Who We Are
Actionable Items & Impact:
Since July 2022, DRiFT’s Karma Yoga Project has redistributed $22,492 back into local, regional & global organizations that align with our core values: including SURJ - Des Moines Chapter, Helping Services, MomsDemand, Decorah High School Scholarship Fundraiser, Iowa Trans Mutual Aid Fund. Lahaina residents, Epilepsy Foundation of Iowa, MedGlobal supporting Palestians in Gaza and MORE!
DRiFT is also an annual AND proud sponsor of Decorah Pride, celebrating the creativity and diversity that lives in the driftless region.
DRiFT: Strength & Yoga Center Founder & Organizer: Laree Schouweiler (she/her)
For someone who nearly got booted out of her first yoga class, the founder of Decorah’s own DRiFT: Strength & Yoga Center has certainly had a decade of sharp and subtle turns.
Laree Schouweiler now finds herself positioned squarely in the heart of Decorah’s wellness community. A 500hr Experience Registered Yoga Teacher with Yoga Alliance, Laree has upwards of two-thousand hours of teaching experience on the mat, but is still adamant the true practice of yoga happens OFF THE MAT. Her classes are filled with dynamic movement that unites with breath and infused with the idea that yoga isn’t something we do - it is something we are.
Committed to creating more equitable wellness spaces as you will experience at the DRiFT, you may also catch Laree leading thought provoking workshops across the midwest - including at the Quad CIties Yoga Foundation’s Conference, R.E.S.E.T Conference and Toppling & Goliath’s BossLady Series.
Beyond Laree’s yoga background, she also holds a Master’s of Leadership, alongside her movement-based certifications such as ACE Health coach, Schwinn Indoor Cycling and Skill in Action (Yoga for a more just world).
When Laree isn’t motivating folks to stretch their ideas of ‘what is yoga’, you can find her trying to keep up with her three kiddos, seeking a quiet moment to enjoy with her husband or escaping the madness to find movement for herself.
“Driftless Yoga Center is the most welcoming yoga studio I’ve ever stepped into.”
— E. C. DYC practitioner
Ellie Kuennen (she/her): Sculpt CircHiit Instructor
Dillan Espeset (she/her): Vinyasa & Sculpt Teacher
Initially, Dillan was drawn to yoga as a way to build strength and flexibility that filled a hole dance used to hold. Yoga has been a method of connecting the body, mind, and breath through loving kindness towards oneself and others. Her mission is to cultivate movement practice to find health, love, and happiness within body and mind while emphasizing the power and balance of challenge and rest. You will find Dillan leading Vinyasa & Sculpt Flow classes.
Dillan is a mama, wife, stroller-jogger, and plant based baking & cooking enthusiast. You will probably see her around town pushing a stroller or chasing her boys on their bikes!