Parisa Yoga Shala: Collective Healing, Learning and Liberation

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Photo by Laurita MKE Photo

Parisa Shirazi Chavoya of Parisa Yoga Shala

Parisa Shirazi Chavoya, a Parisa Yoga Shala sound meditation.

The modalities of collective learning, growing, healing and transformation are harmonized at Parisa Yoga Shala (PYS), a Milwaukee wellness space led and curated by Parisa Shirazi Chavoya. The shala welcomes all to come and regulate their nervous systems with several types of in-person, small group yoga and meditative healing classes and sessions. Initially started in Shirazi Chavoya’s living room, Parisa Yoga Shala now travels between 12 different venues across the Greater Milwaukee area, embracing the notion that home can be anywhere folks gather.

“I started the business out of a desire for myself to grow and learn more about this practice with other people,” Shirazi Chavoya says. “It’s evolved into me loving to work with beginners, provide trauma-informed care, and work with people of color from all walks of life to provide a practice that can be accessible for them that traditionally isn’t always in the West.”

Yoga has roots in collectivism and justice, and as such, Parisa Yoga Shala recognizes the interconnectedness of healing and wellness with liberation and resistance. 

Liberation Movements

Shirazi Chavoya expands, “Original yogis were part of liberation movements in India, where yoga was used as resistance against British colonialism. In the U.S., a lot of organizers during the Civil Rights Movement leaned on yoga practices for mental health support or to gain strength through intentional movement to make their work more sustainable.

“I see a lot of organizers throughout the country and globally using yoga as a means to support themselves well so that they can continue showing up for the work that they’re doing. We can’t do justice work well if we’re not caring for ourselves well.”

However, as pointed out by Shirazi Chavoya, Westernized yoga is often whitewashed with approaches that center fitness or athleticism. “That’s not what the root of yoga is supposed to be,” she affirms.

All Ages and Backgrounds

When Shirazi Chavoya first tried yoga in her early 20s, she did not like it. Once she enrolled in an herbal apprenticeship with Alice’s Garden, however, Shirazi Chavoya began attending their free, intergenerational group yoga classes and would fall in love with the practice. “It was so fun to see people of all different ages and backgrounds, from elders to kids, come and explore yoga collectively,” she continues. “I felt safe and cared for. I started going to those every Tuesday and brought friends.”

Shirazi Chavoya has held various professional roles providing care and support for others. She worked in higher education with students on a one-on-one basis, and she also worked in the public health and nutritional fields with Milwaukee's Black and Brown communities as well as migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border. In 2022, she decided to pursue work in wellness full-time, becoming a registered yoga teacher and certified sound healing practitioner. 

“I was leaning more into yoga practices for myself, and I wanted to take time to understand how the mind, body and spirit are all connected,” Shirazi Chavoya explains. “I was finishing my Master’s degree in Education at Marquette, and I wanted to bring in what I was learning about counseling by curating experiences that are tailored to peoples’ needs.”

Several Variants

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Photo by Laurita MKE Photo

Parisa Yoga Shala

Parisa Yoga Shala before a session.

Parisa Yoga Shala offers classes in several variants of yoga throughout the week including restorative, yin, hatha, and yoga nidra, as well as gentle yoga flow for beginners. Most classes are taught at Moving Galaxy Yoga Studio on Milwaukee’s East Side, although Shirazi Chavoya offers private sessions as well. 

Shirazi Chavoya may recommend different styles of yoga to different people, depending on the kind of healing or support someone is looking for. Low-cost classes as well as donation-based community offerings, where proceeds go toward different causes, are provided in order for Parisa Yoga Shala to be as accessible as possible.

“The slow, restorative yoga is my most popular class,” Shirazi Chavoya notes. “I teach those in the evening, and I get a lot of people who are battling insomnia or anxiety and need a refresh, especially at times when politically, things are hot.”

She adds, “Yin yoga is a little bit more challenging because we’re putting more stress on the body. If I know that someone has heightened stress, I’ll have them do restorative yoga first. Hatha classes are more for people who express to me that they want to feel more connected to their body through meditation movements as they build strength and flexibility.”

Sound Healing

Sound healing and meditation sessions are also part of Parisa Yoga Shala, and those are held at many different venues around Milwaukee. Starting with gentle breathing practices to calm the nervous system, this healing incorporates various instruments and tools such as Tibetan singing bowls, crystal bowls, chimes, gongs, shakers and drums into a deeply meditative space guided by sound.

In order to practice wellness with the utmost authenticity, Shirazi Chavoya keeps her classes to small groups of three to eight students. New attendees register and complete an intake form so that the space may best accommodate them. “I curate each class that I teach to who is coming,” Shirazi Chavoya explains. “That’s why I actually don’t take drop-ins, but sometimes I’m flexible, if someone’s bringing their mom (laughs).”

Parisa Yoga Shala is a space cognizant of disability justice and ableism, and as such, Shirazi Chavoya accommodates students who may have movement restrictions, conditions or concerns. She also offers classes tailored to pregnant and postpartum mothers, which are curated with intentionality around what the body needs during one’s journey through such processes.

Shirazi Chavoya emphasizes that she is not a coach and is not there to help folks achieve fitness goals. “My role as a yoga teacher is not to make your body look a certain way,” she elaborates. “I’m here to support you in connecting with yourself better and move in ways that feel safe.”

Empowering Students

This extends to how Shirazi Chavoya empowers students to make decisions for themselves. “Every once in a while, people will look over in the middle of class and ask if they’re doing something right. I usually respond with “what do you think?” because you get to decide what is right and wrong for you.”

Parisa Yoga Shala also collaborates with fellow wellness practitioners to provide workshops that include reiki, aromatherapy, kirtan, pelvic floor therapy and acupuncture. Shirazi Chavoya is founder of MKE Wellness For Palestine, a collective of wellness providers and advocates that curayes healing and wellness events in support and solidarity with Palestine.

New for 2025, Parisa Yoga Shala will be hosting yoga retreats and launching a new community sound healing space. Upcoming offerings include sound healing and aromatherapy at Moving Galaxy on March 29, sound healing and meditation at The Kind Oasis on April 4, sound healing and meditation at Afterglow MKE on April 12, and many more listed on their website. Follow Parisa Yoga Shala on Instagram @parisayogashala.

“I’m really excited to continue showing up for the community and bring wellness to the forefront of crucial justice work,” Shirazi Chavoya concludes. “I learned from the first Trump presidency how vital community is, and when I was on the U.S.-Mexico border, I saw how so many people came together to protect one another against mass deportations that were happening every day. For me, yoga is a great example of how we can come together to heal, nourish, grow stronger, be resilient and then show up.”