Our Mission
Barefoot Movement provides supportive yoga instruction for students to begin, grow, and develop their practice. Our approach enables individual learning in a diverse and welcoming community.
Our Practice
Barefoot Movement has been teaching Vinyasa yoga in Oakland since 2004. We are teacher-owned, and all our teachers received training here as part of their education. Our classes are tailored for beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels of yoga so that students at every stage receive appropriate support and challenges to help them progress. Although we share a background at this studio, each of our teachers offers something different, and we encourage students to attend classes from multiple teachers to benefit from their diverse approaches. We walk the walk—don’t be surprised if you see Barefoot teachers taking classes with you!
Our History
Barefoot Movement started as the nomadic teacher training of Leah Gillman, operating in various locations around Oakland. We opened our brick-and-mortar location in the heart of downtown Oakland in 2010 as a one-room schoolhouse, expanding in 2013 to our present form. Our light-filled urban nest overlooks the bustling junction of Broadway and Telegraph. In 2018 Leah sold the business to three of her students, Alek Trail, Kara Contreary, & Leonora Willis, who maintain the studio’s commitment to authentic yoga instruction and connection to the local community, serving residents and visitors to the Bay Area—and especially the people who call Oakland home.