NEW ROOM(S) TO GROW. The Yoga Rooms (2725 Mall Dr., Eau Claire) has relocated to a new, 10,000 square foot location across the way from their former location, also on Mall Drive. The space includes four new studios where yoga, pilates, and cycling classes are offered.

As is reflected in the design of The Yoga Rooms (2725 Mall Dr., Eau Claire),  yoga is all about intention. It’s the mind/body avenue to explore one’s inner self through thought, movement, and focus – and owner Wendy Oberg has crafted an environment that harnesses the ancient practice of yoga in a unique, purposeful way.

After establishing a seven-year presence at their previous location on Mall Drive in Eau Claire, The Yoga Rooms recently moved to a larger, 10,000 square foot space just across the way. Employing roughly 100 instructors and offering more than 100 classes weekly — from yoga to pilates to cycling — The Yoga Rooms has grown into a one-stop hub for physical wellness and movement.

As instructor and Operations Coordinator Amber Poppenga described, the new space will open classes up to more than double the students that fit in The Yoga Rooms' original space.

“At the old location, our biggest studio only held up to 45 people at a time,” Poppenga said. “We were constantly having to waitlist people. It’s amazing to see what we’ve grown into now, in our new space.”

The price for an unlimited monthly membership, Poppenga said, is currently $99. Newcomers can experience a year-long, 10-class pass for $160, a 30-day open trial for $39, or drop-in classes for $18 each. While prices shift every so often, longtime members are not affected by price changes.

"We just keep growing and having more people come in saying, ‘I want to move my body and I want to do yoga and I want to feel good…’  (and) tapping into that energy of people just wanting to feel better."

Brandy Ludwikoski

Instructor and marketing director, The Yoga rooms

“We make it so that whatever you paid when you started, that price stays the same for life,” Poppenga said. “Which is kind of crazy when you think about it.”

The Yoga Rooms’ new location is home to four large studios — The Pine Room, Zen Den, The Ride Room, and The Club.

Oberg said like the practice of yoga itself, studio spaces within The Yoga Rooms are designed with intention. The rooms are lined with glass and mirrors to create an “infinite” effect. The floors in The Pine Room are made from pine trees, which, as Oberg explained, hold spiritual significance for people around the world.

“We're a big fan of open spaces and reflections,” Oberg said. “We use the mirrors to make it feel like the space just goes on forever, so that we're all reflecting each other all the time.”

Stepping into the lobby, visitors are immediately greeted by members of The Yoga Rooms team. Yoga mats, gear, and apparel are for sale in the front, with a seating area and drink cooler further in. The glass corner of the Pine Room allows a view from the lobby of yoga classes in action.

The Pine Room, pictured above, can host up to 45 yoga students during any given class offered through The Yoga Rooms.

The Pine Room, which holds up to 45 people, is just one of the heated studios in the facility. Poppenga said hot yoga is a practice that allows people to sweat out toxins and relax muscles. The heated studios at The Yoga Rooms now feature a “flash freeze” effect, which helps to reduce humidity levels.

The Zen Den, located separately from the other studios, is a large, soundproof space, stocked with yoga equipment and centered on comfort during classes.

“(The Zen Den) is meant to really provide a space of relaxation, comfort, really kind of wrap you in that warm hug,” Poppenga said.

The Club, which accommodates anywhere from 60 to 70 people, is the second heated space. The Club features warm lighting and a wall of mirrors for yoga and pilates classes.

The Ride Room, pictured above.

The Ride Room is the space’s brand-new cycling studio. The numerous bikes are compatible with both SPD and Delta cycling shoes, and the studio holds classes as early as 5:30am and as late as 6:45pm. Brandy Ludwikoski, an instructor and marketing director of The Yoga Rooms, said the business has brought on 14 cycling instructors since the recent expansion.

In addition to their studio spaces, the new building has men’s and women’s locker rooms, shower areas, and an outdoor patio with a cozy fire pit and seating.

“We just want people to come here and never want to leave,” Oberg said.

As Oberg noted, the origins of The Yoga Rooms did not start in a room at all. “We actually started on the park lawns doing free yoga,” Oberg said. “The first time I taught, we had like 16 people. And by the end of that summer, we had 160 people.”

When winter fell, Oberg transitioned to The Yoga Rooms’s first location — a smaller, two-studio space — at 2839 Mall Drive in Eau Claire. From there, Oberg said, everything snowballed. Even after expanding the original space, classes had waitlists nearly every week.

Oberg emphasized the variety in classes offered at The Yoga Rooms. “I think there's great yoga studios all over the world, but one of the things that is unique here is in our buildings, we’re like this fusion studio — people don’t feel like they have to choose,” Oberg explained. “We have over 100 classes a week in our Eau Claire studio.”

In January of 2023, Oberg took her company to a second location: a two-studio space near South Minneapolis (4500 France Ave S., Edina, Minn.). This location includes two studios and over 20 instructors.

Now, the Eau Claire and Edina spaces work in tandem. Maddi Herzfeld, the regional market manager, said the Minnesota location has been modeled after the Eau Claire space, with the Edina studios employing 23 instructors.

Wendy Oberg, center, leads a guided yoga course in The Pine Room.

“Many of the instructors are longtime students who choose to get the training and join the team,” Herzfeld said.

Oberg explained that The Yoga Rooms trains new people through a 32-week “yoga school.” She then hires a portion of the participants to work in her studios. Upon moving to this new space, The Yoga Rooms hired 11 new people through the yoga school.

As the instructors noted, there is something for just about everyone to enjoy at The Yoga Rooms.

“We just keep growing and having more people come in saying, ‘I want to move my body and I want to do yoga and I want to feel good…’  (and) tapping into that energy of people just wanting to feel better,”  Ludwikoski said. “It’s the mind/body of it all.”

Oberg said members are already having positive reactions to the new space and the classes offered. Class slots and membership opportunities are available online, now with more spaces available.

To learn more about The Yoga Rooms and their new space (2725 Mall Dr., Eau Claire), visit theyogarooms.com or check out their social media pages.

Front desk attendees at The Yoga Rooms.

Yoga mats and other related merchandise available for purchase, on site at The Yoga Rooms.

Exterior lounge and new fire place located outside of The Yoga Rooms on Mall Drive in Eau Claire.

A view into the expanded men and women's locker rooms at The Yoga Rooms.