Rolling out welcome mats

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This article was published 13/05/2025 (231 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

After hosting a series of pop-up events last year, two Winnipeg yogis have created a brick-and-mortar home for their practice.

Jessica Ryan and Matt Coppens opened Rogue Vinyasa Yoga on Corydon Avenue at the end of April. They say it’s a space where members can build strength, mobility and resilience, and test their potential in a supportive atmosphere.

“We’re going to set up the foundation and maybe you’ll surprise yourself and do things you didn’t think you’d be able to do,” Ryan said.

The former Modo Yoga employees have a combined 25 years of experience as instructors. They launched the company last spring with the tagline “Yoga anywhere” and organized pop-up events at places like the Winnipeg Art Gallery, Esplanade Riel bridge and Van der Meer Garden Centre in Île-des-Chênes.

It wasn’t long before they were looking for a space to stretch out and call home.

They took possession of 7-823 Corydon Ave. — located above Café 22 — in September, and spent approximately $250,000 renovating the 1,760-square-foot space.

The business was renovated in such a way members can walk through the space in a circle. From the foyer, they go right to enter the change area. It includes lockers, private change spaces, two showers, gender neutral bathrooms and an accessible toilet and shower.

From the change area, members walk into the 1,000-sq.-ft. studio, which features big windows that allow for plenty of natural light.

“It’s what made us fall in love with the space,” Ryan said.

The studio accommodates 32 people comfortably and includes straps, blocks, sandbags and bolsters to aid members in their yoga practice. When class is over, members can exit the studio through a door on the right-hand side and end up in the foyer, thus completing the circle.

“We’ve tried really hard to make our pop-up classes and our studio as inviting as possible so that people are interested in telling others about it,” Coppens said.

Vinyasa is a type of yoga that links movement and breath.

The duo chose the name Rogue because it expresses their desire to do things differently. Traditionally, yoga instructors use set sequences in classes to take members through a familiar routine, but at Rogue, “you’re not going to see the same thing again and again and again,” Ryan said.

Ryan, Coppens and the three instructors they’ve hired have the freedom to explore movements they are passionate about while leading classes and experiment with yogic norms in creative and intelligent ways.

“This act of going rogue — getting outside of the box, doing things differently — really clicked with us in our lives both on and off the mat,” Ryan said. “We’re a rogue studio, we go rogue, we have rogue flows, we call our students rogue-ies. We’ve been having fun with it.”

Through their pop-up events, the duo amassed a mailing list of close to 500 people. After receiving their occupancy permit on April 28, they sent an email to supporters letting them know the studio would open two days later. More than 70 people showed up for classes on the first day, including some Ryan and Coppens had never met.

Kenny Wong has already participated in more than 20 classes since the studio opened.

“I was so glad to have those two back teaching on a regular basis,” said Wong, who practises yoga to stay in shape for his job as a tiler. “The great thing about Jessica and Matt is they can really read a room … They can take all levels and make it enjoyable for everybody just by making modifications.”

Marlène Desaulniers-Bernard, another one of the studio’s first members, appreciates the camaraderie she’s found at Rogue.

“Immediately, I felt like there was a great community aspect,” said the former synchronized swimmer. “I feel like they go beyond being a business. It’s been amazing.”

Ryan said she wants Rogue Vinyasa Yoga to be synonymous with yoga in Winnipeg — a place where people of all abilities can find a home and deepen their practice.

Coppens noted the studio opened with 29 classes on its schedule, which he views as evidence of how serious they are about their new endeavour.

“We didn’t start with a half-measure,” he said. “We just jumped.”

Rogue has a variety of admission prices. They include one-, five-, 10- and 20-class passes and three membership options: $60 for an unlimited introductory month, $115 for a monthly unlimited membership and $1,265 for an annual unlimited membership. The business will continue to offer pop-up classes.

aaron.epp@freepress.mb.ca