“Our motto is if you can breathe, you can do yoga,” says Meg Pacella, co-owner of Peace Out Yoga in downtown Castle Rock. “I think a lot of people are intimidated to try yoga because they think they’re not flexible or strong enough.” Instead, owners Meg Pacella and Amanda Shefsick strive to make their studio a community of inclusivity for beginners and experienced members alike.
With 25 yoga instructors, including two Pilates instructors, Peace Out Yoga makes any class beginner-friendly and offers modifications for novices to help them feel comfortable. The incredible community they have built also removes any intimidation.
“I took a class a couple of weeks ago, and we had two newbies walk in. I watched our members just wrap their arms around them and say, ‘Let me help you with this…’” Amanda gushes. “I just felt proud of the culture. It was so open-armed and full of love.” This community stems from Peace Out Yoga, focusing their love of the program on finding peace to promote self-care and self-love while making people better humans.
Amanda and Meg, formerly first-grade teachers, started Peace Out Yoga when another yoga studio they attended closed. They built their business from the ground up, offering up to 10 classes daily, seven days a week. 600-800 people enter the door each week to practice yoga, from restorative to sculpt to heated Vinyasa. Two of their three studios feature heated yoga using infrared heat, warming the body from the inside out for better circulation, enhanced flexibility, and increased relaxation.
Peace Out Yoga is all about balance and finding mindfulness. Every once in a while, they hold a “Balance Challenge” that encourages members to try different yoga classes and step outside their comfort zone.
Meg talks about how beneficial certain classes are when taken back to back. “On Tuesdays, for example, I teach a hot sculpt, so it’s a hot flow class with weights, and following it is her [Amanda’s] restorative non-heated slow class, and I tell people in my sculpt class, restorative is a great class to follow.”
Amanda follows up, saying, “It compliments it so well. You’ve worked your body really hard, and then come to stretch deeply and relax and kind of calm that nervous system back down.”
The community vibe is one of Peace Out Yoga's most essential aspects. Members become lifelong friends, especially through the week-long international yoga retreats they offer each year. They are going to Panama this year, and spaces are still available!
Since opening, Meg and Amanda have witnessed life-changing moments for people who have come through their doors. “I had one girl tell me this story on a retreat,” Amanda begins. “She was driving on the highway and contemplating suicide and then saw the exit ramp. She was a member here and said, ‘I’m going to get into a yoga class.’ It happened to be mine. I had developed my whole theme around not giving up. That shifted her path that night.”
They have also had several cancer survivors who were able to continue yoga throughout their treatment and credit this program for helping to save their lives.
“I just think there’s so many people going through storms that we don’t see,” Meg explains, “and I think this is a place where they can kind of let their feelings be their feelings and then get through the turbulence of the storm.”
"I think this is a place where they can kind of let their feelings be their feelings."