I hated yoga until I found Yess Yoga, a studio in the Eat Street part of Minneapolis’s Whittier neighborhood. At my first class, the person on the mat next to me told me that this was a great place, “a real community.” Maybe that helped me keep an open mind. “Well, I like the plants,” I replied, admiring the lush, well-cared for plants that bordered the room we were in.
Many teachers at Yess have a master's in public health, are bodyworkers, or have decades worth of experience in community organizing. Lucia Yess, the studio’s founder, initially thought she would be a social worker or therapist, but after attending a yoga teacher training in South Korea, where she was living at the time, a new vision emerged.
She cherished the authentic connections people had in the South Korean yoga studio where she practiced. “People hugged with greetings and departures, they ate meals together, they shared stories, books, and laughter as well as tears,” she writes of the experience on Yess Yoga’s blog. “This is what I can bring to the world,” she thought. The intention was for the studio to be a third space for all, focusing on inclusivity and authenticity.
A peaceful studio room surrounded by plants at Yess. (Courtesy of Yess Yoga)
When Metro Surge was at its peak in Minneapolis, Yess saw her initial mission realized as the yoga studio community responded by collecting supplies for a neighboring clinic, raising thousands of dollars to supply the health providers with blood pressure cuffs, phones, diapers/wipes, contact solution, menstrual supplies, and more. “We wanted to ensure our neighbors received support and stayed healthy during this trying time. Additionally, we added a drop-in sliding scale option which made Yess Yoga classes more accessible.”
A Class to Your Liking
What really wowed me about Yess were its range of class offerings - all based on teachers’ personal interests. These include qigong, yin (highly recommend!), restorative, and curvy, where “people of all shapes, sizes and abilities” can practice in a supportive and body positive environment. Later in August there’s even yoga accompanied by live cello. I realized I didn’t hate all yoga, just certain well-known modes.
Special workshops include group singing, family yoga, sound baths, acupuncture, and more. New students who want to check the space out can try unlimited yoga for a week for $25. There’s also an ongoing free monthly yin class offered on Thursday nights.
Far from my past experiences of yoga teachers that seemed to exalt rigidity and perfectionism, Lucia Yess is a teacher who can laugh at herself. “We foster light-hearted and authentic connections between self, each other, and the universe at large,” she says. (And they do.)
