More than two decades ago, Stephanie Anderson found respite in yoga for the first time.
She was seeking to escape two things: lower back pain and the bone-chilling, gray rain of a Seattle winter.
After her second son, Ward, was born in 2000, Anderson noticed nagging issues again with her lower back.
Knowing she couldn’t continue living that way, she enrolled in a Bikram yoga class where the brief respite from back pain turned into a long-term solution.
Now owner of Island Yoga Coronado, instructing yoga has become a way for Anderson to share these solutions with the community.
In fact, Anderson said that back issues are the number one reason why people come into her studio at 1330 Orange Ave., Suite 210.
Her clients range in age, from young professionals and moms, to the consistent Coronado old-timers, like Steve Boney, who is in his 80s.
“This is a healthy place for people to come and make their lives better.”
-Stephanie Anderson.
“I feel like I have built a place that makes the world a better place,” Anderson said. “This is a healthy place for people to come and make their lives better.”
Coronado roots
Anderson’s roots extend far into the Coronado community.
Her grandparents moved to Coronado during the Depression after losing their farm in Oregon. An advertisement prompted her grandfather to help build the U.S. Navy base on North Island, settling the family down for good, she said.
Anderson grew up on the island and attended Village Elementary and Coronado middle and high schools.
Her degree in microbiology from San Diego State University catalyzed a series of moves to Los Angeles, Reno, Nevada, Columbus, Ohio, and Ann Arbor, Michigan for her career as a researcher and sales representative for genetic analysis equipment.
When Anderson moved back to Coronado in 2011, where her three sons Reid, Ward, and Clark finished school, she began teaching yoga at three studios, one of which was the studio she currently owns.
Anderson purchased the studio in March 2019.
“My youngest son was a junior in high school,” Anderson said. “I was kind of thinking, okay, what am I going to be doing after Clark goes off to college, and this came up for sale. It was the perfect thing at the perfect time.”
From celebration to pandemic
On March 1, 2020, Anderson said she remembers having a celebratory lunch with her sister to mark her first year of ownership.
But just 12 days later, the studio closed because of the pandemic.
To survive, Island Yoga Coronado hosted online classes, sessions in the park and classes on the third floor deck of its building.
“She faced some challenging times through the climate of COVID and the aftermath.”
-Island Yoga instructor Gail Gormican on Stephanie Anderson.
“Stephanie has been a focused and strong leader through the years,” Island Yoga instructor Gail Gormican said. “She faced some challenging times through the climate of COVID and the aftermath. She navigated the continuous changes and regulations with determination and positivity, always with student safety first and foremost in mind.”
Making it through the pandemic, Island Yoga continues to provide classes in Yin Yoga, Inferno Hot Pilates, Bikram yoga and private yoga sessions in the studio which has a view overlooking the historic Hotel del Coronado.
As a business, the company supports community organizations like the SunCoast Market Co-op and Emerald Keepers.
Juggling all parts of the business
As a small business owner, Anderson juggles many different aspects of the studio.
“Sometimes I’m teaching classes; sometimes I’m teaching private classes; sometimes I’m working on the schedule; sometimes I’m hiring new teachers and sometimes I’m doing payroll,” Anderson said. “It’s kind of cool in that I get to use a lot of different skills.”
When she is not working at the studio or going on adventures, like skydiving, with her sons, Anderson is involved as a member of the Coronado Chamber of Commerce and the Rotary Club of Coronado, in which she is the co-chair of Low Tide Ride & Stride race, a 5K beach course that celebrates its 26th anniversary on June 24.
She is also on the Coronado Cultural Arts Commission and is in the process of updating its website with a current list of art educators.
