Yoga Returns to the Mt. Hood Villages with New Instructors and Classes

Back by popular demand, The Mt. Hood Villages yoga scene returns to the area with a number of classes, days, and times for community members to choose from. After a long hiatus owing to different yoga instructors moving from the mountain to explore other avenues, fresh new community members have relocated to The Mt. Hood Villages, and with them comes a new influx of yoga for the community.

Mt. Hood Villages resident and current yoga instructor Elle Mesa is just one of the many fresh faces of yoga within The Mt. Hood Villages. A community member for over two years, Mesa’s love of peace through movement ignited her passion to become a yoga instructor and share her trade with her community. 

“Yoga spoke to me through the movements, the stillness, the contemplation in between it all. I fell in love with how much feeling happens during and after practicing yoga, and that’s why I decided to learn to teach it to others,” Mesa said, adding, “My hope is to teach others to allow themselves to feel their way through class and through life; any emotion that arises is meant to be felt fully instead of simply pushed away. This is a highly underrated superpower.”

Since calling The Mt. Hood Villages home, Mesa’s classes are specific to the community. Within six months of arriving in the area, Mesa completed her yoga teacher training and has been offering classes twice a week at Coffee House 26. On Mondays at 6 p.m., participants can explore an energetic vinyasa class. On Thursdays at 6 p.m. Mesa teaches a restorative yin class. Both classes are $15 to attend.

Although Mesa has made her mark in the yoga community in The Mt. Hood Villages, fellow yoga instructors are also showcasing their skills. Yoga instructor and Mt. Hood Villages resident Kseniia Bulgakova has also taken part in the mountain’s yoga resurrection. Practicing yoga for the last fifteen years, Bulgakova has added her own unique and peaceful touch to the classes she offers. An instructor since 2024, Bulgakova’s training consisted of fourteen hours per day living in an ashram. 

“My main goal is to benefit people as much as possible. It’s a gift to be able to share my knowledge and experience with anyone who chooses to spend an hour of their life in a yoga session,” Bulgakova said. “I always try to include techniques that people can use in their everyday lives - for better sleep, managing anxiety, and getting proper rest. My hope is that people not only feel good during the class, but also leave with tools that make their daily life a little easier and more balanced,” Bulgakova added. 

An advocate for community and giving back, Bulgakova’s classes aren’t just about honing in on her philosophy: they’re also about being a part of something bigger. “I wanted to do something meaningful for the people who live here. I’m incredibly grateful for this community - it’s been such a relief to finally feel at home after moving between so many places for so long,” Bulgakova added. Bulgakova will be traveling for the upcoming months, but will announce her scheduled classes once she returns.

With the continued growth of yoga on the mountain, classes are also offered through Mt. Hood Villages own Lindsay Banik. A resident for the last five years, Banik is a skilled yoga instructor with over twenty years experience. With a passion for spirituality and healing, Banik admits the flow and feeling of the natural world has become intrinsic to her.

“The deep esoterics of existence naturally give me drive and determination. I’ve always trusted the synchrony of life and tried to follow what felt true,” Banik said. “Yoga is a modality that, on an energetic level, can keep you connected to higher realms of existence, freeing yourself from so much inner turmoil,” Banik added. 

Similar to the ideals of her local yoga instructor peers, Banik’s dedication to teaching yoga on the mountain is much more than the demonstration of a movement or pose –  it’s the overall gift of peace it gives to the community. 

“In the summer of 2023, while navigating a divorce and starting the journey of sobriety, I needed something positive to give and receive. At the time I was full of liberation energy, ready to dive into personal sovereignty,” Banik said. “Yoga was the easiest, most familiar way to achieve that.” 

Banik’s classes are offered every summer at Timberline Lodge on Wednesdays at 6 p.m., outside at the amphitheater in the main lodge. Classes at Timberline are donation-based, on average $10-$20 per person. Banik will also be the resident yoga instructor at Vinyasa Casa, a new wellness and yoga facility located next to Mogul Mountain Pizza.