Washington yoga studio has held its last class

WASHINGTON — Longtime attendees of Blissed Out Wellness’ yoga sessions held their last formal class together April 24, as owner Melissa Turner plans to move on from the lessons.

While the moment was emotionally bittersweet, Turner said the energy in the room was great as about 25 attendees — who affectionately call themselves “yogis” — gathered for the flow.

“We have an excellent yoga community that is well-connected and cheers each other on,” Turner said. “We all were sad that it’s ending, but they also were understanding of why, and were just showing support.”

After eight years leading the yoga class, Turner said it was time to move on. As her kids grow older and more active, she said time with them was starting to trade off with the yoga classes, which happened at night, in the early mornings, and on weekends.

On top of that, she said attendance to the lessons had fallen over the years. After a fire at the Greiner Building in 2022 moved the studio to the former location of Federation Bank, Turner said she was left with a handful of dedicated regulars, but not many other attendees.

Without any other consistently available instructors to take her place, she made the tough call to end the yoga side of the business. She will still own and operate Blissed Out Wellness, which also offers massage therapy and sound healing.

“It was a slow realization, it took me a while to decide,” Turner said. “I was truthful in telling them all that I (had) this choice, and I was having a hard time deciding, and they were all so, so supportive, and no matter what I decided, they’d be there for me.”

The instructor said she had come to terms with the choice.

“It’s a change of seasons,” she said. “Maybe this will come back around where I can do it again, but for now it’s a great time to focus on my family and my massage business, and even my own yoga practice and self care.”

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Classmates say the activity has brought them physical, mental and spiritual health. It’s also yielded a tight-knit community of folks who say they would not have met, if not for yoga.

Regulars to the classes said the supportive atmosphere kept them coming back.

“I have practiced yoga at different studios and gyms, but at Blissed Out, I was welcomed, challenged, encouraged every flow,” said Alicia Andrews, who started attending Blissed Out’s early morning sessions and occasional weekend flows in 2022. “The studio was a great place for yogis with many years of experience but also super welcoming to students who are new to yoga.

“What I love most about taking classes with Melissa is the safe place she offers me to be my true self, breathe, and move.”

The community built around Turner’s classes is poised to survive, even as the lessons themselves come to an end.

Turner and her loyal yogis have formed a Facebook Group. Through it, they plan to organize occasional yoga retreats, and other “field trips,” in Turner’s words. The participants also plan to keep up community traditions, like yoga in the park pop-ups over the summer.

Bethany Glinsmann started coming to Blissed Out in 2018. She said expected to stay in touch with her fellow class members, with or without the regular lessons.

“Walking into whatever space we were having our classes in, it was about more than just you,” she said. “You got to know each other and Melissa created a really welcoming space so people felt like they could share what was going on in their personal life, their challenges, their victories … I think that’s what really makes a community.”

Comments: Kalen.McCain@southeastiowaunion.com