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Our Story

Welcome

We believe that yoga enlivens the best in each of us, nourishes the roots of our well-being, and empowers us to care for the lives around us. We're on a mission to uplift people’s lives and brighten our world from the inside out - through warm-hearted human connection and inspired classes led by a world-class teaching team.

find your flow

We opened Flow in 2004 to create more than a yoga studio - we wanted a place that feels like an exhale in the midst of our busy city. A space that softens the edges of your day and reminds you of who you are beneath the to-do list & hustle. From the post-class tea to the way light spills across the wooden floors, every detail was chosen with care to help you feel good - simply by being here.

  • Voted Best Of DC

    We’ve been voted Best of DC over a dozen times! We know it is because of our incredible teaching team. They’re soul-led magic makers leaders who teach from the heart. Known as of DC’s very best, they bring experience, presence, and genuine care to every class. And unlike most studios, we employ our teachers (not contract them), because supporting them is part of supporting you.

  • A Studio with a Happiness Team

    We love creating moments of joy inside of your Flow experience. Debra, Cindy and Corinna (aka Flow’s Happiness Team) are always dreaming up little touches to make your visit special: like special essential oil blends at our free aromatherapy bar, Saturday post class tea parties, community events, guest passes, or the animal crackers that somehow taste better after yoga. It’s the small things that make the big difference.

  • A Space Made for Wellbeing

    Designed by a LEED-certified architect and filled with 40+ lush plants, Flow feels like an urban jungle oasis. Every room is filled with windows, and our 14th Street space even has a classroom that opens onto a deck! Think real wood floors, eco-clean everything, crystals in the windows, and a blueberry bush just outside the door (yes, you can pick your own snack). We have a state of the art air system that keeps the air fresh and clean. Step inside, and you’ll feel the energy shift.

  • Infrared Heat That Heals

    Our infrared heating system doesn’t just warm the room—it warms your muscles, boosts circulation, and helps you sweat in the best way. It’s the kind of heat that feels like it’s working with your body, not against it. You’ll never want to take a “hot” yoga class without it. Add our healing famous red light savasanas & advanced air filtration system, and it’s a breath of fresh air in every sense.

  • Come For the Yoga, Stay For the Community

    Yoga has a way of turning neighbors into friends. That person you passed on the sidewalk may end up rolling out their mat beside you—and soon, you’re sharing post-class tea and conversation. Our lounges are a space to land, linger, and connect. Come early. Stay late. Sip tea, journal, or just soak in the calm. Some of our best conversations happen off the mat, on a couch, over a cup of something warm. (We even had 6 weddings thanks to chance meet ups at Flow, and Flow babies ;).

  • Here, You Belong

    Flow is community-first and status-never. Our classes are body-positive, diverse, and deeply inclusive—because yoga should feel like home for everyone. We’re proud to offer free classes to DC public school teachers, donate to local orgs like N Street Village and One Common Unity, and share free yoga with students and educators across the city. Need a scholarship? Curious about our BIPOC teacher training support? We’re here for that too.

  • Home Grown Right Here in DC

    We’re woman-owned, DC-grown, and here for the long haul. Every class you take with us supports grassroots wellness work in our city and beyond like free classes for DC Public School teachers. And we’re not just showing up in the studio—we’re co-founders of events like Yoga on the Mall and DC Yoga Week. When you practice at Flow, you're part of something bigger.

Our humble beginnings started with a leap of faith, a love for yoga and a walk up a very narrow purple staircase in 2004…..

I had just moved to DC from San Francisco, hardly knowing a soul, and was surprised how
hard it was to find a yoga studio. Back home, my local studio had been my second home—
woven into the fabric of my social life and my sense of belonging.
I knew in my heart that DC, with its fast pace and hustle culture, needed a place like that too.

I loved my career in nonprofit marketing, but I knew I could contribute even more by sharing yoga with my new community. So, within six months of moving here, I wrote a one-page business plan, searched high and low for a space, used my life savings, and opened Flow. We started on the third floor of our original P Street location — if you were around back then, you might remember the purple staircase and the bright orange walls!

The same month Flow opened, I married my boyfriend Ian, a fellow yogi I’d met while working in progressive politics. Our first date was actually at a yoga class in NYC—I'll share that story another time.😉 Ian was my biggest cheerleader and supported this wild dream from the start. A few years in, he even left his job to help me run Flow. It’s been a family affair ever since.

