What if the path to healing wasn't a straight line, but a trail — one that combines the physical challenge of hiking with the mindful presence of yoga? That's the vision behind Hike to Yoga, a Los Angeles-based nonprofit blending guided hikes, nature-based yoga therapy, and community connection into what founder Laurie Hang calls a "mini urban retreat." Host Dr. Laura Scherck Wittcoff sits down with Laurie to explore how a self-described non-athletic, first-generation immigrant built a movement now approaching its 100th event — and why she believes self-care is world peace.
Guest Laurie Hang, Founder & Executive Director, Hike to Yoga
Laurie has been a certified yoga therapist since 2014. As the daughter of Chinese Vietnamese refugees, born in a refugee camp in the Philippines, she grew up with little access to the outdoors, sports, or peer community. After adopting the habit of stretching following daily dog walks in the Baldwin Hills/Culver City area, she noticed her body growing stronger — and a chance conversation with a neighbor led to the first Hike to Yoga program at the park. Founded in 2019, the organization has since grown by word of mouth to more than 100 events, with zero dollars spent on advertising.
What is Hike to Yoga? Hike to Yoga is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit community initiative making mindful movement, nature connection, and holistic wellness accessible to all. Here's how a typical event works:
- Participants gather at Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area (with occasional partner events at Franklin Canyon) every month
- The morning opens with a group circle where each person shares their name, where they're from, and their roots — a practice Laurie says helps people fully "arrive"
- The group hikes together, with mindful moments along the trail: listening to sounds, smelling native sage, learning about local plants
- Upon reaching the hilltop, the group offers a land acknowledgment of the Gabrieleño/Tongva people
- Yoga is practiced in a circle formation Laurie calls a "yoga wave," so participants can see and connect rather than facing a mirror or instructor
- No yoga mat is required — a blanket or towel works fine — and modifications are offered for every ability level and age
- RSVP and optional donations are handled through Eventbrite; no one is ever turned away
Key Topics Covered
Why hiking before yoga? Laurie explains that walking warms up the body organically — similar to the effect people seek from hot yoga, but without the discomfort of an artificially heated room. Getting the body moving first also helps quiet the mind before settling into stillness and breathwork.
Yoga therapy vs. conventional studio yoga: Laurie draws a sharp distinction between commercialized, for-profit yoga studios — which she says often only teach the physical postures, not the deeper practice — and yoga therapy, which considers the whole person and adapts to individual needs. She notes that yoga was historically passed down one-on-one, not to rooms of 20 or 200 people, and stresses that the instructor's own state of mind directly affects what students receive in a class.
Nature-based yoga therapy and accessibility research: Laurie presented her first research project at the International Association of Yoga Therapists symposium — a qualitative case study following a blind participant, Tony, who attended one of her hikes. His feedback that describing the surrounding colors and scenery (not just body alignment) would deepen his experience led Laurie to a guiding principle: designing an experience for a visually impaired person makes it more accessible for everyone. She distinguishes her approach from "forest bathing," describing it instead as actively engaging with nature as a participant, not a passive observer.
Community, identity, and social justice Every May, Hike to Yoga partners with API-RISE, an organization supporting formerly incarcerated Asian American and Pacific Islander community members, bringing them onto the trail — many for the first time in decades. Laurie, herself a refugee and first-generation immigrant, sees this work as inseparable from social justice: "Yoga is a way to refine this tool... to help us be more clear and focused in our energy."
Founder's journey and resilience: Laurie shared candidly that from 2022 to 2024, she took a 16-month hiatus from Hike to Yoga after feeling overextended during the pandemic years. Choosing to step back — rather than run the organization into the ground — allowed her to return in 2024 with renewed clarity. She connects this to her personal "Root to Rise" framework and the metaphor of transmutation: using what you've been through, including pain, to grow into something new, "like the lotus growing in mud."
What's Next: Laurie hopes to expand into a second location and eventually relaunch a hike leader training and certification program. She's also interested in developing research and partnerships focused on connecting children — particularly kids without regular access to nature or organized outdoor activity — to the benefits of hiking and yoga.
How to Get Involved
- Attend: Find upcoming hikes and RSVP via Eventbrite, linked at hiketoyoga.org
- Volunteer: Hike to Yoga is currently seeking volunteers, interns, and board members
- Shop: Check out the "Rest is Rebellion" merch line on the website
- Follow: Instagram and Facebook @hiketoyogala
Connect with Hike to Yoga Website: HiketoYoga.org Facebook: facebook.com/hiketoyogala Instagram: instagram.com/hiketoyogala
Connect with Small & Gutsy Website: SmallandGutsy.org Email: Laura@SmallandGutsy.org
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