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Eira Schwyzer decided to brave the rainy weather Tuesday to go to a yoga class in the Arlington Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles. It’s a new studio in an area that hasn’t had a lot of options for practicing a downward-facing dog pose, or really any kind of yoga.

The WalkGood Yard opened on Sunday, the first physical space of the Black-owned nonprofit wellness organization WalkGood LA.

For Schwyzer, she sees it as a necessity in her working-class, predominantly Latino, Black and Asian neighborhood.

“I believe that this is what we need to be investing in,” Schwyzer says. “Now I feel like I can go to a place that is for people like me, Afro-Indigenous Latino people, who need something to be able to go to, connect with our community and focus on our mental and physical well-being. This is a place where we can elevate our community and inspire people to do the same.”

A wellness movement born from protest

Schwyzer has been attending WalkGood LA events since the organization formed in 2020 in response to the murders of Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd Jr. and Breonna Taylor — two of those deaths at the hands of police.

It all began when founder and filmmaker Etienne Maurice, his sister Ivy Maurice and his cousin, Marley Ralph, a yoga instructor, organized a march and community yoga class at L.A. Memorial Park that June as a peaceful protest. Soon after, WalkGood LA was born and Maurice started hosting wellness events all over the city, encouraging residents of color to get outside and into their bodies.

In the beginning, Maurice says roughly 450 people showed up at the park every Sunday. Nowadays, at yoga events held at Kenneth Hahn Park, a couple hundred people still regularly show up.

Maurice’s main goal has always been to offer a safe space for Black people, and other people of color in L.A. who are impacted by racism. He sees The WalkGood Yard as a natural extension of this, as he sees yoga as good for the heart, body and soul.

The COVID-19 pandemic and cases of police brutality have exacerbated the health issues that have existed in Black communities nationwide, like higher rates of obesity and diabetes, according to a report from L.A. County that highlights the impact of systemic racism on Black residents. Black people are also 20% more likely to experience serious mental health issues than the general population, according to the American Psychiatric Association.

And practicing yoga on a regular basis has multiple benefits, including reducing levels of stress, improving strength and relieving pain.

Neighborhood history

The new studio is on West Pico Boulevard, a mile away from where Maurice grew up in his mom’s house, and not too far away from L.A. Memorial Park where WalkGood LA started. But there’s even more intention behind the location of this space. It’s the rich history surrounding the neighborhood.

Right across the street is Jewel Thais-Williams’ Catch One, one of the first Black disco night clubs in the nation, and one of the most prominent gay bars in L.A.

And the studio space is just about a mile north from the West Adams neighborhood, a once prominent area for upper-middle-class Black Angelenos.

In the 1960s, dozens of Black-owned homes in the wealthy Sugar Hill neighborhood were bulldozed with the construction of the I-10 Santa Monica Freeway. That community was split in half, forcing many families to move south of the freeway throughout areas like Baldwin Hills and other locations south of the 10 Freeway.

For Maurice, bringing a Black-owned space back to the area is like reclaiming history.

“Here we are … years later, a Black-owned organization, a Black-owned building … trying to bring that same spirit of entrepreneurship, but with healing attached to it,” Maurice says. “I think this is going to be the start of something that I’ve really envisioned for the city of L.A. to make some real change in this community.”

When conceiving the space, Maurice says he was inspired by Arlington Heights’ Underground Museum — which was one of the nation’s leading spaces for Black art, and a community space for healing practitioners, creatives and activists until it closed unexpectedly in March 2022. Maurice recalls the different exhibits, community gatherings and movie screenings the museum held for people who lived in the area. He wants to bring the essence of community building, art and entrepreneurship back to Mid-City, and add yoga to the mix.

“I think that’s the whole purpose of bringing people together from all walks of life,” Maurice says. “So that we can create a more healing community in Los Angeles because right now it’s looking like Gotham City.”

Stepping inside the Yard

If visitors are not careful, they could miss the space. It’s sandwiched in between several other businesses down a busy stretch of Pico Boulevard. There’s a vivid, yet simple sign with white lettering that says “The WalkGood Yard.”

When visitors first walk into the new studio, they are greeted by the sounds of R&B classics like Mint Condition’s “If You Love Me,” and a mural of Maurice’s maternal grandparents, to whom he’s dedicated the space.

Maurice’s family is from Jamaica, so the vibrant space is full of pride in those roots — red, gold and green colors fill the rooms.

“It reminds me of home, and for me home is Los Angeles by the way of Jamaica,” Maurice says.

Photos of family and family friends — like Maurice’s mom, actress Sheryl Lee Ralph; civil rights activist Rosa Parks, R&B singer Luther Vandross — adorn the WalkGood heritage wall.

The main studio is spacious with a lot of windows and natural light, wood floors and exposed brick walls. There’s also a meditation room called the Zen Den that is full of pillows and cushions on a soft, plush carpet. It will be used for sound bowls, and just chilling.

The first yoga class

On Tuesday, a few days after its grand opening, members grabbed their yoga mats, while Maurice changed the music playlist to a more calm, classical one. “Good Flow,” a traditional, calm yoga class, was the first paid members-only session in the new studio space.

“You are joining me for our first good flow here at the WalkGood Yard,” Maurice says. “We got a new sound system installed. Pretty much everything is how we want it to be on this gloomy, bright rainy day.”

He then gets right into one-hour long class with a “savasana” pose where everyone is on their backs with the soles of their feet together with one hand on their diaphragm, and the other on their heart.

Classes info

To attend regular classes at the Yard, Maurice is asking that people become a member. There are three membership tiers ranging from five classes a month for $99 to unlimited classes for $225 a month (and a lot more perks). Drop-in classes are $25 each, which is about the average price for a yoga class in L.A.

WalkGood LA will still host free outdoor events like group hikes and run clubs monthly. BreatheGood, a community-donation-based yoga class, will continue to be held at Kenneth Hahn Park on the first Sundays of every month.

Maurice says that they will offer YouGood? A Black Men’s Healing Circle for free at the Yard.

Long Beach resident Jasmine Jones says she’s happy to join. Not only has Jones been searching for a good spot to do yoga, she’s also been looking for community and a way to make new friends. She says Maurice’s Good Flow class made her feel welcomed and accepted, unlike how she’s felt in some classes that were in predominantly white spaces.

“It was relaxing and soothing,” Jones says. “I like being in a Black space. I notice when I’m in other yoga spaces, the energy feels different. It’s just the vibe of being around your own people. It feels like home. It feels grounded.”