Garage makeover
How one enterprising yogini turned her home garage into a zen den, a place for yoga, stillness and quiet contemplation for all the family to enjoy
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Home is a sanctuary, especially when you transform your garage into a zen den! Gabriella Bock did just that. A yoga loving mum who has been working with her seven-year-old son, Harvey, on ways to self-regulate when he’s overstimulated ever since he could walk and talk, she turned their garage into a peaceful yoga retreat inside of their Tulsa home. Together, they converted their garage into a dreamy home studio space, a place that they can both use to escape to when life gets hectic.
What started as a cold concrete and brick space for storing a car is now a warm and inviting space for restoring calm.
Bock has practiced yoga for 18 years. Even while pregnant with Harvey and working as a journalist in Los Angeles, she remained dedicated, striking a triangle pose on Sunset Boulevard for the local paper, baby bump and all. “Harvey’s been doing yoga since the womb,” she jokes.
So when she downsized her home and lost her dedicated yoga space — and Harvey lost his beloved ‘calm corner’ where he can chill out when processing big feelings — both were heartbroken.
Determined to reclaim a sense of peace, they teamed up to transform their garage into a shared sanctuary for nightly yoga and meditation.
“It’s a matter of slowing down, breathing and paying attention to what’s going on around and inside of you, even when you’re overwhelmed or distracted.”
Of course, building a home studio can get expensive. Between yoga mats, straps, blocks, pillows, pilates wheels, a full AC unit (“It gets very hot in Oklahoma”) and a projector to cast meditative visuals on the walls, costs can easily top $1,000.
But Bock found ways to bring her vision to life for under $350 by sourcing budget-friendly items on Temu.
With glowing string lights and a giant, wall-to-wall yoga mat, what was once a bare garage is now her son’s favourite place to wind down— and hers too!
Om Magazine
First published in November 2009, OM Yoga magazine has become the most popular yoga title in the UK. Available from all major supermarkets, independents and newsstands across the UK. Also available on all digital platforms.
