Feel alive at Noble Yoga

Sponsored Content - Sep 19, 2023 - Think Local

In the heart of Vernon, an oasis of peace, wellness and sensory delight awaits you.

Noble Yoga, established just a year ago, aims to redefine the yoga experience with its state-of-the-art architecture, curated ambience and holistic approach to well-being.

“We’re here, we’re new, and we’re unlike anything else in the Okanagan in terms of design and architecture,” Noble Yoga founder Dolly Reno says. “We’re a sensory yoga studio, meaning that we use a few different somatic modalities that can draw someone deeper into the practice.”

One of Noble Yoga’s unique features is its blackout room, which is designed to control luminosity to incredible detail. The lighting is architectural grade, which gives it the ability to go from a nice, big, bright room to a warmer, candlelight feel.

“That can inspire different things in the body,” Reno says, adding the room’s short-throw 4K projection system can offer a surreal sunrise yoga experience.

Photo: Michele Dyson, White Linen Photography

The studio is engineered to engage all your senses. With 15 speakers positioned throughout the room, sound engulfs you from all angles. Nebulizers disperse essential oils to align with the theme of each class. Imagine walking through a forest during your practice and smelling the scent of cedar filling the air.

“It’s really trying to hit all the senses,” Reno says.

Whether you are looking to restore, strengthen or heal, Noble Yoga offers a full array of props to assist you, including blankets, lacrosse balls for fascia work, Pilates straps and regular yoga straps. It will soon be adding weights to bring yogic toning into the practice. Teachers at Noble Yoga are well-trained to help students use these props effectively.

Reno says Noble Yoga is a fusion of yoga therapy and working the body hard.

“You can come and have a restorative type class, but you can also come and really sweat and work,” she says. “But whatever the range is, whatever class you’re doing or whatever is happening in your body, it’s really important to support people in making the shapes work for them versus trying to emulate what we think it should be, because we’re all anatomically different.

“All my teachers really try and know and assist in learning how to use props, so that if someone is struggling with, let’s say, a hip injury or they have long legs and short arms, they aren’t compensating somewhere else in the body just to access this. Instead we’re bringing the shape to them versus them trying to go to the shape.”

Spread across 2,500 square feet, the studio comprises a separate practice room, reception, retail and change rooms. “There’s a sort of Feng Shui that was considered in how to enter the business,” she says, “and then make your way to the space where you actually practise.”

The studio is also in the running for a Thompson Okanagan Commercial Building Award for its conscious effort to use materials that are not harmful to the environment. Reno is mixed-race Indigenous, so it was very important for her to honour her ancestry through her business.

There are more than 30 classes on the schedule, which is open seven days a week. Classes have unique names, each starting with the letter R—from Repose for Yin restorative to Rise for Vinyasa. Noble Yoga also boasts a team of nutritionists, clinical counsellors and kinesiologists, all in an effort to offer a more diverse, holistic approach.

What truly sets Noble Yoga apart is its community-oriented philosophy. Reno mentors teachers and students alike, ranging from their 30s to their 70s, focusing on the mingling of lifestyle and practice. As Noble Yoga celebrates its first year, the experience it offers transcends the walls of the studio.

“The things we do outside of the studio are still related to the practice,” Reno says, inviting all to be a part of this transformative journey.

Noble Yoga will be celebrating its one-year anniversary with a party on Saturday, Sept. 23. Your invitation to the bash can be found here.

More information about Noble Yoga can be found on its website.