By Anne Higuera
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
An Alaska Junction storefront where yoga has been practiced for 20+ years will soon be a studio again. The owners of Belltown’s Take Care Yoga say they’re expanding to West Seattle at 4747 California Ave SW early next year.
“It is just such an incredible location,” says Take Care Yoga’s co-owner Anna Douglas. “We are excited to be part of The Junction.” Douglas says she and her husband have been looking for a new studio location for close to 2 years. West Seattle came up frequently as an option, within both their studio community and a number of their teachers who live on the peninsula, but they hadn’t been able to find the right location until this summer.
That’s when Junction Hot Yoga closed its studio after 5 years, citing an uncertain future in the building. As we reported in June, the property is part of a stalled redevelopment project; Junction Hot Yoga’s lease was up at the end of June.
Douglas says they’ve signed a lease for 6 years with eyes wide open. “We’re aware of the project that is on the horizon. We’ve spent a lot of time talking to the people, with the understanding that the project might happen after that.”
Making the studio ready will take several months, with plans in the works to replace flooring and many fixtures, along with installing some supplemental heating. “The space has been really loved,” she says, with the inside knowledge of her friends’ parents, who had the space in the early 2010s when it was Bikram Yoga.
Douglas and her husband Joel Schneider opened Take Care in Belltown right at the start of the pandemic. “It was brutal,” she says. “We opened, we closed, we opened, we closed.“ But after the initial hurdles, “the community helped us keep it alive and bring it to life.” Douglas says she had been teaching yoga and managing studios for 14 years before venturing out with her own business. “When I started the studio, my husband wanted to create one that is beginner-friendly. We wanted it to be a really welcoming community hub experience.” Take Care has grown over recent years to include 26 teachers and a variety of different yoga practices. Douglas and Schneider are planning a similar program in West Seattle.
“We really try to be a third space for people,” she says. Take Care Yoga West Seattle will be open 7 days a week and offer a variety of classes: “From Vinyasa to Hatha to Yin. We’re also looking at putting some strength and mat Pilates on schedule.” As with their Belltown location, Douglas says there will be options for drop-in, class packages and memberships.
With plans to start construction next week, Douglas is expecting to reopen the space for yoga practice in mid- to late-January. “We walked into the space and it just felt really welcoming,” and with improvements over the coming months, Douglas is looking forward to welcoming the community back inside.