Buffalo yoga studio hosts women-owned marketplace, boosts local entrepreneurship

A yoga studio built on a pay-what-you-can model turned its Sunday into a retail engine, bringing more than 40 women-owned businesses into the Niagara Arts and Cultural Center and giving Xochiyapa Yoga a way to reach people beyond the mat.

Women Mean Business ran May 3, 2026, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 1201 Pine Ave. in Niagara Falls, where community members browsed booths, supported local entrepreneurs and moved through a space better known for art, classes and cultural programming. Step Out Buffalo said more than 30 vendors were registered, while WIVB reported more than 40 women-owned businesses took part. The event was also tied to fundraising for Xochiyapa Yoga’s kids summer yoga camp, which made the marketplace more than a pop-up shopping stop.

That matters because the event fit a broader survival strategy that smaller yoga operators have been leaning into for years: use the studio as a hub, not just a classroom. Xochiyapa Yoga is listed by the Niagara Arts and Cultural Center as a heart-centered studio rooted in tradition, healing and community care, with no contracts and a pay-what-you-can model. It offers adult classes for all levels, dedicated kids classes and a dog-friendly environment, all of which make the brand feel more like a neighborhood gathering place than a rigid fitness business.

Marisa Religa, who said she first fell in love with yoga after being introduced to hot yoga in 2008, later became a certified instructor for adults and children. That background helps explain why the studio’s outreach looks the way it does. A market built around women-owned businesses is a natural extension of a brand that already sells accessibility and community, and it gives the studio a reason to bring in people who may never have signed up for a class on their own.

The Niagara Arts and Cultural Center gives that strategy a bigger stage. The nonprofit 501(c)(3) says it houses more than 100 artists and exists to preserve its historic campus while offering arts and cultural experiences for Western New York residents and visitors. The building at 1201 Pine Ave. opened as Niagara Falls High School in 1924 before becoming the arts center, and that history gives events like Women Mean Business an established backdrop that can absorb both foot traffic and local commerce.

For yoga studios trying to stay relevant, that is the real takeaway. A vendor market does not replace classes, but it can deepen loyalty, widen visibility and create a second reason for people to walk through the door. In this case, Xochiyapa Yoga used one Sunday to do all three.