Opening a yoga studio in the pandemic waiting time

Just with no actual classes — yet — while the county remains in Extreme Risk category.

Machi, at 1116 12th St., in the former Cutie Pie space which before that had been the long-time RadioShack store.

With Machi moving in, the 12th Street block is a place in transition. Dog River Pet Supply, 1118 12th St., plans to expand to the space just south, formerly Paddock’s Appliances, which closed for good on Dec. 31.

Businesses throughout the Gorge are expanding, moving, adding new merchandise, or making adjustments to the challenges of the pandemic economy.

Retamales is pursuing a passion while seeing a local need for yoga instruction. “We are launching soon,” reads Retamales’ website, machi.yoga, which invites students to enlist for updates. Until she can fully open as a studio, she is planning on operating limited hours as a retail space. The Machi name is drawn from her own brand of natural-ingredient soaps she sells after making them for her family a number of years ago while living in San Diego.

The Machi space is simple and well-lit, with a floor Retamales said she instantly fell in love with. Woodwork by her husband, Sebastian, includes a movable wall, reception counter, and hand-carved sign.

Originally from Chile, Alejandra and Sebastian have three sons. Their oldest is an EMT in California; living in Hood River are their 19-year-old, who will return to college in San Diego as soon as he can, and a 10-year-old. “He’s thriving here,” for the outdoor sports, including mountain biking that helped him connect immediately his neighborhood peers, Retamales said.

Retamales taught yoga in California but on relocating last year to Hood River, “Machi Yoga just came out of the blue,” as a business.

“When I came here, I met a friend, who asked, ‘Can you teach me?’ I said, ‘Yes,’ but she had never done yoga and felt intimidated. I told her, ‘You should never be intimidated, It’s beautiful,’ She felt like it was not her thing, that she was not flexible, but I told her, ‘It has nothing to do with that.’ It’s all about awareness and your breath. Flexibility will be a part of it, but it goes beyond that.”

That single connection, outdoors on her deck, grew to a group of seven. “I said, ‘Wow, this is weird,' that I was struggling to come to Hood River, because I had a community already in California that felt like family, and maybe I was needed here. We connected, and with winter, we moved to an open garage.”

Retamales was still not thinking in terms of a formal business. “I wasn’t searching that much. I kind of had the intention but then gave up, thinking it’s not right, but then I saw the lease sign (in the 12th Street window) and when I saw this floor, I knew it,” she said. “It’s maple, and grounded, connected to earth, amazing for balancing, and I saw all the natural lighting. It was just perfect.” The smooth floor needed only mopping and cleaning, and she repainted and added curtains and the movable wooden wall, and “tried to make it a cozy space for people to come,” she says, adding, “ ... hopefully ...”

When restrictions do allow her to open for classes, she said it will be an open studio for varied styles of yoga — heated and non-heated.

“I speak several languages and I’m a big believer in diversity, and I know not everyone will find what they need with me, so I need to bring other teachers who will be able to connect with those who don’t I want the space to be for everybody, no matter age.” She has lined up one teacher already.

Retamales emphasizes Vinyasa yoga, a practice she said “links breath and movement,” and power Vinyasa, “a little more intense, more aerobic, some call it a ‘dancing meditation.’ It’s a beautiful practice, but not for everyone.

“All styles are beautiful, all are important,” Retamales said, adding that “the more I can bring in and continue to share, the better. There will be a fit for everybody here, that’s my goal.”