Little Oak Studio designs yoga classes for your mental health. Offering private, corporate and online group classes, Little Oak’s yoga classes gently reinvigorate you, physically and mentally. Let Little Oak’s yoga practice guide your way to a clearer mind, calmer spirit and a more compassionate self.

Little Oak Studio offers:
private classes
corporate yoga
online classes

Little Oak Studio specializes in vinyasa, chair, yin, restorative and prenatal yoga.

Meet the owner:

Welcome and thank you for stopping by! My name is Kim (she/her/hers) and I hope you’ll join me in class.

I created Little Oak Studio during a particularly challenging year, in which I experienced loss and depression. During this time, I committed myself to a daily yoga practice, and it was here that I began finding restorative healing. It was the tenderness of yoga that brought me peace, clarity, and a new sense of enthusiasm I hadn’t felt in years. A candle was relit in me as I remembered a quiet dream of mine I had had over the past several years, which was to become a yoga teacher. In 2020, I completed my 200 hour teacher training and began teaching immediately. I am a certified instructor through Yoga Alliance.

Since yoga has always been a source of healing for me, this is what my classes center around: slowing the self down, rather than speeding up, and holding compassion for one's self. With this mindset, I want to help you achieve your goals and showcase the success that already lies within you.

I absolutely love teaching yoga and will forever remain a student to the practice. I hope you will join me!

FAQ

Where are you based?
I am based in Tacoma, Washington, but teach online classes to people all over!

When did your yoga journey begin?
It has been exactly that: a journey. I first discovered yoga in 2009 after having spent 16 years as a ballet dancer. A very burnt out ballet dancer, might I add. I was dancing several days a week, teaching ballet and jazz, and giving myself very little time to properly rest. I had also been in a snowmobiling accident a few years prior that left me with chronic back pain, and thus my enthusiasm for ballet began to dwindle.

In 2009, I (hesitantly) tried a yoga class in hopes it would relieve the back pain and headaches I was having. That class changed everything for me! It was the first time in my life I experienced restorative movement that left me energized, rather than depleted. On top of that, my headache was gone and my back felt better than it had in years. I practiced off and on for the next ten years, but my career as a photographer took up most of time, and so despite how good it made me feel, yoga remained on the back burner.

In 2018, I became a mom to the most amazing human being I’ve ever met. Of course, motherhood is incredibly demanding, and so it was after having my daughter that I began to practice yoga on a more consistent basis. I realized I needed something for me, something that helped my mind find calmness after a busy day, and helped my body feel strong to keep up with my daughter. Having just moved to a new city, my husband and I had very little support as new parents. We were sleep deprived, both working full time, exhausted and I was struggling with postpartum depression. My yoga mat became not only a place where I found physical strength, but also a spiritual, sacred, meditative place, filled with tears, laughter and epiphanies. I found that the more I practiced yoga, the better I felt and the better mother I was to my daughter. Becoming a yoga teacher was something I had wanted to pursue for many years and so finally, I signed up for a teacher training program.

I miscarried our second baby (whom we had been calling oak) exactly one week before I started my teacher training program. Those next few, dark weeks where filled with light whenever I was training. Yoga means “to yoke,” and every time I got on my mat, I began to feel the presence of the child I had lost. Whatever this union was, yoga continued to transform and heal me in a way where I felt whole again. I felt like I had found my roots again and knew how to go forward. This is when the idea to form Little Oak Studio began and once I completed my certification in 2020, I began teaching yoga classes. Little Oak Studio LLC officially launched in 2021.

Yoga is still a journey for me, one I plan on continuing for the rest of my life.

What is your yoga training?

I am a Certified Yoga Instructor and received my teacher training through the Yoga & Ayurveda Center with Steph Ball-Mitchell.

• 200 RYT with Yoga Alliance

• Chair Yoga Certification, YACEP 25 Hours

• Yin Yoga Certification, YACEP 25 Hours

• Restorative Yoga Certification, YACEP 15 Hours

What types of yoga do you teach?

I teach all kinds of yoga, but I personally love a class that flows and changes depending on the mood, and nurtures the body. For that reason, I love teaching gentle vinyasa, chair, yin, restorative and prenatal yoga.

Do you offer pre-recorded video classes?

I am in the midst of recording some yoga classes of mine that will live permanently online for you to take in between my live classes. Stay tuned!

TESTIMONIALS

“I am 58 years old and had never done yoga in my life until I started taking chair yoga classes from Kim.  I feel incredible!  Being overweight and becoming even more sedentary during the pandemic, Kim has been able to professionally and gently steer me through moves that my body hasn’t done in years.  I love how good I feel!  After 6 months+ of working with her usually one time a week, I feel my body moving and bending more freely, and I feel a greater sense of calm.  Chair yoga has felt “safe” for me and the condition my body is in right now and I highly recommend Kim’s expert touch as she adapts each week to my increasing mobility.  Yoga with her has been a treat!” — Kimberly

“While 7 months pregnant, I attended a class taught by Kim, and I can honestly say I’ve never felt as personally cared for, listened to and genuinely SEEN by a yoga instructor as I felt in her class. She was engaging, knowledgable and approachable. I’m not the most flexible person naturally, so pregnancy made me even less dexterous and every time we went into a challenging stretch or pose, Kim would check in with me and make sure I was comfortable, provide me with extra support and/or alternative moves I could use to get the great workout I yearned for without compromising my comfort and abilities. She’s a beacon of warm, real, honest energy in a world that can often feel lofty, sterile and/or vapid and I can’t recommend her enough. Thank you, Kim, for changing my perspective on what a yoga class can look and feel like!” — Staci

“I always look forward to my private yoga sessions with Kim. It is a wonderful ending to a busy day and not only gives me a great stretch, but helps me unwind and sleep better.” — Rebecca

“I really enjoyed my yoga class with Kim. The flow was easy to follow as she gave clear, concise cues and allowed enough time for me to find the best way to engage the pose for my body. The practice offered stretches that targeted all major joints as well as some strength building and balance that were very helpful for my 64 year old body. I look forward to the next yoga experience with Kim's calm and gentle instruction.” — Becky

“I’ve practiced yoga only intermittently over the years and still consider myself a beginner. Kim’s class left me feeling challenged but not lost, energetic and also relaxed. We did poses I’d never tried before but felt comfortable trying them with the variations she suggested. She strikes the perfect balance in a flow class. Highly recommended for any experience level!” — Kate