On a recent warm weekday morning in Yuma, a group of women met for a yoga class.
This isn’t new for women who do yoga in Yuma County, but the two women who founded I Am Wellness said bilingual English-Spanish instruction wasn’t offered anywhere in the county.
“What we offer at I Am Wellness is a holistic studio for the Latino community,” says co-founder Krizia Godinez, who is also a host on Somerton’s Radio Sin Fronteras, “so we offer several classes, including yoga, ballalates, sculpting and strength training.”
Co-founder Laura Garcia Bustamante said the goal is to make people feel as comfortable as possible when taking classes.
“We teach in our native language (Spanish), so we decided to open this safe space,” Garcia said.
People who attend I Am Wellness classes say they come for the sense of sisterhood they get from the instructors and classmates. Bernadette Sosa said she joined the center to help ease feelings of anxiety and depression.
“I would encourage everyone to participate,” Sosa said. “Not only does it help you physically, it helps you mentally. It helps you bond with people and it’s all here, so it’s really wonderful.”
Eleonora Gomez says it doesn’t matter if you’re a yoga beginner or an experienced practitioner.
“It doesn’t matter if you’ve never done yoga or worked out before,” Gomez said. “If you want to improve yourself, you can come here and they’ll help you. It’s a great community and all experience levels are welcome.”
The I Am Wellness founders are hiring more instructors and streaming classes to members; on the day I visited, Lori Jones and Garcia were leading yoga classes.
“I think of the yoga community in Yuma as an oasis for spiritual growth, healing and support,” Jones says. “Laura and Krizia are the beautiful souls who have brought this space together.”
I Am Wellness opened in 2022, as people began to get more comfortable gathering together following the COVID-19 pandemic, and Garcia said her time out in the world inspired her to help others.
“This is about connection,” she said. “We are human beings and we want to connect with others. COVID has really cut us off from other people, so we want to reconnect with ourselves.”
I Am Wellness is focusing on offering retreats and will also be offering a summer camp for children to attend.
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Stay tuned to KAWC as we bring you stories from I Am Wellness founders, guest instructors, and members.
For more information about I Am Wellness, visit iamwellnessstudio.com.