Willow Studio marks eighth anniversary with free community yoga day
Willow Studio opened its doors free for a June 18 community day, mixing classes, food and giveaways with a bigger pitch: yoga and Pilates that feel welcoming in Peterborough.
Willow Studio turned its eighth anniversary into an open-door invitation on June 18, hosting a full-day Community Appreciation Day at 1600 Lansdowne St. W., Unit 16, in Peterborough. The studio offered free classes and experiences, plus giveaways, food and drinks, and asked people to register in advance because space was limited.
The event did more than mark a birthday for The Willow Studio - Yoga & Pilates. It put the studio’s identity front and center: a place built around access, neighborhood loyalty, and the kind of welcome that lowers the barrier for someone trying yoga or Pilates for the first time, or returning after a long break.
That message has been a steady part of Willow’s public face. The studio describes itself as a warm, inclusive yoga and Pilates space in Peterborough, and it has tied that language to concrete outreach. Angela DeMeester, the owner, has worked with Five Counties Children’s Centre and Heads Up for Inclusion to bring yoga, movement, and mindfulness to children and adults with disabilities in the community. PtboCanada also reported last year that Willow launched a first-of-its-kind adaptive yoga pilot program for children with special needs, created with Five Counties Children’s Centre after DeMeester said she saw a significant gap in programming for children with diverse needs.
That adaptive work has been practical, not symbolic. A Trent Radio report on the pilot described a one-hour class on July 16 that included breath work, dancing, yoga storytelling and quiet meditation, all tailored to each child’s needs. The broader support system around the studio has matched that approach: Community Futures Peterborough included The Willow Studio in its 2025 Starter Company Plus cohort, a program that offers one-on-one guidance, workshops, mentorship and grants of up to $5,000.
For anyone looking to join in later, Willow’s own programming gives a clear entry point. The studio offers an Intro Month for $48 with unlimited classes, and its anniversary event showed how that first step can lead into something bigger: a studio that has spent eight years trying to make wellness feel local, familiar and usable for more of the people living around it.
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