Family-owned and operated, The Center exists to make a positive impact in their community through movement, connection, and mind-body wellness. Stephanie "Steph" Stackhouse shares how she and her husband, Andrew “Stack” Stackhouse came to be yoga studio owners after moving back with their family to the Californian town of San Luis Obispo (SLO), where it all started.
STEPH’S YOGA JOURNEY
Steph found yoga at a time when she had a very busy and stressful corporate career. She had read Eckhart Tolle’s The Power of Now, and wanted to find tools that would allow her to be more present with herself and her family instead of always thinking about her to-do list or worried about work projects. She went to a yoga class at a local studio—a hot yoga class that required her to be fully present with her breath and body to make it through the class. Steph was hooked from the first class and convinced her husband, Stack, to join her about six months later. A few years after that, they both took yoga teacher training and their lives started to shift and change in ways that they couldn’t have predicted or planned for. “Yoga allowed us to be open to possibilities,” says Steph.
FROM YOGA TEACHERS TO STUDIO OWNERS
In 2014, Steph and Stack became members of SLO Yoga Center after taking their first class at the studio. They loved the community vibe and the spacious studios with beautiful views, and just knew that they had found their new home studio. They had recently moved from Washington state back to SLO, where they had attended Cal Poly. About three months later, as fate would have it, they had the opportunity to buy the studio. The husband-and-wife duo left behind their corporate careers to choose living with passion and purpose. Steph shares: “It was the BEST. DECISION. EVER. It has truly been an honor and joy to be welcomed into this beautiful community, to have witnessed lifelong friendships form, watched families grow, and to have created new traditions.”
High ceilings and gorgeous views in one of the spacious studio rooms at The Center.
IN STEPH'S WORDS: THE CENTER’S MISSION
“The Center exists to make a positive contribution to our community through movement, connection, and mind-body wellness. Our vision is to continually celebrate diversity, strengthen community and empower people to live their best lives every day. We are fortunate to have a roster of very skilled and experienced instructors and offer diverse classes designed to meet students where they are each day. We provide beautiful spaces with beautiful views, to take a break and practice movement in community with others.”
Students flow through a low lunge crescent twist.
INSPIRATION, GROWTH, & GIVING BACK
Steph and Stack draw inspiration through the healing practices of yoga. Whether learning more through study, workshops, retreats, or classes at studios when traveling to other areas, they are forever students of the practice.
Over the past 8 years, they have expanded their studio to span three floors of a building in historic downtown San Luis Obispo. They have studio rooms on all three floors, in addition to a boutique that opened in 2020. There is also a community space on the 3rd floor. In addition, they have expanded their class offerings. Yoga is still the primary movement practice offered, but over the years The Center has added barre fitness, cardio kickboxing, and Pilates. Most recently, in the fall of 2022, Steph and Stack launched a Seva Yoga program in which they choose a local charity or organization to sponsor for the month. 1% of sales in the studio and boutique as well as 100% of donations for their weekly community classes are contributed to that month’s organization. To date, they have donated over $7,000 to local organizations.
For more about The Center SLO, find them online at: https://thecenterslo.com/ or on social @thecenterslo.
