Miss your yoga class? Camas studio has a solution

When the news came through a little over a week ago that Governor Jay Inslee planned to close gyms and fitness studios throughout Washington, Jacquie Michelle, owner of the Camas-based Body Bliss yoga studio, jumped into action. 

“I had already decided Friday to work from a limited schedule and reduce our class size,” Michelle says. “Then we got notice from the governor on Sunday night that we were no longer able to have classes.”
Instead of holding in-person yoga classes Monday morning, Michelle says she and her instructors “pulled it together and were able to livestream a class.” 

The yoga instructors used their phones to livestream on Instagram, but Michelle was soon setting up a virtual studio on Zoom, an online video conferencing platform that allows class members to chat virtually before the yoga instruction begins and lets the instructors see how their students are doing as they move through the physical postures. 

Elisa Wells has been joining the virtual Body Bliss yoga classes from her Camas home for the past week and says she’s grateful for the break from her remote work and the chance to move her body and relax her mind. 

At first, Wells says she was self-conscious of others watching her practice yoga in her living room, but she eventually got used to it. 

“I had my laptop on the floor, so it was a not-so-flattering angle, so I turned off the camera, but (Michelle) said she wanted to encourage people to keep the cameras on. And it’s not so bad. You can see other people’s arms lifting up, see their dogs in the background. And everyone is put on silent when the class starts, so if you need a break you can move off camera.” 

Wells is working remotely from the home she currently shares with her two college-aged children, who are back from school due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and her husband, who is also able to work from home. Being able to move her body after sitting half the day from her remote office is wonderful, she says, adding that the practice’s stress-relieving benefits are likely something that many people could use during this time of uncertainty and anxiety. 

“It’s been really nice,” Wells says of the virtual yoga classes. “I set my laptop up in my living room and log in. Before class starts, I chat with the others … and what I love about yoga is that I just feel so good afterward.” 

As for Michelle — who moved her new Washougal yoga practice to Camas a little less than one year ago, in May 2019 — she says she’s grateful for members who have been able to keep their memberships going and take advantage of the online classes. 

“I’ve been very transparent that running a yoga studio is a zero-margin game,” Michelle says. “We don’t have the running capital to make it through (the pandemic) any longer than April 1.”