If you have been looking for a way to stay active and connect with yourself on a more spiritual level, Yoga Shine could be your new favorite place. Nestled in central Nipomo, the yoga studio greets customers with an inviting ambiance: pleasant aromas, bright colors, and smiling faces. More importantly, it plays host to a variety of classes for people of all ages taught by a wide range of instructors and a cute boutique that features stylish yoga clothes and spa essentials.
Jesselle Peña, the owner, has an extensive history with yoga and a great desire to help others. Once she realized she could combine the two, she began her journey toward becoming a yoga instructor.
“I got into yoga when I was 12 because I had really bad scoliosis, and my doctor wanted to put me in a back brace. My mom’s solution? To try any activity that could help me get better, and along came yoga. I began doing a rigid yoga regime, and I didn’t need the back brace anymore. For years, I would come and go from yoga but whenever I felt back pain I would do yoga and feel instantly relieved. Realizing how powerful yoga can be, I finally decided to get certified,” Peña said.
She was trained at the Yoga Shack in Nipomo, and then, a few years back, she began working as an instructor at the local Snap Fitness under owner Mike Puhek. In early November 2014, Peña received a call from Puhek asking her if she would be interested in opening up her own studio in Nipomo. Convinced by the great location and the kindness of local residents, two months later, Yoga Shine was open and ready for business.
Peña held the opening night on Jan. 10. Although she recognizes that Yoga Shine is a new business, she makes sure her studio is as comfortable and accessible to clients as possible. The studio is surprisingly large (easily fitting 45 to 50 people) and there are more than 10 different classes to choose from, ranging from gentle to rigorous. Clients of all ages and levels are welcome, and supplies such as mats, eye pillows, blocks, and blankets, are all included with the classes. In addition, all of the instructors are close friends of Peña’s—many from San Luis Obispo—whom she has worked with previously.
“They are some of the best yoga instructors in the county, and I am super blessed,” Peña said.
For Peña, yoga has been a saving grace, and she lives to enact the same sort of change in her customers. She firmly believes that yoga has the ability to change people from the inside out, and has the ability to help people heal spiritually, emotionally, and physically.
“I have seen people who can hardly walk in here, and they walk out 5 inches taller. It is very empowering, and that is something that everyone needs,” Peña said.
On Feb. 15, Peña is holding an event called Yoga of 12-Step Recovery. This event integrates yoga with 12-step principles, and its purpose is to try to help anyone who faces addiction, no matter the form (substances, food, people, etc.). It will be held from 2 to 5 p.m. and is $20 per person.
Yoga Shine provides early morning and late night classes to appeal to a diverse range of schedules. The studio is open Monday through Friday from 6:15 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. and 4 to 9:30 p.m. and on Saturday and Sunday from 8 to 11 a.m. For new members, the studio is offering the first class free and a month of unlimited classes for $30. Individual classes are $12 ($6 for kids 12 and under) and there are various packages available—such as 10 classes over a three-month period for $100.
The studio is located at 781 W. Tefft Street, Suite 1, in Nipomo. For more information, call the studio at 619-7381, or check out their website at yogashinenipomo.com.
Biz Highlights
• Allan Hancock College Community Education is offering a class titled How to Start Your Own Business on Feb. 21 and 28, from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. The course is $60 and serves as an introduction to running a successful online business. For more information, call 922-6966, Ext. 3209.
• The Hearst Cancer Research Center (HCRC) at French Hospital in SLO recently received a visit and generous donation of $11,000 from the Central Coast PUMA Aquatic Team. The HCRC provides support and education for cancer patients. For more information about the center or to make a donation, call the French Hospital Foundation at 542-6496 or visit supportfrenchhospital.org.
Intern Jamie Guista wrote this week’s Biz Spotlight. Information should be sent to the Sun via fax, email, or mail.
This article appears in Feb 12-19, 2015.