Essential Yoga Studio

06/18/2026

I'm so excited to share what we've got going on this weekend!!

First: don't forget about our Open House & Open Mic Poetry Night this Saturday evening from 6-830p. I shared a whole post about that earlier this week so feel free to comment here or message with any questions!

NOW - let's focus on SUNDAY!! 😆

Sunday morning starts with Sunrise Rooftop Yoga at Eyrie Rooftop Bar at Moxy Springfield Downtown from 7-830a! Here, you'll get coffee or a smoothie and we'll greet the sun (though it might not choose to greet us... ⛅) and welcome the Summer Solstice with a fun and accessible yoga flow incorporating Sun Salutations A & B into our practice along with a mid-year check-in on our hopes and dreams and wishes! 🙏 Registration for this one is through Eventbrite - if you have trouble finding it, let me know and I'll take care of you! ☕🧘‍♀️

Then, mosey with me over to BookMarx on Walnut for Yoga at the Bookstore with Harvey and Ms. Cyrano the Cat (hopefully, she joins us!). We'll practice together from 9-10a and have time to shop new and used books and cuddle up to Ms. Cyrano after! Book this event via our Events page on Essential's website! 😻📚

Take a break, get some breakfast AND THEN:

Head to Essential Yoga Studio to join Empowered with Shela for Paws & Poses - our "cat yoga" fundraiser for Eden Animal Haven! There are so many ways to contribute positively (paws-itively??) to this no-kill shelter: a food and supply drive, direct donations, booking your yoga spot to support proceeds going directly to Eden, and participating in the onsite raffle. Eden's fearless leader Leslie will be present with her kitty friends to talk volunteering, fostering, adoptions, and more! Head to the Events page of our website for all the details and to book your spot too! 🐈💜

Pretty neat, huh? And don't forget about our regularly scheduled Kundalini, Qi Gong, and Essential Flow classes at Essential on Sunday - truly something for all of us!!

I can't wait to see you and I'd love for you to share any questions you've got for me here in the comments! 🙏

06/17/2026

Have you been waiting for a really good deal to book a Retreat with your bestie?! We’ve got you! 🤗

Join us for Camp Crystal this year and get 10% off when you and a friend book a shared space! That’s 10% off for EACH of you! 🤑

Hiking, crystal mining, yoga, sound bath, water walks, relaxing, nourishing meals, community, and more! All included - along with lodging too! 🙌

Head to Essential’s Retreats page to learn more!

Ready to book? DM me or email [email protected] for the 10% discount link for you and your fave friend!! 🤩

06/16/2026

Why do we practice yoga? Lots of reasons! But here’s one: the physical benefits. 💪

Last night, a student stayed after class to share with me why she sought out yoga classes and how they’ve benefited her in the few months she’s been at Essential.

She shared two sets of discharge papers from her doctor’s office where she visited for back pain and sciatica. These papers instructed her on how to do various “physical therapy” exercises to help strengthen her body, add mobility and flexibility, and alleviate her pain symptoms - and showed photos of the model practicing the exercise.

She said: “these are all things we’re doing in yoga classes all the time!” 🤩 Then she said: “this is why I’m here - I’d never practice all these by myself at home!” 😂😂 GIRL, ME TOO. 🙈

She shared that she even notices benefits from doing Restorative Yoga stretching (that’s the one where we lay on the floor a lot 😉).

In the three months or so of practicing yoga a few times a week, she said that she feels stronger, “things have changed so much” in her hips and her lower back, and she’s learned a lot of new movements and postures that support relief of her sciatica too. 🙌 Her favorite classes are Restorative, Gentle Supported Yoga, and Hatha Essentials.

I’m so so grateful to students who share their stories with me! 🥰

For all the reasons we practice (or are curious about practicing) yoga, we’ve got a class for you! And my takeaway message here is that you can start anytime and for any reason! There’s no age or body type or fitness level required to start - just a flexible mindset and a willingness to challenge your perspective of “what yoga is.”😅

Not sure where to start? Message me - call me. Connect with me. I can help!

