Breathe Ojai Yoga Studio

What if you gave yourself one intentional hour each month to comfortably lay down and breathe, release, and feel rejuvenated?

Join Rachael Barkley for a trauma-informed Breathwork class every First Friday at 12pm through the end of the year.

Rachael's facilitation and care for those in class is deeply grounded in the psychology of healing as she is currently pursuing a PhD in Integral Transpersonal Psychology. She has been guiding breathwork at Breathe for over three years, and we are grateful to have her warm and compassionate presence at the studio 🙏🏽

Through intentional breathing, gentle guidance, and a supportive environment, breathwork can help you:

✨Reduce and release everyday stress, physical tension, and emotional blockages that feel stuck or stagnant

✨Cultivate deeper presence, self-awareness, and connection to yourself and others

✨️Tap into and experience a calm yet refreshed state of being

Save your spot online & join us for the next class this Friday at noon 🌬 Use your membership or drop-ins welcome!

No previous breathwork experience is needed. Come exactly as you are.

Feeling the summer heat? 🥵

Try Legs Up the Wall (Viparīta Karanī), one of our favorite restorative poses for those days when you feel overheated, depleted, or simply need to slow down.

Elevating the legs can help ease a tired, heavy body and reduce lower body swelling, support circulation, and encourage the nervous system to shift out of go-go-go mode and into rest and digest. Add slow, gentle breathing, a cool room, and a few quiet minutes for a simple pause and reset.

🌬Come cool down, soften, and restore with us at Breathe (we have AC) or join us online. Our teachers and classes can support you during big seasonal shifts; this month by offering cooling practices to help you find balance through the late summer heat.

Join us for a class and give yourself permission to do less, breathe deeper, and simply be. Your summer self will thank you. 🦋

Is rest part of your Yoga practice? At Breathe, we deeply value balance, which always includes rest.

For those living a busy or active lifestyle, or those moving through a period of stress, illness or fatigue, we have several evening Restorative Yoga style classes on our schedule to bring you guided rest. A core offering at the studio, these intimate and spacious classes directly support nervous system regulation that can lead to improved overall wellbeing.

Let this be your gentle invitation to try something new, unwind, and settle in. Many of our classes are offered hybrid online if you prefer to practice at home, or if you need to tune in for a peaceful moment while out of town.

Have you tried Restorative yet? Do you have a favorite posture or prop for deep relaxation?

Please check our weekly schedule and sign up for classes online. DM us for assistance (:

📸 Eric Andersen

Dr. Chapple's Author Lecture has been rescheduled to Sunday, August 16th at 2:30pm!

Join us for an extremely special afternoon with Dr. Christopher Chapple as he shares about his newest book, 'A Sourcebook of Yoga Philosophy and Practice' Breathe Ojai {Yoga Studio & Community Hall} and online ~ save your spot in our bio📚 Come to purchase a book and get it signed 💚

If you open any modern yoga book and read the forward, there’s a good chance you’ll see Dr. Chapple's name. He is the founding director of the Master of Arts in Yoga Studies at Loyola Marymount University Master of Arts in Yoga Studies where he serves as Doshi Professor of Indic and Comparative Theology. He has written over 20 books on the history and philosophy of Yoga.

Dr. Chapple is an incredibly rare combination of an accomplished, deeply respected professor, lecturer and genuinely humble human being. Francesca (Breathe Ojai's Founder) had the pleasure of studying with him through the LMU Master of Arts in Yoga Studies degree program and worked closely with him as her thesis advisor. 

Breathe Ojai's wish is to continue bringing high-quality yoga scholarship and teaching to Ojai and online for any and all who wish to learn. Please reach out if cost is an issue for a special discount code.

Don’t miss this ~ the studio will be nicely air conditioned.

✨️Weekly Gentle Flow✨️ begins this Thursday at 5:45pm! This evening class blends the steady pace and alignment of hatha with grounded and foundational vinyasa, a gentle breath-centered flow.

