Beyond the Mat: How Satorii Yoga + Wellness is Redefining Community and Growth in Los Angeles
In a city where yoga studios can often feel formulaic and disconnected, Satorii Yoga + Wellness stands as a beacon of authentic practice and genuine community. Founded with the revolutionary idea that both teachers and students deserve freedom to explore and grow, this Los Angeles studio has carved out a unique space in the wellness landscape—one that honors yoga's traditional roots while embracing individual expression and diverse teaching styles.
We sat down with Ashby Drake, the visionary behind Satorii, to explore how her decade-long journey as a yoga teacher led her to create something different: a studio where stagnation gives way to continuous discovery, where teachers feel empowered to share their authentic selves, and where practitioners of all levels find not just physical challenge, but spiritual depth and genuine connection.
From combating the burnout she witnessed in both instructors and students to building a team of diverse educators who each bring something unique to the mat, Drake's approach to yoga studio ownership reflects a deeper understanding of what modern practitioners truly need. In this conversation, she shares the philosophy that drives Satorii's mission and reveals how the fusion of movement, breath, and community creates space for profound personal transformation.
Satorii emphasizes the fusion of movement and breath to foster personal growth. How does this philosophy influence the design of your classes and the overall studio experience?
When I first started dreaming of opening satorii, I wanted to create a space where teachers would feel empowered to express themselves and their personal teaching styles. I never wanted to enforce set sequences, strict rules regarding music, specific structure etc. instead, I wanted to build a team of highly experienced teachers that each bring something special to the space. My reason behind this was that I noticed a consistent theme in conversations surrounding yoga in Los Angeles- that students would practice for a few months, or even YEARS, and feel as though they weren’t really progressing or finding much depth in their personal practices beyond the foundational asanas. Simultaneously, teachers were expressing that they felt uninspired or burnt out. Through personal reflection and investigating various pockets of the community, I started to gather that this was largely due to a lack of freedom for the teachers to fully express their knowledge in the classroom as well as a lack of encouragement for students to explore and be curious.
In order to combat a feeling of stagnation that’s become so consistent in the yoga community, we began building a team of diverse teachers that each offer unique knowledge and skills to the community to cultivate a culture for learning and growth. Each of us, as teachers and members at Satorii, get incredibly excited when we see each other going deeper in our practices. Hitting milestones with specific asanas, implementing new breathwork techniques in our daily practices, becoming more consistent with our meditations, whatever it is.
Having roots in traditional yoga philosophy while still allowing self expression in the space allows students to connect to their teachers on a deeper, more authentic level and allows our teachers to share the best versions of themselves and their craft every time they step on the mat.
In what ways does Satorii strive to create an inclusive and welcoming environment for practitioners of all backgrounds and experience levels?
Creating an inclusive and welcoming environment is one of the core intentions behind Satorii Yoga + Wellness. From the beginning, we envisioned Satorii as a sanctuary where people from all walks of life could feel seen, supported, and inspired to grow—whether they’re stepping onto the mat for the first time or deep into their journey as a seasoned practitioner. While we offer many intermediate/advanced classes (as we noticed there were many more accommodations for beginners at most studios than there were for those that had been practicing for years and wanted to get out of the typical, repetitive routine) we also love the opportunity to be a practitioners starting point. This way, we can ensure they have the best, most stable foundation possible with plenty of room to grow in all directions!
We offer a variety of classes, like Satorii Slow (a yin inspired slow flow) as well as Origins, our “foundational flow” which are both perfect for those that are new to the practice or even seasoned practitioners looking to revisit the basic building blocks, refine their alignment, and/or increase their flexibility - all the way to strong vinyasa classes (satorii 60 & satorii 75) rocket classes, inversion flow (a flow class designed to improve your inversion practice like handstands, arm balances, etc) and condition, a strength focused class to help condition the body for more “advanced” postures. Lastly, if someone’s looking to deepen their spiritual practices but isn’t quite ready/interested in asana based classes, we even offer Breathwork and sound bath meditations. So there’s truly something for every body and every experience level.
If you have a body and a breath, you belong here.
Inclusivity for us also means honoring diversity in the way we represent yoga. We’re mindful not to water down its roots—we acknowledge and respect yoga’s cultural origins while making the practice accessible and relevant for people living modern, often very complex lives.
Finally, community is everything to us. Whether it’s through our mentorships, sliding scale offerings, or free events for underserved groups, we’re always looking for new ways to reduce barriers to access and make sure Satorii feels like home. We truly believe that yoga is for everyone—not just the flexible or the experienced or the “spiritually fluent.” If you have a body and a breath, you belong here.
What inspired you to establish Satorii, and how has your personal journey shaped the studio’s mission and offerings?
After teaching yoga for almost a decade, I knew it was time to build a physical space to help people grow, connect, and become a part of something bigger than themselves alone. For me, yoga has had such an incredible impact on my life and of course my spiritual journey. Allowing me to express myself more clearly and authentically, regulate my nervous system naturally, connect with God and my community more deeply and so much more. Therefore, I realized at a young age that part of my life’s purpose is to share this practice with others. But I’ve never felt that my way was the only way or that I’m anywhere close to having all the answers. Which is why it was so important to me that Satorii’s team was made up of highly diverse, intelligent, well trained teachers. So that our community would have access to various mentors that each offered something unique to their practice and overall spiritual journey.
Thus why Satorii is now so rooted in deep exploration, self-discovery, connection to community and access to incredible, well-rounded yoga education.
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