305 Yoga Turns 20: The North Miami Studio Where Everyone Belongs
305 Yoga has moved five times in 20 years. This month, the North Miami studio celebrates its anniversary in a 100-year-old house that founder Terri Cooper Space bought in 2024, and she’s inviting the whole community to the party.
Staying Power
Getting to a permanent home meant surviving rising rents, changing neighborhoods and a pandemic. The house, known as “The Shala,” was built the same year the City of North Miami was incorporated. A grant from the North Miami Community Redevelopment Agency helped beautify the property and turn it into the sanctuary it is today.
“We’re the little studio that could,” Terri says. “In a city where more and more businesses are closing because of rising rents and gentrification, we beat the odds. I never gave up because I know the impact yoga has on people.”
A Practice Built Around Belonging
305 Yoga approaches yoga as something larger than exercise. Classes weave together movement, breath, meditation, philosophy and spiritual teachings that feel relevant to modern life and welcoming to all faiths. Windows stay open, natural light fills the rooms, and there are no mirrors, no added heat and no pressure to perform.
“You don’t have to be thin, flexible, wealthy, vegan or already ‘a yoga person’ to walk through our doors,” Terri says. “There is no gatekeeping here. People arrive believing they’re too stiff, too old or too out of shape, but we want them to discover they belong exactly as they are.”
The schedule spans vinyasa, flow, yin and kriya, along with private instruction, 200-hour and advanced teacher training, workshops, retreats, kirtan and mantra evenings, full moon beach yoga and sound healing. In the backyard, the Thermal Garden offers a sauna and cold plunge. The property also houses We Heal, a wellness coworking collective where vetted independent practitioners in massage, acupuncture, therapy and Reiki can serve clients within the studio’s community.
Yoga Beyond the Studio
Terri’s commitment to access predates the studio itself. In 2003, shortly after becoming a yoga teacher, she began teaching in foster homes, youth shelters and juvenile detention centers. That grassroots work became Connection Coalition, which has served more than 20,000 people, trained more than 5,000 teachers and community leaders, and at its peak reached 26 states, including a four-month, 16-city cross-country yoga tour. Today it continues to work across South Florida alongside city and county agencies, built around a simple idea: learning to find the pause between what happens to us and how we respond.
It’s a philosophy Terri also applies to the wellness industry at large. “We don’t necessarily need more wellness,” she says. “We need more practice.”
Plan Your Visit
To mark the anniversary, 305 Yoga is hosting a free, family-friendly celebration on Saturday, October 17, from 3 to 7:30 p.m. at 774 NE 126th Street in North Miami. The afternoon includes a 90-minute Master Class with Terri, kids and family yoga, and a gratitude meditation session. At the event, Miami-Dade County will present a letter of recognition for the studio’s 20 years of service. Live entertainment, local vendors and refreshments run throughout, and the evening closes with kirtan from Mystic Mantra Band. Registration is required to reserve your mat by visiting 305yoga.com/20-anniversary. Follow @305yoga on Instagram for more.