Our Story

Sri Janani Yoga first took birth in 1989 as the Seattle Holistic Center and quickly grew into the Premier Prenatal, Postnatal, Family Yoga and Childbirth/Wellness Education center in the country. Over 30 years later our humble community-focused Seattle yoga studio continues to be a national leader for women and their families through pregnancy and beyond.

To celebrate our 30th anniversary and further support our community in its collective awakening to our highest potential, our new name, Sri Janani Yoga, was born. The Sanskrit meaning of ‘Sri Janani’  (pronounced “Shree-juh-nuh-nee) as ‘Auspicious, Universal Mother’, and ‘Yoga’ as ‘Union’, forms our center’s new name, to represent “Union with the Auspicious, Universal Mother that resides within us all”.

Sri Janani Yoga is about healing, consciousness, community and connecting to your inner strength and spirit.

Often referred to as “Mother of Prenatal and Postnatal Yoga”, Colette Crawford, our center’s founder, owner and director, first opened the current Seattle studio, in Seattle’s Green Lake neighborhood, at a time when most Americans had never heard of the word ‘yoga’:

“When I started teaching yoga, yoga mats didn’t even exist. We used carpet and bare floor to support our poses,” says Colette.  

As with any birth, the idea to open a prenatal and family yoga-wellness center went through its own stages of pregnancy. The biggest turning points all came in 1989. This first evolved when Colette was working as a Public Health, Labor and Delivery Nurse, and was asked to teach an ongoing Childbirth Education class to pregnant women enrolled in a drug rehabilitation program:

“These women needed to know how to prepare for birth without drugs. When they started sharing about their back problems and other pregnancy-related pains, I began teaching them prenatal yoga. Even though the rehabilitation program required them to be with me, they liked it, and said what they learned from me really helped.”

Later that year, Colette walked through the doors of our current Green Lake building for the very first time. She was bringing her son to his first Kids Aikido class. It was a momentous day in many ways, because on that day she also met her beloved husband of 30 years, Aikido Master Bruce Bookman, for the first time. It wasn’t long  before the two fell in love and Bruce encouraged Colette to open a yoga studio alongside his Tenzan Aikido center. The rest, as they say, is history.

What began as 3-student prenatal class has grown into a nationally recognized center where thousands of mothers from the Seattle area, and across the country, have come over the years to learn how to nurture and connect to themselves, their babies and their families throughout their lives.

Colette feels a sincere love and care for each and every student and their life’s journey. Combined with her expertise of over 45 years of yoga and meditation practices, and childbirth nursing, midwifery and doula studies, Colette has created a sacred space—an oasis—for new mothers and all women or men wanting to nurture and expand their consciousness.

She also offers a highly acclaimed Prenatal Yoga Teacher Training program that draws students from around the world. Every instructor who teaches at Sri Janani Yoga has trained with her, and she never ceases learning what she can do to serve.

We invite you to explore our website and see what classes speak to you. You’ll also find information on our instructors, special events, yoga teacher training, CranioSacral Therapy sessions, opportunities to receive our newsletter, connect and more. Our intention is to expand our offerings in the future.

Thank you for visiting Sri Janani Yoga. We look forward to supporting you through the next 30 years and beyond!

The Sri Janani Yoga Team

• Colette Crawford, Founder, Director,
  Senior Instructor & Teacher Trainer, CranioSacral Therapist

• Nisreen Azar, Yoga Instructor, Prenatal and General

• Iliana Minkova, Yoga Instructor

• Aditi Grandy, Instructor, Midwife

• Hannah Blomberg, Toddler Gym Instructor