Rebekah Santiago has been working her way through Seattle’s neighborhoods her entire life. Born and raised in Capitol Hill, her family moved to Ballard when she was in high school. She started working at Red Mill Burger, eventually becoming a manager of the Interbay restaurant.
While doing that, Santiago started practicing yoga when she got pregnant with her first daughter at the Seattle Holistic Center and hasn’t stopped since. Eleven years later, she’s combining her business management experience and her love for yoga to start her very own studio, Sweat Hot Yoga, here in Fremont.
“I love the Hatha and Vinyasa Flows and that is what I want to bring to Fremont,” says Santiago. How she ended up in Fremont is a matter of friends and her longtime love for the area.
“When I started to look for a spot to lease I was all over the map in Seattle. Nothing seemed right. I knew that I wanted to be in Ballard or Fremont but no place was what I wanted. My best friends Jeff and April Cornell, owners of Hidden Hand Tattoo, told me that I should look at the space right next to them in the Dubliner building. I have always loved the feel of Fremont. It has been tradition for my family to walk the Sunday Fair since my little one was born. I love the feel, love and community Fremont has.”
And so Santiago is setting up shop at 3516D Fremont Ave North, next to Hidden Hand. The studio is expected to open sometime in May and will feature Vinyasa and Hatha Flow in a hot, sweaty environment. Rebekah also wants it to be a family-friendly place, for your family and hers.
“I expect to have a large family at my studio. I want it to be laid back and easy going. Yoga for everyone, shape, age, size. I want it to be fun, not like a gym. I am going to have one massage room for clients. My sister is a massage therapist who would rent that. My mother, a seven time breast cancer survivor, has been getting involved with Reiki and is now becoming a Reiki Master. I would like to add that to the mix. In the future I would like to have a day where the room isn’t hot and teach prenatal and yoga to cancer survivors.”
For now, she invites you to sign up for email updates at her website. She will be raffling off five Free Month Unlimited Memberships during our opening day classes, so you’ll want to be aware of those. She has a good idea of how the studio will kick things off but hope for the community to help her in making the studio the best it can be.
“I will start with one morning class and 4 evening classes but I want the community to help with letting me know when they want classes. I want to be a studio that listens to the community with the services I have. I strongly feel that Fremont will let me know and will be pleased with what I can offer.”