Join our newest member of the Breathe team, Katie, for an hour that nourishes you with healthy movement, while offering a supportive pace to help you slow down and feel embodied in your practice. This class is great for beginners and suitable for all levels. Sign up in our bio; drop in or use your pass!

🌼ABOUT KATIE:

Katie is a dedicated yoga practitioner and teacher with a lifelong passion for movement, mindfulness, and building meaningful connections through yoga. She is passionate about making yoga accessible for people of all ages and abilities. As an early childhood specialist by profession and having trained as an end of life doula, her teaching is rooted in the belief that yoga is a lifelong practice that supports us through every stage of life with grace, presence, and care.

Have you missed taking classes with Gold Yoga School graduates, Roberta and Tanner, as much as we have?! Catch them subbing Haṭha throughout August while Francesca takes a little R&R 🌞

Tanner is teaching Hatha Yoga 1st and 3rd Wednesdays at noon (8/5 and 8/19).

Roberta is teaching Hatha Yoga (75 min.) Saturdays at 10am (8/8, 8/22 and 8/29).

Both are standing in Tāḍāsana (Mountain Pose)! Tāḍāsana improves posture, increases balance, leg and core strength, steadies the mind, and prepares you for following standing postures.

We can't wait to steady our practice with you this month🧘‍♂️

Photos: Eric Andersen

Meet Breathe teacher, Kipp! We're grateful to have his caring and easygoing energy at the studio.

Join Kipp on Monday nights for a calming, blended class to help you release tension and prepare for a good night's sleep. This class is great for those who love a little extra movement and stretch before fully settling into longer held restorative shapes for rest🌜

✨️Mondays with Kipp, 7 - 8pm
Hatha & Restorative Yoga
$10 - $28 sliding scale community rate
or use your class pack/membership!

In addition to teaching Yoga, Kipp finds inspiration by connecting with nature and community as an environmental consultant, cyclist, and sailor. Ask him about the amazing local wildlife he gets to observe and track on the job!

My heart is absolutely breaking for this family right now.

Every single person in this photo has been a student at Breathe Ojai {Yoga Studio & Community Hall} over the last four+ years. Right now a member of their family is experiencing a mental health crisis that is not resolving. The family is in need of material support immediately. You can read the details on their gofundme.

Ruth (mom and wife) has been a devoted student at Breathe Ojai ~ a former night shift nurse taking care of BABIES for much of her career. She is now experiencing a living nightmare. Her two daughters are sweet, driven, and have had to step up in ways that is stretching them far beyond their years. All are survivors here and we pray for healing and wholeness.

GO FUND ME LINK IN BIO OR HERE: https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-for-forde-family

Join us this coming Sunday July 19th for an extremely special afternoon with Dr. Christopher Chapple. You’ve heard of those wonderful people who are ‘teachers of teachers,’ but Dr. Chapple is a teacher of your teachers teachers… the mark he has left on the modern yoga world is undeniable and we are honored to host him at Breathe Ojai 🙏🏼

Open any yoga book and read the forward and there’s a good change you’ll see his name. He is the founding director of the Master of Arts in Yoga Studies at Loyola Marymount University where he serves as Doshi Professor of Indic and Comparative Theology. He has written over 20 books on the history and philosophy of Yoga. Come to purchase a book and get it signed 💚.

{From Francesca: Dr. Chapple is an incredibly rare combination of an accomplished, deeply respected professor, lecturer and genuinely humble human being. I had the pleasure of studying with him through the Loyola Marymount University Master of Arts in Yoga Studies degree program and having him as my thesis advisor. I’ve known him now for nearly a decade and continue to be wowed by his expertise and dedication to yogic scholarship. My wish is to continue to bring high quality yoga scholarship and teaching to Ojai for any and all who wish to learn. Please reach out if cost is an issue for a special discount code.}

Don’t miss this ~ the studio will be nicely air conditioned 🌬️