This New Mobile Yoga Studio Brings the Classroom to You 

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“Yoga is very branded,” Lora Kantorovich, owner of Evolve, a new mobile yoga studio in Philly tells me. Her point? When you think of practicing yoga, you think of a classroom in a studio or maybe an outdoor yoga class, in the warmer months. “But really, yoga can be practiced whenever and wherever. I want to rebrand that image and bring it to places where people can continue to practice, with or without an instructor,” she explains.

Kantorovich, a teacher at Dhyana Yoga, just launched Evolve about a month ago, and they already have a couple of clients around Philly, mainly schools, apartment complexes and corporations. The moving studio doesn’t have a home base and, instead, works with instructors from studios around the city, bringing them along with everything needed for a class to wherever their clients are in the Philly area.

The philosophy of the mobile studio is simply this: You can do yoga anywhere — work, your home, a bachelorette party. Bottom line: You don’t need a classroom in a yoga studio to get your downward dog on. Then, Kantorovich hopes, once you realize you don’t need a classroom, you’ll make the practice of yoga a constant in your life, regardless of whether or not you can make it to a studio. “We want to provide ways for our clients to take everything that we’re teaching and utilize it in their daily lives,” she says.

Kantorovich, who has worked at fast-paced, high-stress startups around Philly for the past few years, clearly has a passion for bringing yoga into the corporate world. Up until she decided to launch Evolve earlier this year, she was working long hours at a startup, running into the bathroom on the regular to squeeze a de-stressing yoga pose in. She ended up quitting — because who wants to live a life where they’re running to the bathroom to chill out? — and now says, “My goal is to help people try to figure out how they can maintain their calm throughout their day.” Hear, hear.

Though, when it comes to the types of clients Evolve is catering to, they’re certainly not limited to corporations. She tells me they’re going to be working an upcoming party for kids, where the instructor will weave lots of storytelling and other kid-friendly methods of teaching into the class, and their website offers classes for everything from adult birthday parties to company retreats.

And if you’re thinking, “Sounds nice, but I could never afford a private group yoga class,” good news: The class packages Evolve offers are surprisingly affordable. Costs for their services vary, but to give you an idea, the starting rate is $130 for for a 30-minute class for 10 people, and a 60-minute class for 10 people will run you $160. At $16 a head for the lengthier class, that’s less than the cost of some studio classes. Backyard yoga followed by brunch and mimosas, anyone?

They offer four class options: A 30-minute moving meditation that doesn’t require you to change your clothes (best for corporate environments that don’t have a ton of space), a 60-minute body flow class, a 75-minute soul-strengthening class that combines moving meditation with the flow-style class, and a 90-minute community building workshop where attendees learn how to apply yoga philosophies to their everyday lives.

You can learn more about Evolve here. And a note to all the certified yoga instructors out there: Kantorovich is still building the network of instructors she works with, so if you’re looking for a side gig, you can reach her here.

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