About

What is Donation Based Yoga?

In short, it is pay-what-you-want yoga. The suggested donation is a sliding scale of $5-$15 per class. We don’t turn anyone away for a lack of funds. Those who can give more help balance out those who have less to give. We thank you for supporting our intention to offer affordable yoga classes to our community.

Asheville’s Donation Based Yoga Studio

Asheville Yoga Donation Studio is Located at 239 S. Liberty Street.  Asheville Yoga Center has been in this location since 2001.  Located at the corner of E. Chestnut and S. Liberty streets. (Just north of downtown, off of Merrimon Ave., in the same neighborhood as Greenlife and Staples) This is the location Asheville Yoga Center has been in for 10 years. All the regular on-going AYC classes have moved a few doors down to 211 S. Liberty St. A whole new schedule of donation based classes took their place at 239 Liberty St. Please note the donation center is cash and check only, no credit cards are accepted.

The studio space, has a 1100 square foot Yoga room. The yoga room has natural light, soothing colors, a floating wood floor system, high ceilings, a sound absorbing wall and ceiling system and gentle lighting. We’re conveniently located on the north side of town minutes from downtown and the freeway, and we have plenty of free, safe street parking. For more information call 828-254-0380

We have props and water (filtered water fountain) if you need them. 

We are walking distance to downtown, just a few blocks away, where you will find a large health food store with deli, tons of vegetarian restaurants, and yummy food everywhere!

Just to be clear…

211 refers to 211 S. Liberty St. it is our newer location and we refer to it as the Mothership. These are the same classes as always with your favorite teachers at a brand new, state-of-the-art yoga studio.

239 refers to 239 S. Liberty St. where we hold pay-what-you-can donation based yoga classes. As of January 1, 2012 these are all new classes in our old location. We refer to 239 as the Donation Studio.

Both of these locations are on the same street between E. Chestnut and Orange Streets, walking distance apart, literally 5 doors down from each other.

What Else is Different Between the Two Locations?

The donation studio is a more straightforward version of the mothership location at 211. It is a lean and mean yoga studio machine. The donation studio is cash and check only, no credit cards are accepted. It is drop in only. No membership or series happen there.

Only at 211 will you find information and registration for any of our many workshops,, teacher trainings and yoga events. There is front desk staff on hand most of the time at 211 for any questions you may have. You will need to go to 211 to buy any yoga retail. Yoga clothes, mats, props, books and DVDs are all at 211. There is a full weekend schedule of classes at 211, and 239 has fewer weekend classes to make room for our teacher trainings and workshops.

Some of the same teachers teach at both locations, but in general the donation studio is where you can find experienced teachers new to town and or to our studio. We’ve had a waiting list of wonderful teachers who would love to teach at the Asheville Yoga Center for years, but no room on our schedule for more classes. By opening the donation center we now have many more class times available for more teachers to teach.

Is this Free Yoga?

Even though we’ve offered no cost yoga to the community since 1997, we’ve never advertised free yoga. We’ve always viewed offering yoga as an exchange of energies. There is more meaning and value that way, on both sides of the exchange. Most people pay money, but some pay with their time by becoming a worker member and helping out in some way. Ask your teacher how you can get involved. We can always use help keeping the place clean and checking in people for class. We have occasional work days, join our newsletter to stay in the loop.

We do encourage you to examine your priorities when it comes to paying for class. Is there something in your life you could give up that not only would save you money but would increase your health? Are you currently paying for any sugar, caffeine, alcohol or distractions you could give up? We want to support you in greater health and wellbeing. We also want to make our service sustainable. The cool thing is the more yoga you do, the more you want to take care of yourself. Please don’t let financial concerns get in the way of a regular practice. Come get your yoga on!

Where Do the Donations Go?

We pay rent and feed our families with what comes in. Half of the money goes toward overhead for the studio. The other half goes to the teacher. We believe in paying our teachers and not asking them to volunteer. We believe it creates a higher level of commitment on the teacher’s part and a higher quality experience for all. Everything comes back to the ever-unfolding exchange of energy. Sunny and Stephanie Keach, the owners of the Asheville Yoga Center, are offering the space in service; they don’t receive any of the money coming in for donation classes, it all goes back to the teachers and overhead for the studio.

Are All the Classes Donation Based?

Only the donation studio is donation based. We have two studio locations, both on S. Liberty St. While both are Asheville Yoga Center, they are run differently. Our 211 location has classes that range in price from $5 to $15. Only the donation studio is pay-what-you-can sliding scale.

Can I Use My Class Series at the Donation Studio?

Discounted class series can only be used at 211. In order to keep overhead to a minimum at the donation studio, we don’t have a computerized check-in system like at 211, nor is there check in staff, only the teacher. This means you can not use your class series at the donation studio. It is a drop in only basis.

Is this Asheville Community Yoga?

No. The Asheville Community Yoga Center in Woodfin started in 2010, and is often referred to as the “free yoga” center. We are the original Asheville Yoga Center located in Asheville. While the director and many of their teachers graduated from our teacher training, we did not start nor do we operate Asheville Community Yoga. We are the Asheville Yoga Center and have been since 1997. We share a similar name and similar mission and we are aware there is confusion between the two organizations. Asheville Community Yoga is planning to change their name to help alleviate that confusion. We support wholeheartedly the offering of more yoga for all. You can find out more about Asheville Community Yoga at ashevillecommunityyoga.com