YOGALAB

YOGALAB's yoga studio is a wide-open space with whitewashed exposed brick, high ceilings, polished 100-year-old Jarrah wood floorboards and awnings draped in garland lights and bright indoor plants.

It immediately creates a Zen-like space ready for the movement to begin led by owner Shawn Taylor, a former professional snowboarder from Colorado, Utah via Seattle and Santa Cruz in California.

So how did a professional snowboarder from Colorado end up running a thriving yoga studio in Fremantle? Shawn fell into yoga in his mid-20s after too many injuries on icy slopes, quickly resonating with all aspects of the practice: the physical, mental, and yoga philosophy.

"I started to get more and more into yoga practice because I was finding parallels with snowboarding and presence, and all the stuff about yoga philosophy was really resonating," he says. "It's gotten me through the hardest times of my life and the best times of my life as well."

Shawn came close to buying a yoga studio in Santa Cruz but the pull to stay in Perth came from meeting his now-wife Kel at a Perth yoga studio where they were both working. They came across the now YOGALAB space on High Street, Fremantle, through Heath Daly, a friend of Kel's and the co-owner of Mother. Once Shawn and Kel saw it, they immediately knew it was the space for them.

"We always wanted to open a studio together. A space that had our own vision and our own values," Shawn explains. YOGALAB was built around the ethos of creating "a sound space for mental health", something they both personally hold true to their hearts.

YOGALAB attracts all types, from Freo locals to AFL players, tattoo-clad men, grandmothers and young office professionals donning Lululemon leggings.

"We've got this thriving, beautiful, vibrant, diverse community. When you look around the room, you see all walks of life. We welcome everyone," he says.

Now in its fifth year, and with two small boys in tow, Kel is the engine room running the studio's operations behind the scenes with Shawn front and centre teaching classes and running workshops. With more than 20 years of experience and thousands of teacher training hours under his belt, Shawn, along with a dedicated collective of seasoned teachers, offers cream-of-the-crop classes, including his popular Monday session, Frequency Flow, a high-vibe Vinyasa flow set to up-tempo tunes. Many of the daily classes are heated (to 28 degrees Celsius) with a more lo-fi Yin twice a week and a non-heated, Slow Mo Flow also on the daily schedule. A high-end ventilation system keeps fresh air pumping into the room, and class space is limited to provide a 2-metre area for each yogi.

Shawn feels at home in Fremantle, calling it "the California of Australia", with its colourful quirks and close proximity to the beach, where he surfs rather than snowboards these days. "I've always loved Fremantle. This is California in Perth. Freo's the closest thing to home."

YOGALAB offers an introductory month of unlimited classes for $69 with beginners’ classes for first-timers, and a 200-hour yoga teacher training recognised by the Yoga Alliance, that includes a week-long immersive retreat in Margaret River.

Photo credit: YOGALAB