Movemore Spokane: An evolution of the Yoga Shala in collaboration with Maria Sevilla the aim of which was to open up ideas around yoga, to make them, along with other movement practices, more inclusive and accessible.

Let’s see… in 2002 when I moved to Spokane, there were three yoga studios: Radha House, Harmony Yoga, and FSG Yoga. I reached out to Elizabeth at FSG and asked her if she was open to adding Ashtanga 1/2 primary series classes to her schedule. Because I was a purist (or so I thought) at the time, I was itching to have a more dedicated yoga studio, so she and I parted ways and in July of 2003 I opened City Yoga in the Steamplant Building. I was 8 months pregnant with my first daughter, and at the time worked full time at Girl Scouts as a grant writer.

Over the years, with the help and support of a few key people, I slowly built the Ashtanga community in Spokane. I brought my teacher, the late Dave Oliver, to that space several times. Indeed many Spokane yogis grieved his early passing and hold his teaching dear to their hearts. I also brought David Garrigues to that space. In 2007, I moved the studio to the location on 24th on the South Hill and changed the name to the Spokane Yoga Shala. We continued to build a community of practice and connect our community to the larger global yoga movement. I frequently brought in outside postural yoga and meditation teachers, including Tim Miller, Manju Jois, Michael Stone, Timo Jimenez, Kino Macgregor, Christopher Conn, Gillian St. Claire, and Subhan Shenkar (and probably a few I am forgetting). I also brought Benjy and Heather Wertheimer of Shantala, Dave Stringer, Sean Johnson and the Wild Lotus Band, and several other smaller local world musicians to benefit a shared value of community because it takes community to disrupt the patterns we all seek to change.

Around 2013 or 2014, I moved the Shala to the Haystack building in the South Perry neighborhood. This space had two large studio spaces and I approached Maria Sevilla to collaborate with me on my idea about making yoga more accessible and inclusive. I had started to see issues with Ashtanga’s elitism, ablism, fatphobia, and misogyny (not just Ashtanga) and wanted to change that. But, I’ll tell you— it’s an uphill battle.

Maria and I rebranded our studios and launched Movemore, but ultimately, neither of us had the horsepower to move the dial. In 2016, we separated our two businesses, and I sold the “Yoga Shala” to Ara and John, who continue to flourish now in their new space under the new name Shala Living Yoga (and I teach there periodically). (Maria is still thriving with her pilates business, which now includes massage and functional medicine coaching.)

Below are some of the pictures from over the years. Many of them were taken by my sister-in-law, Maryellen Cooley. Others were taken by Eric Galey and Brian McDonnell, much of the graphic design work was Joanna Darlington.