Today we’d like to introduce you to Lena Manning.
Hi Lena, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
District Flow yoga really grew out of my belief in the power of yoga to help people navigate the stresses of everyday life. I had seen firsthand what it could do for friends and family—not just physically, but in creating connection, confidence, and a sense of community—and I wanted to create a space where yoga felt welcoming and accessible to everyone.
We opened our first studio at The Wharf in February 2020, which, as you can imagine, was interesting timing! Just one month later, COVID forced us to close our doors. We moved classes online, eventually offered outdoor classes at The Wharf, and did everything we could to keep our community connected. When we later learned that our lease wouldn’t be renewed, we had to decide whether to walk away or essentially start over.
We chose to start over.
In 2021, we found our current home on Barracks Row and rebuilt District Flow almost from scratch. What began with a small schedule and a lot of uncertainty has grown into a thriving, woman-owned neighborhood studio with a wonderful community of students and teachers. We’ve continued expanding our classes and programs, and in 2026 we reached another major milestone with the launch of our own 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training program.
Through all of those changes, our philosophy has stayed remarkably simple: keep yoga down-to-earth, take care of our teachers and students, and create a place where every body feels welcome. I’m incredibly proud that the sense of community we hoped to build back in 2020 is still at the heart of District Flow today.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It definitely hasn’t been a smooth road! We opened District Flow in February 2020, and just one month later COVID forced fitness establishments across D.C. to shut down. We remained closed on and off for the better part of a year, and during that time I paid staff out of pocket to help them stay afloat because it was incredibly important to me to take care of the people who had taken a chance on this new studio.
During the brief times that we were able to reopen, we faced strict capacity restrictions, and not long after that, we learned we would have to leave our original space. We packed up the entire studio, put everything into storage, and once again had to decide whether to keep going.
We did. We found a new home on Barracks Row, remodeled the space, and essentially started the business over again—with a significant amount of additional out-of-pocket investment and no guarantee that our community would follow us.
I still remember how excited we were when we reached our first 10 memberships. At that point, every single new member felt like a huge milestone. Today, we have around 350 members, and I don’t think I’ll ever take that growth for granted. Having gone through COVID, losing our first home, and rebuilding from the ground up makes where we are today that much more meaningful. More than anything, it has taught me how resilient a small business—and a community—can be when people truly believe in what they’re building together.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
District Flow is a community-focused yoga studio, and I think one of the things that sets us apart is the breadth of what we offer. On any given week, our schedule includes everything from Vinyasa, Slow Flow and Gentle Yoga to Hot Power Vinyasa, Yoga Sculpt, Yin/Yang, Restore, prenatal and postnatal yoga, and more. We have classes beginning as early as 6:00 a.m. and throughout the day, because we want people to be able to make yoga fit into their lives—not have to fit their lives around yoga.
But what we really specialize in is creating a place where people feel comfortable practicing yoga. You don’t have to look a certain way, be a certain age, have a certain level of flexibility, or already know what you’re doing before you walk through our doors. Our students range from people taking their very first yoga class to people who have been practicing for decades.
I also think our teachers are a huge part of what makes District Flow special. We intentionally have a diverse teaching team with different personalities, backgrounds, approaches and areas of expertise. We don’t want every class to feel exactly the same. We want students to find the teachers and styles that resonate with them while still knowing that, no matter whose class they walk into, they’ll receive thoughtful, high-quality instruction in a welcoming environment.
I’m especially proud that we’ve been able to grow without losing that neighborhood-studio feeling. We now have around 350 members and offer a robust schedule of classes each week, but people still know one another. Teachers know their students. People stay after class and talk. Friendships have formed here. That’s the part of District Flow that can’t really be captured on a class schedule.
We’ve also grown beyond simply offering yoga classes. We offer workshops and special events, community programming, outdoor yoga, and now our own 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training program. Being able to train the next generation of yoga teachers feels like a natural extension of what we’ve been building since we opened.
What I’m most proud of, though, is the community itself. We started over after COVID with essentially nothing—we celebrated our first 10 members like we’d won the lottery! To look around today and realize that roughly 350 people have chosen District Flow as their yoga home is pretty extraordinary.
There are plenty of places in D.C. where you can take a yoga class. What I hope people find at District Flow is something more than that: a place where they feel known, where they feel welcome, and where they genuinely want to come back. That’s what we’ve always wanted to build.
Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
What makes me happiest is seeing people connect—with themselves and with each other. One of my favorite things is watching what happens before and after class. People who originally walked into the studio not knowing anyone are now greeting each other by name, catching up on their lives, and making plans outside of yoga. Somewhere along the way, it became more than a place to take a class.
I also genuinely love watching the people who work at District Flow grow. Seeing a newer teacher gain confidence, watching a class that once had three students become a consistently full room, or seeing someone on our staff take on something they didn’t realize they were capable of is incredibly rewarding to me.
And on a very simple level, I love seeing people walk out of the studio a little happier than when they walked in. Life in D.C. can be busy and stressful. If we can give someone an hour where they can breathe, move, turn off the noise and feel better—and create a community around that—then I feel like we’re doing something worthwhile.
After everything it took to keep District Flow alive, I don’t take any of it for granted. A full class still makes me happy. Seeing someone’s name pop up who has been practicing with us for years still makes me happy. And watching this little business that almost didn’t survive become a place that means something to so many people makes me incredibly happy.
Pricing:
- Your first class is FREE!
- We offer discounted memberships for Educators, Medical Professionals, Military and First Responders.
- See our website for a complete price list: www.districtflowyoga.com
Contact Info:
- Website: www.DistrictFlow Yoga.com
- Instagram: districtflowyoga
- Facebook: District Flow Yoga
- Other: info@districtflowyoga.com
