San Luis Obispo Yoga Center has been a hub for local yogis since the 1990s. But with multiple iterations over the years, the spot now called The Center is ushering in its 10th anniversary of being more than a yoga studio.
“I just have always appreciated and enjoyed sort of that energy and motivation that you get from being in a group of people,” The Center co-owner Steph Stackhouse said. “When we were living in Washington, I was going to a gym, and I was doing kickboxing classes, boot camp classes, some barre classes in some different barre studios. We actually went to a yoga festival years ago, and they were offering aerial yoga, and I’d never tried it before.”
Stackhouse runs The Center with her husband, Andrew Stackhouse. Both Cal Poly graduates, the pair lived in Kirkland, Washington, when they started practicing yoga. The Stackhouses moved back to California in 2014 with 200-hour yoga teacher training certificates in hand and bought the yoga studio on Nov. 1 that year.
“I was still working at Microsoft, even remotely at that time, but when we came to learn of this opportunity to buy the studio, we jumped at it,” Steph Stackhouse said. “Over these past 10 years, my gosh, we’ve gone through a lot of different changes.”
One of the earliest changes was rebranding the European named Yoga Centre to SLO Yoga Center. Post COVID-19, the studio’s name changed to The Center to represent that it offers different movement modalities like kickboxing, barre classes, Pilates classes, aerial yoga, and even sound baths.
Eventually, The Center also added a boutique shop adjacent to its three-story studio that stocks workout wear, mats, and other goods.
“I also teach yoga at the California Men’s Colony on Wednesdays, and I often get feedback from students like, ‘Whoa. That was not what I was expecting; I thought it was stretching and different things,'” Stackhouse said with a laugh. “The benefits just go far beyond whatever happens on the mat, and it kind of has this ability to be holistic in what it provides.”
The Center prides itself on giving back to the community. Each month, the studio engages in Seva yoga—Seva being the Sanskrit term for selfless action or service—and selects a local organization to support by offering a percentage of total monthly sales and all donations received through community donation-based classes. Some of the groups the Seva yoga program has supported include Habitat for Humanity SLO County, R.A.C.E. Matters, and The Land Conservancy of SLO County.
“We are definitely coming from a place of feeling very privileged and grateful to be able to do that, and as a way of honoring the practice, we are always trying to think about, what can we do to give back while also being a sustainable person,” Stackhouse said.
Come Nov. 1, The Center will join hands with another local team to celebrate its anniversary. Community members can ring in the milestone at Art After Dark and enjoy the work of Forever Stoked’s artists. It will take place on the first floor of the studio at 672 Higuera St. between 5 and 8 p.m. Sign up at thecenterslo.com/events.
First-time visitors to The Center can also take their initial class for free throughout November. Book a class at thecenterslo.com/schedule and select “First Class FREE” at checkout.
“It’s really about self-awareness and being present. That was the piece that drew me to yoga in the first place,” Stackhouse said. “Instead of worrying about what’s coming up or something that’s happened in the past, let me just get centered in the present, and all is well right here, right now.
“Then from that place, I can kind of move forward and respond in a, hopefully, more skillful way with these tools that yoga has provided.”
Fast fact
• The Morro Bay Shanty Project donated $450 to the Morro Bay Youth Sailing Foundation. The money the group of singers collects is used to offset their costs and to support local charities. Follow them on Facebook or send them an email at morrobayshantyproject@gmail.com. The youth sailing foundation uses donations like the Shanty Project’s for scholarships, coaching, regatta fees, and sailing equipment. Δ
Reach Staff Writer Bulbul Rajagopal at brajagopal@newtimesslo.com.
This article appears in Oct 31 – Nov 10, 2024.