The Branches

The Branches Formerly Queen Street Yoga. Yoga & movement. Rooted in Community. Down-to-earth classes, expert yoga

We opened our doors in 2005, and have become known for our highly experienced teachers, our innovative approach to movement, and our efforts in community care and social justice. Our aim is to make the practices of yoga and meditation more inclusive, more accessible, and more relevant for your day-to-day life.

Check out what we're spouting in APRIL! 🌱💪 Strength & SkillYoga Foundations (April 7) – Perfect for beginners or those r...
03/17/2026

Check out what we're spouting in APRIL! 🌱

💪 Strength & Skill
Yoga Foundations (April 7) – Perfect for beginners or those resetting their practice.

Handstand Playshop (April 18) – Flip your perspective and find your balance!

Strength Foundations: Upper Body (April 21) – Build power and stability.

🧑🏽‍🍼 Family & Pregnancy
Connected Birth Prep (April 19) – Tools & trust for you and your support person.

Prenatal Yoga (April 23) & Prenatal Flow & Restore (April 27).

Parent & Peanut (April 23) & Parent & Mini Mover (April 27) – Move with your little ones!

🌈 Community & Connection
Singing for Peace (April 12) – Lift your voice and your spirits.

Rainbow Restorative Yoga (April 19) – An exclusive, nourishing space for the 2SLGBTQIA+ community.

Emma's desk is currently littered with books by activists, scholars, and journalists. 📚 She's been preparing to teach ou...
03/07/2026

Emma's desk is currently littered with books by activists, scholars, and journalists. 📚 She's been preparing to teach our upcoming module on Accessible Yoga: Creating and Teaching Inclusive Classes, and it’s a deep dive into the "cultural soup" we all swim in—the intersections of anti-fat bias, anti-Blackness, and body stigmas.

At The Branches, we believe that being a "good" teacher means being a conscious one. It means investigating our underlying assumptions about health, size, and worth.

I’m so excited to share some helpful tools and discussions with a new group of teachers. Whether you're looking to dismantle bias or just want better practical cues for larger bodies + differently abled bodies, our Accessible Yoga module is for you.

It runs March 27-28 and May 22-23, 8 hours of training total.

📚 Current desk favorites:

Fearing the Black Body (Sabrina Strings)

The Body is Not an Apology (Sonya Renee Taylor)

You Just Need to Lose Weight & 19 Other Myths about Fat People (Aubrey Gordon)

Calling all early birds! Morning is a wonderful time to fit in a practice. All these classes can also be joined online i...
03/06/2026

Calling all early birds! Morning is a wonderful time to fit in a practice. All these classes can also be joined online if you don't feel like taking off your pjs.

Here's the full line up of classes before 10am:

Monday 9am Strength Essentials
Tuesday 6:30am Sunrise Practice
Wednesday 9am Slow Flow
Thursday 7am Sunrise Practice
Thursday 9am Strength Essentials
Sunday 9:30am Slow Flow
Sunday 9:45am Stretch & Centre

If you’ve ever felt unsure or intimidated by strength training, this course offers a supportive and approachable place t...
03/05/2026

If you’ve ever felt unsure or intimidated by strength training, this course offers a supportive and approachable place to begin. With clear instruction, a welcoming atmosphere, and a manageable pace, you’ll learn the foundations of lower-body strength in a way that feels doable and empowering.

The 6-week Lower Body course is under way, but you can still join in. Or wait until April and we'll be offering an Upper Body focused option.
g a well-rounded routine you can continue at home or in our drop-in strength classes. This class is a great preparation for our Strength Essentials Drop-In Classes, offered seven times a week.

This course is taught by Linda Collins, a yoga teacher and certified personal trainer who’s in her 70s. Linda brings not only professional expertise but lived experience of how yoga and strength training can transform physical ability, ease of movement, and everyday life. She loves sharing how she has much better mobility and less pain than when she retired 15 years ago. She’s passionate about helping others discover what’s possible through movement — no matter their age or starting point.

🌈Rainbow Restorative Yoga is an affinity space for 2SLGBTQIA+ community to land and find rest together. Restorative yoga...
03/02/2026

🌈Rainbow Restorative Yoga is an affinity space for 2SLGBTQIA+ community to land and find rest together. Restorative yoga is a practice of resting in comfortable, supported poses with props such as bolsters and blankets. These shapes can help the body, mind, and breath to calm and relax. Led by a queer-identified teacher, this class is an opportunity for slowing down, deep rejuvenation, and self-care.

Please note, this class takes place in our 3rd floor studio. Please save your spot in advance!

After the teacher’s fee, any additional proceeds from the class will be donated to SPECTRUM.

⏰ Last Chance — Trial-5 BOGO ends Feb 28 ⏰Just a few days left to take advantage of our February Trial-5 BOGO 💛• $50 for...
02/26/2026

⏰ Last Chance — Trial-5 BOGO ends Feb 28 ⏰

Just a few days left to take advantage of our February Trial-5 BOGO 💛

• $50 for a Trial-5 Pack
• Get a free pass to share with a friend or loved one
• A simple way to move, reconnect, and support each other

If you’ve been meaning to invite someone to practice with you, this is your moment. Let’s get our community moving together before February wraps up.

