The Art of Yoga: A New Studio in Town Mixes Paintings With Poses

By Mariam Jehangir

In just its fourth week of operation, Ritual, a new yoga studio in town, is garnering attention due to its unique fusion.

Part art gallery and part yoga studio, Ritual, located at 1390 S. Coast Hwy., aims to set itself apart by incorporating works of art into the studio to give its clientele a different yoga experience. Clients can either practice their yoga amidst works of art from the current collection, or people can walk in to look at or buy the art on display, all of which are from local Southern California artists. The current featured artists are Erin Bobo, Amber Rose Tibb, and Leigh McCloskey.

This art-yoga fusion didn’t happen by accident. The history of the building has a lot to do with it.

Gabby Levine, owner and one of the instructors at Ritual, speaks about the significance of the location, which formerly housed the Esther Wells Collection.

“The art aspect came about really organically, because this building was the very first commercial art gallery in Laguna, so this is a very significant property in the art landscape of Laguna. It didn’t make any sense to destroy that, and I really wanted to honor the history of the building by keeping that art gallery feel and to restore it and give it back to the community.”

Due to the location as well as Laguna’s history as an art colony, there was never any doubt for Levine about incorporating the art gallery aspect into the new space.

Levine says that she brings in art styles that are clean, sophisticated and contemporary, and incorporate aspects of nature, physicality and spirituality in order to stay in line with the feel of a yoga studio.

Levine also puts a lot of focus and effort into creating her yoga curriculum. Since Ritual is an independent studio, Levine has control over how to structure the classes, focusing on the needs of students and the abilities of the instructors.

“We’re not a corporate studio, so I’m able to create classes with teachers that are more dynamic, a little more out-of-the-box. I’m able to give teachers the creative freedom to take their students to a deeper level and reach a deeper layer than they might be able to elsewhere. [The teachers are able to] give their students personal attention due to smaller class sizes that allow them to understand what their students want, and the ability to be able to adjust more personally in classes and make it a more intimate workshop-style environment.”

As for how business has been, Levine says that they are seeing a slow but steady growth, even on a day-to-day basis. This growth is not only with just new yoga students, but also those who want to see and are happy about the newly revived art gallery. 

“We’ve been really well received by the community,” says Levine. “People are excited that we’re here and there’s life back in this property—that there’s new blood, but the art’s still here. They’re really happy about that.”