WE Yoga: Where connection and community are key

By Lyndsie Kiebert
Reader Staff

The studio located upstairs at 104 Pine Street has been many things.

WE Yoga instructors practice in their studio, located upstairs at 104 Pine Street. Courtesy photo.

A dance studio. A pilates studio. A bunkhouse for Schweitzer employees. An apartment. 

Like many locales, the 104 Pine Street studio is home to countless memories and stories, and WE Yoga co-owners Christine Matt and Kelly Thielbahr are ready to make even more by offering their unique brand of yoga in the beloved space.

The bright studio features large windows, white walls and a high ceiling, all factors Matt said contribute to WE Yoga’s mission to provide “hospitality, beauty and inspiration.” It’s a warm haven away from the brisk cold outside, and a quiet getaway from the traffic of Pine and First Avenue.

“It felt so right,” Matt said. “We knew that this was the space — even with the kitchen.”

Yes, a kitchen adds to the very homey feel at WE Yoga, but to Matt and Thielbahr, it’s an opportunity to expand their offerings.

“We’re going to offer cooking classes and different workshops, and really approach yoga from a whole-life perspective,” Matt said.

Currently, WE Yoga offers 21 classes a week catered to every skill level, from veteran yogis to those new to the practice. Between movement-heavy vinyasa classes to more easy-going “slow flow” classes, both instructors said they hope everyone can find a good fit at WE Yoga, which opened Jan. 1.

“We really wanted to create something that enhances our yoga community rather than creating something that’s in competition with what’s existing,” Thielbahr said.

“Hospitality” is the key word at WE Yoga, according to Matt. There are yoga mats available to borrow for free, mat storage for those who don’t want to pack their mat to and from class, two showers stocked with complimentary organic products and even warm, essential-oil-infused hand towels available. Matt said the hope is that it all adds up to provide “a good experience from the moment you enter until you leave.”

“We want every single person that walks into this studio to have that warm welcome,” Thielbahr said. 

Matt and Thielbahr met through yoga, having made their journey into yoga instruction separately, and taught together at Sandpoint Hot Yoga before pursuing their own studio. 

“In my soul I am two things: a mother and a teacher. Yoga, for me, fuses the two,” Matt said. “I get to offer care and love through my instruction, through my adjustments, and then I get to teach and equip people to feel good in their own skin.”

Thielbahr said she never intended to teach yoga, but that she wouldn’t have it any other way.

“The further I went along the path I was like, ‘I love this’ and to teach anything you have to really know it and understand it and love it,” she said. “The universe gave me the nudge that I needed into that role. I haven’t looked back.”

But why “WE” Yoga? Matt said: “We want to be a place of community, a place where people feel a sense of acceptance and belonging. The name WE encompasses these values and reminds us that we are made for relationship and connection and that at some level we are all one.”

Jamie Terry, Katie Bradish, Abby Helander and Rose Olson also teach classes at WE Yoga, rounding out a passionate group of women whose aim is to enhance Sandpoint through yoga and by simply providing a meditative, welcoming space.

“I feel like we put so much love and intention behind that — just wanting people to truly feel comfortable, safe, warm and looked after,” Thielbahr said.

To see a complete schedule of classes and list of membership options, visit weyogasandpoint.com. Book classes on the website, or on the MINDBODY app.

Also find WE Yoga on Facebook and Instagram (@weyogasandpoint).