Need yoga on a budget? You’re in the right city.
Portland is fortunate to have yoga studios across a range of areas and styles that share a desire to make yoga accessible to all. Most studios offer discount introductory packages, great for locals or longer-term visitors. Finding budget classes when you’re in town for a few days can be more of a challenge. These five fine, frugal studios offer routine discount or donation-only classes.
Yoga On Yamhill
Photo Courtesy of Yoga on Yamhill.
Yoga on Yamhill doesn’t even have a cash register on the property. You just go, grab a free mat, and leave a donation after class. Founder Paul Terrell was inspired by a donation-only studio in Santa Monica that made it possible for him to practice. Now he pays it forward by providing a space that is totally focused on yoga. It offers classes in a variety of styles, with each instructor bringing what they were taught by their own mentors. If you’re not a seasoned yogi, don’t worry. “We foster a non-competitive, ‘stay in your own practice’ approach,” says Terrell.
Frugal option: Any class
Santosha Yoga
Santosha Yoga’s Global Mala, held each September. (Photo Courtesy of Santosha Yoga)
Co-owners dina Lang and Katy Nadal (no relationship to Rafa, I did ask) aim to make yoga as inclusive and available as possible. “We welcome everyone,” Nadal says. “Come in sweatpants. It doesn’t matter what shape you’re in, or if you can touch your toes. We want you to find happiness where you are today.” Classes include age-group specific, restorative, fit flow, and power Vinyasa. Your first class is always free, and you can choose from any they offer. Seniors get unlimited classes for $15 per week. Santosha also takes part in Global Mala, an annual international event where people gather and do 108 Sun Salutations each September. It’s free and you can do as many or as few salutations as you like.
Frugal option: $8 Happy Hour Vinyasa every Friday
The Movement Center
Photo courtesy of The Movement Center.
Yoga doesn’t get more Portland than at The Movement Center, an oasis that includes a shrine, Zen garden, and organic vegetable garden. If you can tear yourself away from the grounds, you’ll find a wide variety of classes inside for all ages, sizes, and abilities. “We work to honor the natural intelligence of the practice, the body, and the spirit of each individual,” says Ruth Knight, the Center’s director of teacher training. “No matter where you come from, you will find something here for you.” Community Yoga classes ensure that budget-friendly options are available to all visitors. The studio currently runs two per week and plans to add more.
Frugal option: $5 Community Yoga
Yoga Refuge
Yoga Refuge acknowledges the importance of yoga-on-the-journey by offering a traveler’s special. If you’re just passing through, you can get a week of unlimited classes for $35, which includes free mat rental. The studio offers classes ranging from relaxed to vigorous, including Yin, Ashtanga, Vinyasa flow, and Hatha, in a setting designed to enhancing your peace of mind and well-being. Bargain-hunting locals can take $7 to 14 sliding scale classes Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.
Frugal option: $35 for one week “traveler’s special”
North Portland Yoga
North Portland Yoga calls itself “an analog studio in a digital world” and offers a sanctuary from the buzz of city life. Led by Rev. angel Kyodo Williams, an African-American Zen Buddhist sensei, North Portland Yoga’s community of teachers offers a range of styles including Yin, Hatha, and Kundalini yoga. There are regular “by donation” yoga classes, and bi-weekly Radical Meditation for POC, also by donation. Students and seniors get $8 classes all the time, and there are sliding scale community classes.
Frugal option: Donation based classes (cash and check only)
With these fine choices, neither vacation nor finances should keep you from getting your yoga fix in the Rose City.