🔗 Purchase through our website.
BOGO ends Feb 28

We are exited to share about this new collaboration! 🎶For generations, humans have turned to song as a source of communi...
02/20/2026

We are exited to share about this new collaboration! 🎶

For generations, humans have turned to song as a source of community, wellness and joy. Especially in times of deep grief, fear and uncertainty, singing together can nourish the soul providing a safe space to express emotions while discovering hope and solidarity in a shared community. These free, community-oriented sessions will provide an opportunity to learn and sing heartfelt and hopeful songs from resistance communities of many times and places. These simple, yet powerful songs can draw us into spaces of reflection and spur us towards action. Willing participants of all abilities, ages, and backgrounds are welcome! No formal musical or singing abilities are necessary - this is not a choir, and there's no performance.

Please register in advance to save your spot, spaces are somewhat limited.

Sessions will be facilitated by Branches member and local music educator Anna Janecek. Anna (she/her) is passionate about creating empowering music-making opportunities with people of all ages and abilities. With music degrees from both the University of Waterloo and the University of Toronto, her background is in voice, piano, choral conducting and music education. Her experiences working with both adults and children include community and church-based choirs, educational settings and musical theatre. She is thrilled to collaborate with The Branches to combine music, community and social justice awareness in this special space.

March is just around the corner, and we’ve curated a calendar designed to help you move, breathe, and build community. 🌸...
02/18/2026

March is just around the corner, and we’ve curated a calendar designed to help you move, breathe, and build community. 🌸

💪 Strength & Movement
Strength Foundations: Lower Body | Mar 3 (Tues) @ 4:00pm

Yoga for Round Bodies | Mar 4 (Wed) @ 5:45pm

Mindful Movement & Meditation | Mar 26 (Thurs) @ 5:45pm

🌿 Rest & Nervous System Care
Roll & Restore: Myofascial Release | starts Mar 8 (Sun) @ 7:00pm

Rainbow Restorative Yoga (2SLGBTQIA+ Exclusive) | Mar 15 (Sun) @ 2:00pm

Spring Renewal Restorative Yoga | Mar 15 (Sun) @ 4:30pm

Nervous System Care for Distressing Times | starts Mar 25 (Wed) @ 7:45pm

🍼 Parents, Peanuts & Prenatal - 6 week courses
Parent & Mini Mover | Mar 9 (Mon) @ 9:00am

Prenatal Flow & Restore | Mar 9 (Mon) @ 7:30pm

Parent & Peanut | Mar 12 (Thurs) OR Mar 25 (Wed) @ 9:15am

Prenatal Yoga | Mar 12 (Thurs) @ 7:30pm OR Mar 23 (Mon) @ 5:45pm

✨ Community & Connection
Embodiment for Trauma Recovery | starts Mar 8 (Sun) @ 11:30am

Singing for Peace | Mar 15 (Sun) @ 4:00pm

We're ringing in the New Year with Welcome Week! This is the perfect opportunity for new folks to try a class on us. Fro...
02/01/2026

We're ringing in the New Year with Welcome Week! This is the perfect opportunity for new folks to try a class on us. From January 2-11, we’re offering a free class to anyone who is completely NEW to the studio.

Head on over to our website to grab your free pass and book your first class.

✨ February Special: Trial-5 BOGO ✨All month long, our Trial-5 Pack is Buy One, Get One 💛Feb 1–28• $50 for a Trial-5 Pack...
02/01/2026

✨ February Special: Trial-5 BOGO ✨

All month long, our Trial-5 Pack is Buy One, Get One 💛
Feb 1–28

• $50 for a Trial-5 Pack
• You’ll receive a free pass to share with a friend or loved one
• Move, breathe, and practice together

Yoga is better in community. This February, invite someone you care about to join you on the mat — no pressure, just shared time and movement.

🔗 Purchase through our website.
BOGO available Feb 1–28 only

Thanks for joining us for this little trip down memory lane this week!💛 We have so much gratitude for our community - To...
01/25/2026

Thanks for joining us for this little trip down memory lane this week!

💛 We have so much gratitude for our community - To everyone who’s practiced with us for a season or for decades. To those who’ve shown up open-minded, tired, joyful, grieving, curious, or strong. You are the reason this studio exists.

We are blown away, humbled, and so so grateful that our independent studio has thrived for TWO decades. Here’s to more growth and more branching out for another 20! 🌟

We've love to hear any memories you have from the past 20 years in the comments! ⬇️

Our approach to movement has evolved alongside our community and as our teaching staff continue studying and learning.Fr...
01/24/2026

Our approach to movement has evolved alongside our community and as our teaching staff continue studying and learning.

From yoga asana to functional movement, from teacher training to lifting barbells and cheering each other on — being together means growing, adapting, and learning over time.

The practice keeps evolving, our intention to offer care and connection has stayed the same.

👋🏾Say hi in the comments if you've been on our staff or part of one of our YTTs!

Address

9 Samuel Street
Kitchener, ON
N2G1V6

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Our Story

We are a beautiful yoga studio with caring, fun, and well trained teachers. A small business that is about community, not commodity. A haven of sunshine, quiet and wide open space in the heart of busy downtown Kitchener. A place where people of varied demographics come together to learn and grow through the practices of yoga and meditation.