On a golden Friday evening, sunlight spills through a side window into the cozy studio of Banana Yoga, casting a warm glow across the hardwood floor. Thirteen bodies rise in unison, arms stretching skyward before folding toward the ground. Aside from the instructor’s occasional cues, the only sounds are the soft hum of meditation music and the rhythmic swell of breath—deep inhales, slow exhales. Vivid artwork wraps the walls as the room moves as one in quiet ritual.
It may look like any other yoga class, but Banana Yoga was built with a purpose that runs deeper than movement and breath. The studio is rooted in a commitment to queer visibility and inclusion, something community members say feels increasingly urgent amid rising backlash against LGBTQIA+ representation.
Even in progressive strongholds like California, signs of a nationwide retreat from Pride visibility are surfacing. In early June, Target stores in the Bay Area noticeably reduced their Pride-themed displays compared to previous years, echoing a company-wide decision to limit merchandise placements after facing backlash in 2023, according to The Mercury News. A similar quieting is happening online; many national brands with a local footprint, including Levi’s and The North Face, opted for toned-down Pride messaging this year or skipped it altogether.
As corporations retreat from Pride, “rainbow capitalism” is fading, leaving queer-owned businesses and grassroots organizers to carry the visibility.
Enter Banana Yoga: A nonbinary-owned yoga studio in Oakland fostering an inclusive space for members of the LGBTQIA+ community and beyond. While national brands back away from allyship, owner Marlo Miller says Banana Yoga leans in—boldly, joyfully and all year long. Here, Pride isn’t a marketing strategy; it’s baked into the studio’s mission. As a former corporate professional, Miller witnessed how companies’ interest in catering to marginalized communities often follows cyclical patterns, so she isn’t surprised to see the tides turning now.
“The economy may be changing, but we won’t,” Miller stated. “The national trends right now show why it’s important for us queer-owned businesses to stay rooted in our communities.”
Miller’s idea to open a yoga studio was sparked when she was laid off from her human resources job during the pandemic. She had been teaching yoga for six years as a side hustle, so the idea of owning her own space was a “dream.” That dream came true in 2023 when she opened Banana Yoga in Oakland’s vibrant Temescal neighborhood.
Yoga is widely recognized for its benefits: 16.9% of U.S. adults practiced it in 2022, mainly to support overall health, meditation and pain relief, according to the CDC. Research from Harvard Health shows that yoga strengthens key brain areas like the hippocampus and cerebral cortex, supporting memory, attention and emotional resilience, while also helping reduce anxiety, depression and stress by boosting mood-regulating chemicals.
Yet these wellness benefits have historically been welcoming mostly to white, heterosexual practitioners. Yoga marketing in the U.S. has traditionally targeted affluent, white, cisgender women—often middle to upper-middle class—who are perceived as primary consumers of wellness products and services, according to a 2023 Yoga Alliance study. This focus shapes imagery, pricing and class offerings, often making yoga less inviting to people of color, LGBTQIA+ individuals and lower-income communities.
Since opening, Banana Yoga has expanded its mission to create an inclusive space for roughly 300 regular LGBTQIA+ participants and allies. Sunset Fern, a trans instructor, has been teaching Friday night classes since the studio’s first year, leading back-to-back sessions at 4:30pm and 6pm. Fern’s journey to yoga began after a nerve injury in their shoulder led them to explore guided stretching. What started as physical healing became a deep love for the practice and eventually a calling to teach.
“I like this space because of the sense of community,” Fern said. “A lot of the same people show up each week, and there’s also a strong bond between the instructors here.”
For Fern, teaching yoga is about creating a space that feels safe and inclusive for the trans community. They noted that gendered language in traditional yoga spaces can be uncomfortable for trans students, so they’ve prioritized leading classes that affirm all gender identities and ability levels. Before joining Banana Yoga, Fern led a workshop on trans-inclusive yoga at a community center. By the time they arrived at Banana Yoga, they had already been teaching for three-and-a-half years, bringing both experience and education in LGBTQIA+ affirming practice.
“To be able to teach in a space with queer and trans teachers and students is very special,” they said.
The studio tailors many classes to meet the needs of its diverse clientele. Offerings like The Full Moon Femme Circle—a guided “cleansing ceremony” designed to help women, and femme-identifying and nonbinary people, regulate their nervous systems—and Yoga for the Queer Community, which centers mindful movement for LGBTQIA+ individuals and allies, reflect that mission.
The studio has also added non-yoga classes, including a three-part safety and self-defense series launched in April. Miller says the program saw strong participation from the trans community. The demand reflects a sobering reality: LGBTQIA+ individuals are four times more likely to experience violent victimization than their non-LGBTQIA+ peers, according to 2020 research from the UCLA School of Law’s Williams Institute.
“They deserve to feel safe when walking down the street,” Miller said.
To promote accessibility, the studio uses a sliding scale pricing model, with classes ranging from $17 to $25 so participants can pay what they can afford. Miller says many have found the studio simply by googling “affordable yoga.”
Affordability was a major draw for Rose Ipsen, who has attended eight sessions since a friend introduced her to the studio. She mostly attends Monday night classes to unwind and credits the “amazing” instructors for keeping her coming back. After stepping away from yoga for nearly eight years Ipsen says she’s hooked again, thanks to the warm, nonjudgmental atmosphere at Banana Yoga.
“Here, you can show up as you are,” Ipsen said.
Looking ahead, Banana Yoga is preparing to move to a larger location at 5827 San Pablo Ave., just five minutes from its current site on 40th Street. When asked what keeps her going, Miller said it’s seeing people who aren’t typically celebrated in yoga thriving on their yogi journeys.
“When I look around the studio during a class and see people from all backgrounds coming in tune with their bodies, those are my proudest moments,” Miller said.
