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Wellness

January 29, 2026
Yvonne Yeh Gee reaches out to touch her rescue cat, Barney, in her huge craft studio on Dec. 19. The room is the site of many workshops hosted through Gee’s nonprofit wellness collective, Embrace Qi. (Taylor Balkom/The Columbian)

Force of Nature: Couple create artistic and healing collective in Washougal

The first thing I saw as I drove into Rising Phoenix Farm is an 8-foot-tall woman gazing serenely toward the horizon. She’s seated in a meditative pose with her legs crossed and open hands resting on her knees, her bronze skin impervious to rain or sun. Her name is Shakti and she watches over the farm’s 51/2 acres in the green hills near Washougal. The farm is home to Yvonne Yeh Gee’s nonprofit wellness collective Embrace Qi and the huge studio belonging to Gee’s partner and Shakti’s sculptor, David Van Zandt.

May 15, 2025
Officer Casey Handley of the Camas Police Department joins fellow participants in a “Mindful Agility” workshop as they meditate at Lacamas Lake Lodge on April 30. Members of the Camas Police Department trained with a mindfulness instructor during the two-day class to help improve mental and emotional health. (Amanda Cowan/The Columbian)

Refocusing with MindfulnessSubscriber Exclusive

The dashcam inside Camas police Officer Casey Handley’s patrol vehicle showed the Sept. 8 collision in real time. One minute, Handley was approaching a seemingly vacant intersection. The next minute, a vehicle coming from the opposite direction was turning into Handley’s path, giving the on-duty officer a split second to react.

December 23, 2021

Community garden coming to Camas’ historic downtown

Downtown Camas is one step closer to having a new community garden, thanks to a partnership between the city and local entrepreneur Jacquie Hill, owner of LiveWell Camas, a downtown Camas movement and wellness studio.

August 5, 2021
Pam Rollins stands in front of her new downtown Washougal business, Forest Moon Yoga, on Thursday, July 22, 2021. (Photos by Doug Flanagan/Post-Record)

Forest Moon Yoga opens in Washougal

The dull yellow interior walls of the Forest Moon Yoga studio in downtown Washougal are bereft of any decoration whatsoever. There’s no artwork, no photographs, no shelves, no signs 一 absolutely nothing. One would never be able to tell the space formerly housed a tattoo parlor.

September 3, 2020
Body Bliss Yoga owner Jacquie Michelle hopes Camas residents and business owners will contribute to her new community cookbook, Simple Food for Complicated Times. Proceeds from the cookbook will fund student and teacher yoga scholarships. (Post-Record file photo)

‘Simple Food for Complicated Times’

Jacquie Michelle, owner of Body Bliss Yoga Studio in downtown Camas, has always said her business is about more than just the physical practice of yoga — it’s about building community.