New yoga studio opens in downtown South Bend’s revitalized Hibberd Building

SOUTH BEND, Ind.—Caitlin Hubbard moved to South Bend with her husband about two years ago and said she was disappointed in the lack of yoga options.

“It’s really good for my body and my mind,” Hubbard said.

The instructor, who gained her 20 plus years of yoga experience at a studio in Athens, Georgia, decided to take matters into her own hands.

Two and a half years after she arrived in South Bend, Hubbard opened Bend Yoga inside of South Bend’s Hibberd Building, located at 321 S. Main Street, on the lower level.

The studio officially opened on February 28 and since, Hubbard has enjoyed finding other people who enjoy both taking and teaching yoga classes.

“I mostly enjoy the studio environment, meeting other people who are looking for a community of yoga folks,” Hubbard said.

Inside of Bend Yoga, a large studio can hold between 20 and 25 mats. A smaller meditation room will also soon offer classes or opportunities for individual meditation.

“We have lots of different styles, lots of different teachers on the schedule. We also are open 7 days per week, so we have classes early in the morning, before work, we have midday classes, so if folks downtown want to pop out on their lunch break, we want to make sure we’re available for everyone to come and enjoy some good yoga," Hubbard said.

Bend Yoga is open seven days per week and offers everything from power yoga classes to those that are focused on relaxation.

The studio’s name is a nod to not only a core movement of yoga but the city it now calls home.

Single class experiences, class packs, and memberships are available. Class members can either bring their own yoga mat or rent one in the studio.

For those who want to run in during a break from work or school, Hubbard offers complimentary deodorant wipes, dry shampoo and other toiletries. The studio is kept around 72 degrees.

While now considered a yoga enthusiast, Hubbard didn’t take to yoga immediately.

“I thought yoga was silly the first time I did it,” Hubbard said, adding that she didn’t understand the movements or breathing.

Over time, Hubbard found herself going back to the practice, and soon enough, yoga became an integral part of her life.

“I had a one-on-one session with a man in his forties. He had come to a couple of classes because he wanted to start taking better care of himself. He’s a professor and spends a lot of his day seated, hunched over grading papers, reading papers. In the short time that he’s been coming, he’s seen a huge improvement in his flexibility and relaxation,” Hubbard said. “You don’t have to be a body builder to go to the gym and you don’t have to be a pretzel to come try yoga.”

Hubbard's new yoga studio is the newest addition to a changing downtown. The Hibberd Building is adding new tenants, including a bakery set to open later this year.

Across the street, the St. Joseph County Public Library's Main Library has just begun a major renovation project, which will add both spaces and services to the building's current offerings. It's targeted to reopen sometime during the summer of 2021.

A couple of blocks away, the Ivy at Berlin Place celebrated its ribbon cutting in December 2019. The development is home to 121 luxury apartments, which officials said are reminiscent of what can be found in Chicago's Wrigleyville area.

Goshen-based Embassy Coffee Company opened a coffee bar inside of De Nolf's Barbershop at the end of February. It's the coffee roasters second location.

A new office building on Main Street broke ground in 2019 and remains under construction. Barnes and Thornburg LLP signed a 15-year lease for three floors of the building.