Virtual Namaste

Eugene Yoga takes its classes online

Since March 16, Eugene Yoga has been offering online classes, giving local yogis a reprieve from quarantine stress. The studio now offers live classes every day through Zoom, with 23 yoga classes per week featuring many levels and styles. 

There’s a pay-what-you-can payment model on the website, with options of $0, $4, $8 and $12. Or you can just tip the teacher of the class. 

 Eugene Yoga owner Valerie Morris says the studio’s yoga classes are helping people cope during these hard times. 

 “For a lot of people, it’s their primary method of dealing with stress and coping with the unknowns of this sequester,” Morris says. 

 Jennifer Jamieson, a teacher at the studio, says she’s gotten a lot of great feedback about her online classes, which she leads through Eugene Yoga and on her personal social media. 

 “The outpouring from students — the comments I’ve been getting in my DMs, on the Facebook videos and through Eugene Yoga — has brought me to tears so many times,” she says. “The support has been so heartwarming.” 

 Morris says most people are paying something for the classes, but her revenue has dropped by about two-thirds since quarantine started. Jamieson, a full time yoga teacher, says she couldn’t have paid her bills this month without tips from students. 

 Morris says they won’t turn anyone away who can’t pay, but she encourages people to contribute if they can. She plans to continue online classes even when quarantine ends.

 Other Eugene yoga studios offering virtual classes include Wild Light Yoga, Mudra Yoga, Balanced Hot Yoga and Hard Core Yoga.

Find online classes from local yoga studios at EugeneYoga,us, WildLightYogaCenter.com, EugeneMudra.com, HotYogaEugeneBalanced.com and YogaEugene.com.