Our New Student Intro Offer is 3 weeks of unlimited classes - in-studio and virtual - for just $50. Whether you attend one class per week or several, this is a great introduction to yoga, to Essential, and back to YOU too. 💜

06/15/2026

Our Open House and Open Mic Poetry Night is THIS Saturday evening! 🤗

Is this giant monstera plant the most important offering at Essential? Well, no, obviously - but it IS one of the first things folks compliment when they walk in, just after “WOW, the energy feels so good in here!” And “oh my gosh, everything’s so cute!” You’re welcome. 😉☺️🤗💜

I can’t wait to see you this Saturday evening! Why an Open House? What are we celebrating? Why Poetry?

Here are some answers:

Why not?! We don’t hold regular open hours and it can be tough to get in to just see the space and ask me all your questions. This is a great opportunity to do so - no strings attached but there WILL BE a special offer and a gift for anyone who purchases our new student intro package Saturday evening. 🫶

We’re celebrating EVERYTHING - summer, being halfway through another beautiful year of practice together in the Springfield community (did you know Essential’s actually been alive for almost 20 years?! 🤩), the opportunity to spend time in community noshing on some snacks and sharing what’s happening in our worlds. Whatever you’re celebrating, we’re celebrating! 🥳

Poetry! 😍 I’ve always seen Essential as a place for the practice of authentic self-expression and exploration - and poetry helps us dive deep into our feelings, what we’re passionate about, what we didn’t even know we needed to hear or feel. 🙌 And I’m so excited for the opportunity to partner with Zachary Rea to hold space for this form of expression, sharing, and feeling. 🥰

So here’s what you gotta do:

1️⃣ Block your calendar from 6-830p this Saturday 6/20.

2️⃣ Show up just as you are (the easiest and the hardest task, right?) 😅

3️⃣ Join me for refreshments, hugs, conversation, and then settle in for an evening of poetry. 📝

THATS IT! Or maybe bring a friend too. 😘

No registration required - if you know you’ve got a poem you’d like to read, DM us and we’ll get you added to the list. It’s also totally cool to show up with your notebook and take the leap when you get there! ☺️

This event is open to ALL. That means you and you and you! 💜💜💜

See you there!! 🤗

06/15/2026

So grateful for everyone who joined me at the park this evening! 🤗💜

📣🌳✨❤️ Tonight!! Join Sunni for Yoga in the Park!! Class is 6-7 pm, donation based and located at Phelps Grove Park in Springfield, MO (behind the tennis courts)!

Join Sunni for a gentle flow exploring the groundedness and joy of dancing warrior. This practice will include seated, kneeling, and standing postures - bring a blanket along if kneeling on the earth is challenging for your knees.

Sunni is a nature-loving, north Springfield resident with a passion for community and connection. She has been practicing yoga for almost 15 years and has been teaching since 2021. Sunni is also the owner of Essential Yoga Studio.

With an educational background in psychology and more than a decade of experience supporting vulnerable folks in her nonprofit career, Sunni approaches her yoga teaching and practice with a compassionate and therapeutic mindset, incorporating a focus on accessibility, individualized support, and an “OM for ALL” attitude that invites students to show up just as they are.

06/14/2026

It’s looking like a beautiful day for Yoga in the Park!! ⛅️

Join me (Sunni 👋) for a gentle flow exploring the groundedness and joy of dancing warrior. I’ve been LOVING this sequence of postures lately! 😍

This practice will include seated, kneeling, and standing postures - bring a blanket along if you’re like me and kneeling on the earth is challenging for your knees. 💜

Springfield Yoga in the Park keeps this offering accessible by making it “donations-based” or “pay what you can” - and you can contribute cash or via Venmo when you arrive. 💸

Also, you just get to show up! No advanced registration. Just meet us at the concrete pad by the tennis courts at Phelps Grove Park at 6p. 🤗

See you soon! 😘

06/13/2026

Ozarks PrideFest is today! 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️

Though Essential Yoga Studio doesn’t have a booth this year (timing for this one woman show 😅), here’s what we do have (all year round):

👯 An inclusive environment - we not only welcome but we invite ALL humans to share their practice at Essential

🙏 An OM for ALL culture - there are so many important things about each of us and we get to bring them all to the mat together

💜 A community based on love, respect, and compassion - we’re in this crazy life journey together and we recognize that living wholeheartedly and healthfully takes a whole village - and that each member of that village is valid, valued, and worthy of support

We live out loud in the spaces we feel safe and every part of my being strives for Essential to be that safe space for you (and you and you and you). 🙌

