Published January 2004

Yoga extending its reach
Studios for the mind/body exercise
are popping up across the county

By Kimberly Hilden
SCBJ Assistant Editor

When Kara Keating opened Movement Arts in Arlington in 1998, the yoga and dance instructor “had this urge to be a pioneer.”

Snohomish County Business Journal/ KIMBERLY HILDEN “I think this is the reason that yoga is gaining in popularity, it can accommodate so many people’s different needs,” said Karen Guzak, practicing yoga with fellow instructor Jillian Pigg (foreground). Guzak recently opened Yoga Circle Studio in Snohomish.

“There were some teachers that were teaching yoga in senior centers, but in terms of opening a yoga center, it was risky,” said Keating, who began practicing yoga with her father when she was 12.

But she had two students; plenty of space in a renovated, historical barn; and a desire to pass on her knowledge to others. Gradually, her center grew.

“Right now we have 11 or 12 yoga classes a week, in addition to (dance) classes,” said Keating.

“It’s definitely been our most popular program,” she added.

Keating’s local observations are reflected in national surveys, which have found participation in yoga and other mind/body exercise systems, such as tai chi, to have almost doubled in the past few years.

According to the “Superstudy of Sports Participation” published by American Sports Data Inc., 5.7 million Americans reported participating at least once in some form of yoga/tai chi in 1998. By 2002, that number had grown by more than 95 percent to 11.1 million.

In its 2003 “Trendwatch” survey, IDEA Health & Fitness Association found that yoga’s popularity had increased from the year before, with people wanting to gain balance, agility and posture training from their exercise.

The survey also listed “kinder, gentler formats like yoga and stretch” as highly desirable and popular with “Generation X” as well as middle-aged and prenatal women, older persons, new exercisers and baby boomers.

The reason behind yoga’s growing popularity?

“People need it. They’ve come to a point in their lives that they just need it: their bodies are falling apart and they are stressed out beyond belief,” Keating said.

And yoga addresses both the body and the mind, said Karen Guzak, who this fall opened Yoga Circle Studio in Snohomish to provide a “quiet, serene” environment for the practice of yoga, Pilates, meditation and tai chi.

“I have found that yoga not only stretches and strengthens the body, but the meditative aspects of it, the deep relaxation that we do at the end of class, is important for general health and sense of well being,” Guzak said.

Plus, there are a variety of styles of yoga to appeal to just about anyone, she noted, from hatha yoga, with its series of body poses, held for a few breaths, to build strength, flexibility and balance, to kundalini yoga, with its rhythmic motions that enhance spinal flexibility.

“Yoga is very restorative, and it can also be very challenging, too, if you need to be challenged physically,” Guzak said. “I think this is the reason that yoga is gaining in popularity, it can accommodate so many people’s different needs.”

Margaret Bender, co-owner of Laughing Crow Yoga Studio, agrees.

“Each class can be modified for a person’s needs. In yoga, you’re not into pain. It should be a wonderful, good experience,” said Bender, who started her path to yoga some six years ago in a health club and decided the best place for her to practice was in a studio setting. A year-and-a-half ago she opened Laughing Crow with business partner Jane Loura.

Located in downtown Everett, the studio has a client base made “from all walks of life,” Bender said, including Boeing employees, nearby residents and professionals working in the downtown core who take part in the midday “Yoga Lunch” series.

While most of the classes are predominantly women, there are a few men in each, Bender said. “They’ve found that it works really well for their golf game, or their tennis game,” she said.

The cost to attend yoga classes varies from studio to studio. At Movement Arts, for example, the drop-in rate is $14 per class. A weekly class pre-paid each month averages to $11.25. For $70, a client can attend an unlimited number of classes each month.

At Laughing Crow, there was a “December special” drop-in rate of $12, which usually runs $15, said Bender. A five-visit pass costs $60; a 10-visit pass, $110; and an unlimited one-month pass, $125.

At Yoga Circle, the drop-in rate is $12, soon to rise to $13, Guzak said. A six-visit pass is $60; a 10-visit pass is $90, and a one-month unlimited pass is $110.

And for those considering opening a yoga studio of their own, Guzak has one word: “welcome.”

“Because, I think, if more people were doing yoga, the world would be a better place,” she said with a smile.

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