As you drive into Questa from the south, Yoga Sala sits on your right-hand side just as you cross the little bridge. The word “sala” is painted on the front of it, as well as an abstract mountain landscape. Owner Gaea McGahee opened the doors of this multi-use space in 2019 and since then it has hosted many events and groups centered around health and well-being.
As soon as you walk into the studio at Yoga Sala there is a calmness that overcomes you. Perhaps it’s the oak floors or the way the light shines through the many windows that provide just the right amount of ambience to encourage you to drop your shoulders and take a deep breath.
McGahee grew up in southern New Mexico and moved to the Questa area in 2013. She immediately attended public meetings to help understand what Questa was about. While attending these public meetings, McGahee was absorbing information and learning what was important to the people of Questa.
This helped her discover the possibility of establishing a local farmers market. Growing and cultivating food played an important role in her formative years, and it was clear that Questa also shared this common thread of agriculture and farming. The idea of a farmers market made sense. The pieces were in place, but there was not a communal space for farmers and entrepreneurs to meet and offer their specialties in a central location.
McGahee got excited about the idea—it was something that she felt many people could enjoy. She also believed that it was aligned with the attributes of Questa she was hearing about in the public meetings.
The first Questa Farmers Market took place in 2016 at Perovich Park (the corner lot at the intersection of Highways 38 and 522) and later moved, to allow for growth and ongoing physical improvements, to the front of the Questa Visitors Center.
The idea of promoting health and wellness didn’t end there.
While the Farmers Market was making headway in Questa, McGahee was taking classes to become a yoga Instructor in 2016. In February of 2018, McGahee purchased the current building where Yoga Sala resides. After a year of renovating, McGahee and her partner opened the doors to Yoga Sala and provided the first yoga class in September of 2019.
Yoga Sala operates as both a nonprofit and for-profit business. As a nonprofit, free community classes in yoga and Tai Chi are offered. All classes are free for youth. You can attend McGahee’s “Seated Yoga” and “Gentle Yoga” classes for $10 if you buy a pass or $12 for drop-ins. Classes run about 1 hour 15 minutes.
Since its doors opened, Yoga Sala has hosted music events, storytelling events, and workshops hosted by community members. Some of those include a microgreen workshop by Kenny Lacome and a financial literacy class hosted by the Questa Credit Union. Other rooms in the building offer office space for nonprofit programs to use, as well as a kitchen. A tiny store inside the studio offers local coffee beans, tinctures and companion plants, art, cards, and jewelry—all produced locally.
McGahee leads a few nonprofit programs that operate under Localogy, a fiscal sponsor for many nonprofit programs in Questa and other northern New Mexico communities. There are three programs McGahee organizes from which many have benefitted. Sala Reach is the moving arts program at Yoga Sala that promotes whole health; the Questa Farmers Market operates from May to October; and the newly established Cultivo is a youth-centered agriculture program. The focus of her programs and the mission of the “sala” remains promoting the culture of health—whether that is through movement, food, or the land. The connection between land and people is something McGahee is very interested in maintaining, as her roots are firmly there.
McGahee offers a monthly class at the Questa Health Center for those in recovery. “I feel very strongly about supporting people in our community who are in recovery.” McGahee provides these classes for free under her non-profit program, Sala Reach, and those who wish to continue the class can go to Yoga Sala free of charge. “If we want to ever see a more beautiful world and community, we can’t leave anybody behind. We need systems in place that bring healing to everybody,” says McGahee.
Currently, Yoga Sala offers classes in yoga, Tai Chi, and kickboxing. Classes for kids such as ballet and dance will hopefully resume once new instructors are in place. Any teens interested in kickboxing can attend for free. Periodically, Yoga Sala offers a local food stand outside the building, with produce grown at Cerro Vista Farm by Cultivo.
One thing that McGahee wants to share with Questa residents and surrounding communities is that the space at Yoga Sala is open and ready for your event needs. If you are interested in hosting an event or having a gathering, Yoga Sala should be on your radar.
Yoga Sala has their schedule of events listed in the Questa del Rio News community calendar as well as on their website at https://yogasalaquesta.org. Donations to the nonprofit are always accepted and appreciated.
