Walking past Hollywood Video in Dinkytown used to be an everyday occurrence for Megan Doll.

As a University of Minnesota undergraduate five years ago, she stopped in a few times to pick up a movie or glanced over at it during one of her French language discussion circles across the street.

Nearly two years after Hollywood Video closed its doors, she has made the location she often overlooked the home for her dream âÄî an affordable yoga studio called Your Yoga in Dinkytown, which opened Monday.

 âÄúWe just kind of had a feeling right away that it was going to be the perfect space for us,âÄù Doll said.

After a lengthy search for studio space in both New York City and Minneapolis, Doll and her business partner David Frenk said they immediately fell in love with the vibe and prime location of the Dinkytown space.

Frenk and Doll said the new studio aims to take the intimidation out of yoga and make it affordable and accessible.

In following with the inexpensive and donation-based yoga movement in New York, where both Frenk and Doll went to graduate school, all classes are $5 for college students and $10 for anybody else. Customers without a yoga mat can rent one for $2.

The price alone had Trisha Therne anxiously awaiting the studioâÄôs opening after seeing something about it on Facebook.

âÄúItâÄôs nice to finally have affordable yoga,âÄù she said, after emerging from the studio with her yoga mat tucked beneath her arm.

She was among the first to experience Your Yoga when she attended a 65-minute class Monday.

Therne, a College of Continuing Education student at the University who tried CorePower Yoga in Stadium Village and a few studios downtown, said the new space succeeded in its mission to create a welcoming environment.

âÄúThis is so different from CorePower,âÄù she said. âÄúItâÄôs very peaceful and noncompetitive.âÄù

She said the relaxed atmosphere and lack of mirrors made her less self-conscious and more self-aware. The $5 charge is a fourth of what she paid at other studios, she said.

Frenk said they chose not to install mirrors or open class with chanting âÄî both common in traditional yoga studios âÄî to remove the intimidation and âÄúdemystify yoga.âÄù

The studioâÄôs lavender walls and hardwood floors have space for roughly 25 students and their yoga mats.

âÄúWeâÄôre not trying to undercut other studios,âÄù Frenk said. âÄúWe just want to show that it can be done this way.âÄù

Joel Klausler, the manager of the CorePower Yoga Studio in Stadium Village, said he welcomes the new Dinkytown studio.

âÄúThe more yoga, the better,âÄù he said.

Though Your Yoga is the closest competition geographically to his studio, he said yoga is not competitive.

Single classes at CorePower are $13 for full-time college students and $18 for everyone else, according to the companyâÄôs website. The Stadium Village studio is currently offering a free week of unlimited yoga to new customers.

Klausler said he doesnâÄôt foresee losing business and that, though they have different approaches, they are both on the same mission to âÄúmake yoga accessible.âÄù

Doll said the affordable movement in New York makes it rare to walk down the street without âÄúrunning into someone with a yoga mat.âÄù She and Frenk hope to inspire a similar movement in the Twin Cities and said they believe the market is ripe for it.

âÄúWe believe everybody should be offering classes for $5,âÄù Frenk said.

The pair met at a yoga studio in New York City and joined forces after realizing their yoga philosophies were very similar.

They said they hope to share these benefits with the area to make Your Yoga a safe and inviting community space.

âÄúWeâÄôve found that on campuses, this type of studio brings a whole new dimension to the community,âÄù Frenk said. âÄúWe hope that will be the case here âÄî a place where everybody can come to achieve personal growth.âÄù