Happy Pride to all, however you choose to celebrate today! 🫶

06/10/2026

Here’s your one-stop shop for June (and early July) Events with Essential! 🤗

Here’s the breakdown:

Book these events via the Events page of our website:
- Yoga at the Bookstore with BookMarx
- Paws & Poses: fundraiser for Eden Animal Haven
- Peri/Menopause Support Group with TK Esthetics
- Moonlit Flow with Empowered with Shela
- Yoga on the Farm with Gooseberry Bridge Farm
- Summer Sip & Swap with Empowered with Shela
- Tea Circle & Intention Setting with Sunni

Book elsewhere:
- Sunrise Rooftop Yoga with Moxy Springfield Downtown via Eventbrite (head to our FB events page for the link!)

No advanced booking required/available:
- PWYC Gentle Yoga with The Backyard Pantry - From Ours to Yours
- Yoga in the Park at Phelps Grove Park

I’d love to hear what you’re most excited for and any questions you have. Lay it on me!! 😆

06/09/2026

Over the last few days, I’ve received so much feedback from Essential students helping me see that we’re right where we should be (and growing!)! 🌱

A longtime off-and-on student shared at an event Friday evening that she likes to explore other yoga studios in Springfield but that she always comes back to Essential - she loves the studio environment, inclusive culture, and personalized attention she gets at Essential. 🥰

A new student shared at our Tea Circle on Saturday morning that she chose Essential for our community presence - community at Essential and wider - she sometimes gets lost in all of the tug of war of the roles she plays in family and life and, at Essential, she just gets to be herself in the presence of others. (YES PLEASE!! 🙌)

Two students recently signed up for Radiant Bodhi Yoga Teacher Training which I’m SO EXCITED (and feel so lucky!) to be hosting at Essential this Fall! 🥳

Last night, another new student shared that she’s so thankful she found Essential: she’s tried other studios “that say they’re for everyone” but couldn’t really find a feeling of Belonging there. Like “maybe she wasn’t REALLY the kind of student they were looking for…” 🥸 She said she loves our “OM for ALL” tagline and that it permeates to all we do. ME TOO. 🤗

Oh, and speaking of OM for ALL: Pride Month is all year around here. We got you! 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️

Our class sizes might be small but we’ve got it all and I’m so grateful we do! We’ve got a place for you if you’re looking to begin or share your practice. 🥰

To all of our students and teachers who make Essential what it is: THANK YOU for being you! I couldn’t do this without you! 🙏

Enjoy your Tuesday! See you soon!! 💜💜

PS have you been lurking here but not sure where to start? Head to our website and click NEW HERE? It’ll take you right your our Specials page! 🌟

06/08/2026

I can’t wait to be part of this event! What a gift to get to share yoga in this way! 🤗

Two weeks. Only TWO WEEKS AWAY! 🌿

I won’t sugarcoat it, putting together the All Natural Festival has been one of the most time-consuming, detail-heavy labors of love I’ve ever taken on. There have been late nights, long to-do lists, and more moving pieces than I ever anticipated. But every single bit of it has been worth it.

Because here’s what keeps me going: the vendors. These incredible, passionate, talented people who believed in this event before it even had a crowd. Who said yes to what this festival stands for and are showing up to share their hearts and their craft with all of you. I am so deeply grateful for every single one of them.

And The City of Republic, I just love this community so much. To be able to bring something like this to our city, and to watch surrounding communities come together to celebrate and support local, all-natural businesses… that means everything to me. A place where you can shop, explore, and enjoy without wondering what chemicals or toxins might be hiding in a product. Just real, intentional, wholesome goods made by people who genuinely care.

That is worth every late night.

We are almost there, friends. I cannot wait to see you all on June 27th at Spring Creek Estates. Come ready to slow down, bring a blanket to lay on and just soak it all in. Come support something truly special. 🌸✨

Pretty Pleasantries
Echoes of Earth
Mandy Carlile
Essential Yoga Studio
Rosette Studios
New Horizons Natural Health
Agapé Apothecary, LLC
Sacred Hair and Skin Oil
Lavish Sound
White Rabbit Apothecary Farm Stop
Balanced Beauty
Buttercup’s Tallow
Chillaxin' Bros Candy Co.
Hanna's Bees
Radiance Wellness Co
Graceful Linx
Soul to Soul Harmony
Root 54 Farm
Wildscapes
C&H Plants
Flour To The People