Fast forward 20 years, and we’ve grown to two locations, with over a thousand people practicing with us each week. These studio walls have witnessed more classes than we can count, thousands upon thousands of downward facing dogs, smiles, hugs, and deep breaths. We’ve laugh together, sometimes cry together, and we’ve weathered all kinds of storms—election cycles, government shutdowns, relationship changes, snow-mageddon, COVID, and the many ups and downs of small business life. Every time, we’ve come out stronger, thanks to our incredible teachers and community.

Our dream for Flow is simple: the moment you walk in, you feel at home. A bright, plant-filled refuge where you meet the great people who live in your neighborhood and be guided by teachers who truly care. One guest said Flow feels like “an adult playground,” and we love that because in a world that never stops hustling, everyone deserves a place to pause, move, play, and reconnect.

We hope you’ll join us inside one of our beautiful studios, outdoors at one of our favorite DC spots, or virtually from wherever you are. And when you do, please say hello. I’d love to meet you. Ian and I are usually around the studios throughout the week!

We can’t wait to welcome you!

Warmest regards,
Debra debra@flowyogacenter.com

Our Core Values

  • Flow: Transitioning from Hustle to Harmony

    Flow—not force—guides every part of how we run Flow, from the seamless choreography of our classes to the way we make decisions behind the scenes. This philosophy moves us out of relentless hustle and into clarity, creativity, and ease. When we operate from flow, we listen more deeply, find thoughtful solutions, and create space for those serendipitous “aha” moments that fuel growth. Flow empowers us to teach with presence, run our business with intention, and support our community with grounded, calm leadership.

  • Embrace Curiosity: A Path to Growth and Deeper Connection

    Curiosity has continued to inspire how we evolve as a business & community. In our business, curiosity helps us refine systems, experiment with ideas, and make choices rooted in reflection rather than habit. In our teaching, it encourages creative sequencing, fresh perspectives, and a willingness to explore the edges of what’s possible. And in our community, curiosity deepens connection by inviting us to ask better questions, listen fully, and understand each other more clearly. When we lead with curiosity, we grow with intention and keep Flow vibrant, responsive, and alive.

  • Belonging, Rooted in Community

    The heart of our values, Belonging guides how we design our spaces, how we greet our students, and how we choose teachers who lead with care. Belonging means practicing in a room where every body, background & experience is honored, and where people feel safe to explore, rest, challenge themselves, or simply breathe. Behind the scenes, it shapes how we collaborate, and make decisions that strengthen trust and accessibility. When belonging is felt, people open up, try new things, and grow in ways that ripple far beyond the studio - uplifting community, and reminding us that we’re never doing this alone.

Meet Flow’s Founders

Debra Perlson-Mishalove

Ian’s professional life is focused on inspiring people to nurture life on earth – starting especially with their own well-being. He currently serves as the Director of “Flow” for Flow Yoga Center, which he co-owns with his wife Debra. There, he ensures operations run smoothly for the bustling Flow community, which currently numbers over 2,000 visitors per week. 

Prior to that, Ian worked for 12 years directing online communications departments and organizing activist supporters for the Campaign for America’s Future and the National Wildlife Federation. Ian received an MES from Yale’s School of Environment and a BA from Princeton University, and in both places focused on how to empower progressive social‑movement networks. Outside of yoga and activism, Ian spends as much time as possible playing (mostly in the great outdoors) with friends and family.
Debra is the Creative Director and Founder of both workFlow Wellness and Flow Yoga Center, named by Washington City Paper & Washington Post as the “Best Yoga Studio” in DC and the recipient of the Mayor’s Award for Environmental Excellence. Featured in the Washington Post, NY Times, Yoga Journal, Wall Street Journal, NBC, and NPR, Flow offers yoga, wellness & fitness classes enjoyed by over 2000 guests each week both online and in person.

A Senior Yoga Teacher, Mindfulness Coach & Reiki Practitioner, Debra created Flow as a model of a conscious business that strives to minimize its environmental footprint & maximize its participation in social justice and community building. Debra raises thousands of dollars each year for local organizations and organizes the annual Yoga on the Mall, which attracts 10,000 area yogis. She’s a mom to 2 boys, a huge dog, and wife to Ian who runs Flow with her. Follow Debra @finding_flow_dc

Ian Mishalove

a place to practice, a place to belong

An inside peek of what it feels like to practice in a space that becomes yours - familiar, welcoming, and rooted in real connection inside of our DC community.