Who We Are
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.
Ellie Kuennen (she/her): Sculpt CircHiit Instructor
Although you typically see her attending classes, leading the run of the DRi TRi, or instructing CircHiit sessions at DRiFT, Ellie is also a labor and delivery nurse at WinnMed (last spring, Ellie was awarded WinnMed’s its first-ever DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses!) and teaches nursing clinicals for NICC students in their obstetrics rotations.
She was born and raised right here in Decorah, and still calls it home with her husband and three kids.
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. Dillan completed her 200-hour YTT program at Palm + Pine in La Crosse, WI in 2023. 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. In 2024, Dillan completed Sculpt Teacher Training at DRiFT and now leads Vinyasa & Sculpt Flow formats in the center.
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!
“DRiFT: Strength + Yoga Center is the most welcoming yoga studio I’ve ever stepped into.”
— E. C. DRiFT practitioner
Actionable Items & Impact:
Since July 2022, DRiFT’s Karma Yoga Project has redistributed $24,498 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, The Supply Hive and MORE!
DRiFT is also an annual AND proud sponsor of Decorah Pride, celebrating the creativity and diversity that lives in the driftless region.