Our Story

Movement Arts opened the doors for yoga classes at the Big Red Barn in the fall of 1998. At that time, Arlington was a small town, so we started with just a few students. Over the years we grew into a center for classes, friendships, gatherings, and a real sense of community, with several hundred students coming through the doors each week.

The studio was featured in a national magazine,  Real Simple (November 2002) as part of an article about the studio’s director, Kara Keating.

In 2006, other changes had taken place. Movement Arts had evolved into a healing arts center, with a strong emphasis on yoga, as well as yoga teacher training. In addition the studio began to offer classes off-site at the Camano Senior & Community Center on Camano Island.

In 2008, several projects were launched, such as the completion of the DVD Yoga at Home, which was filmed in the barn and includes music by local musicians.

It was a big year in 2011 when Movement Arts relocated to a new studio (also a historic building) in downtown west Stanwood. Moving from a barn to an beautiful renovated church allowed us to offer a full-time, full service studio and boutique in a commercial location. A December anniversary celebration fund raiser for the studio included silent auction, food and wine, and live music and dancing.

In 2012, as the year begins, we are launching our first ever International Yoga retreat, scheduled for February of 2013 in Costa Rica. Our teachers will be giving workshops at the first Northwest Yoga Conference. Movement Arts became a certified Yoga School through the Yoga Alliance.

Movement Arts plans to offer excellent classes, workshops, retreats, and other services to the community for many years to come. We offer our deepest gratitude to everyone who makes a contribution of any kind to this amazing place.

From Kara:

"It has been my pleasure to see this business grow from its infancy to a full fourteen years of service. As we all know, time passes so quickly, and here we are, a real fixture in the community! My wish is for many more people to experience the healing power of movement in their lives. It is my commitment that we continue to improve, educate, and provide a safe and supportive environment for those who seek us out. May we all experience better health, wellness, abundance and joy in our lives."