As the tongue-in-cheek “Are you out of your mind” neon sign mounted to the wall suggests, this well-choreographed yoga studio helps patrons leave the 9-5 at the door and get out of their heads in a design that heightens the connection between body, mind and space.

Located on a bustling street in downtown Vancouver, Jaybird Yoga Studio is a departure from the predominantly well lit, all white ‘health’ retailers we’ve become accustomed to. Designed by local studio Ste. Marie, the atypical interior is rich and earthy – if you happened to stumble in you’d more likely expect to have found Vancouver‘s hottest new club (shoutout to SNL’s Stefon) than its Yoga and Meditation practice.

Yet that’s just what makes it so special. With no mirrors and dim lighting, the designers looked to the emotional and tactile experience of materiality to facilitate an ephemeral relationship between the external environment and one’s internal state. Recycled cork tiles like mottled marble line the walls and floors, defining the framework of the “primordial cave”. Paired with a soft palette of walnut and mochas emerging from the walls in rectilinear forms, patrons are enveloped within the reception zone.

Moving further into the design, white oak benches and planters of wheat stand out against the monochromatic interiors. Lining the perimeter of the space, they lead to the change room and studio doors.

Inspired by the yoga principle of “flow”, the 227 sqm area looks to Constantin Brâncuși’s animate sculptures and the choreography of modern dancers such as Lucinda Childs and Yvonne Rainer for its intuitive and responsive layout.

The project’s irreverent style extends to the inside of the studio room. A candle covered “altar” with LED lighting sits against a backdrop of the repeated cork clad, perceptibly theatrical against the all dark interior. Otherworldly and occult, the look and feel of the studio focuses on the haptic experience to embrace what can’t be seen.

[Images courtesy of Ste. Marie. Styling by Kate Richards. Photography by Knauf & Brown.]