About Willow Creek
Rooted in Austin, built on breath, held together by community.
Willow Creek Yoga opened its doors on South Congress Avenue in the spring of 2019. Co-founders Elena Vasquez and David Kim had spent a combined twenty years teaching at studios across Texas — from Houston's Energy Corridor to a tiny converted garage in Fredericksburg — before deciding it was time to build a space that reflected what they loved most about yoga: the feeling of walking into a room and knowing, before the first breath, that you're exactly where you need to be.
The studio takes its name from the creek that runs through Zilker Park just a few miles north — a place where Austinites come to slow down, wade in the water, and remember that not everything needs to move at the speed of a 360 on-ramp. That same energy lives in our classrooms: intentional, unhurried, and open to whoever walks through the door.
Our Values
Four principles that guide how we teach, how we hire, and how we treat the neighborhood we live in.
Accessibility Over Exclusivity
Every body belongs on a mat. We offer sliding-scale scholarships, wheelchair-accessible studios, and teachers trained in adaptive yoga. If you show up, we'll find a way to teach you.
Community Before Profit
We keep our class sizes small (max 22 students), hire locally, and donate 5% of workshop revenue to Travis County food banks. The studio exists to serve people, not the other way around.
Authentic Lineage
Our teachers train in recognized lineages — Ashtanga, Iyengar, Anusara, Kripalu — and we honor the Indian traditions from which yoga originates. No hot-gym bro-ism, no Instagram poses. Just real practice.
Sustainable Practice
We run on solar power, use eco-friendly cleaning products, and compost all props made from natural fibers. The studio was built with reclaimed Texas oak floors and low-VOC finishes.
Meet the Founders
Elena Vasquez
Co-founder & Lead Teacher
Elena has been teaching yoga since 2008 and holds certifications in Vinyasa Flow, Prenatal Yoga, and Trauma-Sensitive Yoga. Before co-founding Willow Creek, she taught at a boutique studio in the Domain and completed a year-long teacher training at the Kripalu Center in Massachusetts. Her classes are known for blending precise alignment cues with a warm, conversational style that makes even first-timers feel at home.
David Kim
Co-founder & Meditation Director
David brings a decade of meditation practice to the studio, having studied Vipassana with S.N. Goenka's lineage and completed training in Restorative Yoga through Yoga Alliance. A former software engineer who traded late-night code sprints for 7 AM classes, he founded our Sunday Meditation Circles and leads the Pranayama Intensive workshops. His approach to teaching is patient, unhurried, and deeply rooted in the understanding that transformation happens in stillness.
Our Teachers
All our instructors are Yoga Alliance certified with 200+ hours of training and a minimum of two years teaching experience.
Aisha Patel
Hatha & Yin Specialist
Aisha trained at the Iyengar Institute in Pune, India, and brings meticulous attention to alignment into every class. Her Hatha sessions are the perfect entry point for anyone new to yoga.
Marco Reyes
Vinyasa & Power Flow
A former college athlete, Marco channels competitive energy into mindful movement. His 7:30 AM vinyasa is a South Congress staple — sweaty, challenging, and surprisingly joyful.
Grace Okafor
Restorative & Sound Healing
Grace is a licensed massage therapist and certified sound healer. Her Restorative classes use the full range of props plus singing bowls and chimes to create a deeply immersive experience.