. This space is dedicated to fostering growth, healing, and spiritual exploration through workshops and retreats centered around wellness, consciousness, and spirituality.
Summer has been actively involved in various Orlando-centric communities over the years. In her 20s, these included Ann Kennedy’s Jung Center in Winter Park, where she was introduced to the concepts of Carl Jung and Dreamwork, and The Kundalini Yoga School, which taught her foundational skills in mindfulness, mantra, and health. Her various roles with The Kerouac Project allowed her to engage with visiting writers and Orlando’s literary community. She has also been a dedicated member of groups such as Essay Club, the Post-Modern Old-Sport Badminton Club, the Mall Rats, the Floral Underground, and the Buttermilk Gang, among others. These experiences have fueled her passion for creating communities that bring people together for diverse and enriching purposes, whether ephemeral, short-lived, ill-advised, or long-lasting, impactful, and life-changing.
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