Yoga studios are easy to find, but ones that genuinely welcome beginners, those recovering from illness, and people who simply want to feel less overwhelmed by a crowded class are harder to come by. Our Lotus Society, a Richmond, Virginia studio founded by certified yoga teacher and Reiki master Shannon Eastwood, has built its entire approach around that kind of accessibility, pairing traditional yoga instruction with sound bath meditation and energy healing.
What distinguishes the studio is the instructor’s own path to the practice. Eastwood spent two decades as a corporate strategist before health complications, including a 2020 cancer diagnosis, led her into formal yoga training during recovery — a background that shapes a teaching style focused on adaptability rather than rigid form, and that shows up clearly in how classes are structured for bodies and energy levels of every kind.
What is Our Lotus Society?
Our Lotus Society is a Richmond-based wellness studio offering yoga classes, sound bath meditation and Reiki healing sessions. It was founded by Shannon Eastwood, a Yoga Alliance-certified instructor (RYT200) who also holds Reiki master certification and facilitates sound baths using crystal and Tibetan singing bowls. The studio’s guiding idea is that healing practices should be accessible to everyone, not reserved for people who are already flexible, fit or experienced — a philosophy that runs through every class and session the studio offers.
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Key features
Yoga for every body
Classes include modifications for all experience levels, built around Eastwood’s belief that intentional movement and breath, not a particular pose, is what makes a practice genuinely yoga — an approach that opens the door for beginners and people managing physical limitations alike.
Sound bath meditation
Sessions use crystal singing bowls tuned to 432 Hz alongside Tibetan bowls and chimes, with the goal of guiding participants into a deeply relaxed, parasympathetic state through vibration and tone rather than active movement.
Reiki energy healing
As a certified Reiki master, Eastwood offers energy healing sessions that incorporate guided visualization and chakra-inspired color therapy, extending the studio’s offerings beyond a typical yoga class.
Breath work drawn from a varied background
Eastwood’s breath work techniques draw in part from vocal training she received working with a deaf and blind performer, giving her approach to pranayama a distinct, carefully developed foundation rather than a standard studio script.
Instruction grounded in real credentials
Between her Yoga Alliance certification, Reiki mastery, and experience teaching at the graduate level at Virginia Commonwealth University, Eastwood brings a depth of training that reassures newcomers they’re in capable hands.
A philosophy shaped by lived experience
What makes the studio’s inclusive approach feel earned rather than aspirational is Eastwood’s own path to teaching. Navigating a serious health diagnosis and recovery gave her a firsthand understanding of what it feels like to want movement and stillness without the pressure of keeping up with an advanced class. That perspective shapes how she sequences sessions, how she talks participants through modifications, and how she frames sound bath and Reiki work as complements to yoga rather than separate, unrelated offerings — all of which adds up to a studio that feels considered rather than assembled from a generic wellness template.
Who it’s for
Our Lotus Society is particularly well suited to complete beginners who’ve felt intimidated by more advanced studios, as well as cancer survivors and others navigating health recovery who want a gentler, more adaptive practice. It’s equally appealing to advanced yogis looking to deepen their practice through sound bath and Reiki work, and to anyone dealing with everyday stress who wants a holistic, low-pressure way to unwind. Because the studio emphasizes that any intentional movement and breath qualifies as yoga, it’s also a strong option for people with physical limitations who’ve been told more rigid studios aren’t a good fit for them. People newly exploring meditation or energy work, as well as those simply looking for a quiet, unhurried hour away from daily demands, will likely find the studio’s unhurried pace and varied offerings a comfortable place to start.
What makes it worth considering
The breadth of offerings is what elevates Our Lotus Society above a standard neighborhood yoga studio. Few single studios combine accessible yoga instruction, sound bath meditation and Reiki healing under one certified instructor, and Eastwood’s personal recovery story gives the studio’s inclusive philosophy real credibility rather than marketing language. Recent research backs the broader approach, too — an 8-week Hatha yoga study found measurable reductions in stress alongside increases in mindfulness, lending scientific support to the kind of consistent, adaptable practice the studio encourages. For anyone who’s tried yoga before and found it either too intense or too impersonal, the studio’s emphasis on intentional, breath-led movement offers a genuinely different entry point. The combination of credentialed instruction and a genuinely welcoming tone is a rarer pairing than it should be in the wellness space, and it’s a large part of why the studio has built a loyal following in Richmond.
Verdict
Our Lotus Society pairs accessible, judgment-free yoga instruction with sound bath and Reiki work led by a genuinely credentialed, experienced teacher. For anyone in the Richmond area looking for a wellness studio built around inclusivity rather than intensity, it’s well worth a visit.
Frequently asked questions
It's a Richmond, Virginia wellness studio offering yoga classes, sound bath meditation and Reiki healing sessions, founded by certified instructor Shannon Eastwood.
No u2014 classes are built with modifications for all experience levels, and the studio's philosophy holds that moving and breathing with intention is yoga, regardless of skill level or body type.
Participants relax while the instructor plays crystal singing bowls tuned to specific frequencies, Tibetan bowls and chimes, which is designed to guide the body into a calm, parasympathetic state.
Reiki is an energy-based relaxation practice, and founder Shannon Eastwood is a certified Reiki master who incorporates it alongside guided visualization and breath work.
The studio is based in Richmond, Virginia, and offers in-person classes and sessions led by Shannon Eastwood.
Shannon Eastwood, a Yoga Alliance-certified instructor (RYT200), Reiki master and sound bath facilitator with a background that includes graduate-level teaching at Virginia Commonwealth University.
