When designing the space for her first yoga studio, Jasmine RaShae’ was intentional with every detail. Ancient African artifacts line the studio walls and there’s an inviting lounge area at the front, complete with a record player open for anyone to use. RaShae’ jokes that people walking by may question if it’s yoga studio or an art gallery.
“I want to see art in the space, I want to see music and listening parties and open mics, and all kinds of things where we can transcend just yoga; that we become a cultural community hub for people to land in Downtown Seattle,” she said.
RaShae’s studio, Soulful Flow Yoga, is located inside the Pacific Place shopping center. Her studio is one of the first pop-ups our Seattle Restored program opened in the Downtown shopping mall in late 2025. As part of our work to open up economic opportunities, our Seattle Restored program pairs small business owners with vacant commercial spaces for pop-up activations. This allows entrepreneurs to access affordable spaces while trying out their business model.
The opportunity to open a yoga studio pop-up meant Soulful Flow has a place to call home. Before this pop-up, Soulful Flow was a “very hybrid, mobile community.”
RaShae’ started practicing yoga in college and deepened her practice while working in marketing and events within the tech industry. Shortly after she moved to Seattle in 2019, RaShae’ was in the middle of yoga teacher training when she was laid off from her tech job for the fourth time. That’s when she decided she wasn’t going back to the corporate world.
“Then I was just hustling, busing from Seattle to Renton, teaching at different places because now I was a full-time yoga teacher,” she said.
The Soulful Flow brand quickly took off in 2020. An ambassador for lululemon, RaShae’ taught classes in their studio in University Village. She also utilized pop-ups and taught classes at other peer spaces and events. RaShae’ continued to hustle and grow her business, focusing on her mission of building an inclusive practice, especially for the BIPOC community.
“I want to see everybody and every body type on the mat,” she said. “We just want spaces where there are people and teachers that look like us. I think that’s important.”
Building on that mission, RaShae’ says she started to reimagine who gets to lead. She expanded Soulful Flow Yoga to include a yoga school. More than 200 students trained with Soulful Flow, and RaShae’ estimates 70% of those students are BIPOC teachers.
“That’s really powerful,” RaShae’ said. “When you see yourself in space or in community, then you’re more inclined to come.”
Having a space to call home means RaShae’ can continue to build her brand and her mission. She heard about Seattle Restored through her friend Avery Barnes, who participated in the program with the pop-up Taswira. RaShae’ applied and opened the studio pop-up in November 2025.
RaShae’ uses the space to teach group classes, run the yoga school, and host events. Soulful Flow continues to thrive. Originally scheduled to be a three-month pop-up, she was able to extend the lease and will stay open in Pacific Place through the end of March. On top of growing the business, RaShae’ is also learning that operating a studio is a “labor of love.”
“I was prepared for the roller coaster of ups and downs but having your own brick-and-mortar is a different beast,” she said. “But on those long days when it’s really challenging to run the business, I walk into the space and it’s filled with laughter and people finding ease and rest and movement, so that brings me a lot of joy.”
Though the future home of Soulful Flow Yoga is unknown after her pop-up in Pacific Place is complete , RaShae’ says she definitely wants to keep a home base for the studio and school.
“I think it’s very important that we keep this going,” she said. “These spaces in Seattle and across the world are very important. That’s the beautiful gift that Seattle Restored has been able to give us and to help us to continue to cultivate.”
Our Seattle Restored program is part of our work to create economic opportunities and reduce the racial wealth gap. We support businesses at every stage, from pop-ups to asset ownership, helping them stabilize and thrive. Seattle Restored focuses on providing access to commercial spaces and allowing entrepreneurs to test their business model without the financial risk of starting a business. Since its launch in 2021, the program transformed more than 100 vacant storefronts into pop-ups, boosting local business sales and foot traffic in neighborhood shopping districts.
If you own a retail property and would like to find out more about how to partner with our Seattle Restored program to fill your vacant retail space, contact the program at info@seattlerestored.org.