Today we’d like to introduce you to Carissa Morris.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Another Realm Yoga Cooperative grew out of my long-standing connection to yoga and the McMinnville community. I’m Carissa Morris, and I’ve been teaching yoga in the McMinnville area for almost 20 years. Over that time, I’ve worked at nearly every iteration of yoga studio that’s existed here, which has given me a deep appreciation for both the community and the evolving nature of shared yoga spaces.
I’ve lived in McMinnville my whole life and now live in Carlton, just outside of town. I’m also a mother, I’m married, and I have a dog. My background is fairly eclectic—I’ve spent a lot of time working in the service industry, including restaurants, hospitality, and the wine industry, alongside my work in yoga. That mix of experiences has shaped how I move through the world and how I approach building community spaces.
My personal journey with yoga started in a fairly unorthodox way—I first discovered it through classes at McMinnville Community College. I didn’t come from a traditional studio background, but I quickly fell in love with the practice and what it offered me.
What’s kept me committed all these years is the understanding that yoga is for everybody. There are as many ways to practice yoga as there are people in the world. It’s an ancient, expansive system, but at its core it always comes back to breath, awareness, and presence.
That foundation is what continues to draw me in, and it’s also what shaped the vision for Another Realm Yoga Cooperative.
The cooperative emerged from a shared studio model in the space we currently occupy on Northeast Davis Street in McMinnville. It began as a rental-based studio where independent teachers could offer classes, be paid directly by their students, and operate with a high level of autonomy. What we discovered through that model was a really balanced ecosystem—teachers had more ownership over their work, and students benefited from a flexible, accessible way to attend classes.
When the studio ownership shifted and that original structure began to change, I felt strongly about preserving what had been working. From that, Another Realm Yoga Cooperative was formed.
In its current form, I hold a primary role in maintaining the space and supporting its structure, while still operating it as a cooperative where multiple teachers can independently offer classes within a shared system. It’s not a traditional top-down studio model—it’s a collaborative space built on trust, responsibility, and mutual support.
At its core, this work comes from a long-standing desire to create and participate in spaces that feel grounded, human, and community-centered. My path hasn’t been linear, but everything I’ve done—from yoga to hospitality to entrepreneurship—has shaped how I approach building something that is both practical and meaningful.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It hasn’t been a completely smooth road, and I think a lot of that comes with trying to build something in a different way than what people are used to.
One of the main challenges has been building enough teacher consistency and community to really make the model sustainable. Because this is a cooperative and not a traditional studio, teachers are essentially independent and responsible for their own classes and income. In the beginning, that can be a hard structure to step into—especially when people are used to being paid by a studio rather than directly by students or through shared revenue.
We’re still in that early stage of trying to make the model make sense for teachers while also keeping it sustainable for the space. Right now, we’ve been experimenting with different structures, including a short-term 50/50 split where teachers and the cooperative share income before transitioning into a per-class space rental rate. The idea is to give teachers a way to build momentum without too much upfront pressure, while still honoring the cost of maintaining the studio.
Another layer of challenge has been helping people understand the pricing model itself. We don’t operate on subscriptions or packages. Instead, it’s a sliding scale, pay-as-you-go system where students pay when they attend, and frequency of attendance naturally adjusts what they contribute over time. It’s very different from what most people are used to, so there’s an education piece—helping both teachers and students understand how and why it works.
We’ve also had to rethink the infrastructure side of things, from simplifying how payments are handled to finding clearer ways to communicate the model through our website and day-to-day interactions. It’s intentionally a more independent, trust-based system, but that also means people have to adjust their expectations when they first encounter it.
So overall, the challenge hasn’t been one single thing—it’s been building a new kind of structure in a system that people aren’t used to yet. But it’s also part of the process of creating something different, and we’re continuing to refine it as we go.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I teach yoga, and I also offer a space for other teachers and movement artists to share their work through Another Realm Yoga Cooperative. That includes yoga, but also has the potential to expand into other embodied practices like dance, belly dance, somatic movement, meditation, and other movement-based or mindful offerings. My role is both as a teacher and as someone helping hold space for other teachers to share their work independently within a shared studio model.
In my own teaching, I don’t limit myself to just one style, but I am most known for my faster-paced, heated classes. My most popular offering is hot yoga, which tends to resonate especially well in Oregon. The colder months really lend themselves to that kind of practice—people are drawn to the warmth, the ability to loosen the body, and the intensity of moving, stretching, and breathing in a heated space.
My classes tend to be dynamic and breath-focused. I like to keep people moving so they can get out of their heads and into their bodies. There’s a strong emphasis on presence—staying connected to breath and sensation—while still keeping the energy accessible and engaging.
Music is also a big part of my teaching style. I curate playlists that help shape the energy of the class and keep people engaged in the flow. I’ve even been known as “DJ Yoga Pants” on Spotify, which reflects that playful side of my classes.
What I’m most proud of is creating spaces. That includes building and holding space through the cooperative, but also expanding that into other creative ventures like Rancho Relax Inn, my vacation rental property that also includes a small yoga studio on site. Creating environments where people can slow down, connect, and feel grounded is something that’s deeply important to me. I’m also a proud mother, and that role is a meaningful part of my life and identity as well.
What sets me apart is my drive to stay committed to the visions I have and see them through, even when it’s challenging. I have a strong sense of perseverance and a belief that we can do hard things. I tend to follow through on ideas that feel aligned, even when the path isn’t straightforward, and that has shaped both my personal life and the spaces I’ve created
So maybe we end on discussing what matters most to you and why?
What matters to me most is creating—creating beautiful spaces, experiences, and environments where people can feel grounded, inspired, and connected. That’s something that shows up in my yoga teaching, in the cooperative, and in other spaces I’ve built like Rancho Relax Inn. I’m very drawn to the idea of shaping places that help people slow down and reconnect with themselves.
My family also matters deeply to me. My husband, my son, and my dog are a huge part of my life. I value those relationships more than anything—along with close friendships and the people I share my life with. That sense of connection and community is really at the center of everything I do.
On a broader level, what matters to me is helping people reconnect to themselves. I care a lot about supporting others in finding their own center, their calm, and their sense of truth beneath all the noise. I often say that you are so much more than you give yourself credit for. You were meant to shine—and when you shine, you give other people permission to shine too. When you heal, you create space for others to heal as well.
So for me, it really comes down to creating spaces—physically, emotionally, and energetically—where people can remember who they are. It’s not about me doing something to people; it’s about helping them see what’s already within them.
Pricing:
- Sliding Scale $10-$25
Contact Info:
- Website: https://anotherrealmyoga.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aryogacooperative/
