On Jan. 21, at the third-space coffee shop Van Goghblin Cafe, Orlando travel content creator and yoga instructor Christina Petsos taught yogis of all levels at her 6:30 p.m. “Starry Night Yoga” class. 

As if stepping into a modern, street-style Van Gogh painting, friends, couples and strangers checked in and laid their mats next to each other before making their way to the back corner. There, they could redeem their free drinks from the cafe, which were included with the class. 

As participants unrolled their mats, it quickly became clear that the entire space would soon be filled with people seeking to get closer to themselves and their community. That is at least part of the reason why Petsos started teaching. 

Having been athletic since she was young, from gymnastics and bodybuilding to when she served as a U.S. Army captain and worked in law enforcement, Petsos has always led a life full of movement. About a year and a half ago, however, Petsos said she “wasn’t doing anything. Like, I wasn’t active. I wasn’t working out. I just stopped doing everything, which was such a weird thing for me.”

Local influencer Christina Petsos led a yoga class at the Van Goghblin Cafe on Jan 21. (MINAAL ARAIN)

That was when she returned to yoga, a practice she was first introduced to when she started gymnastics, then continued in high school before taking a break. “I’ve connected to the practice so much, and it’s changed my life a lot and opened pretty much my ways of thinking,” Petsos said. “I wanted to be able to share that with the people closest to me. And then I realized that teaching kind of just came natural to me, so I decided to start offering it to the community.”

Around the same time, the Van Goghblin’s owners, James Morrone and Addie Hassel-Morrone, who are friends of Petsos, opened the cafe up and began offering it as a third space. When Petsos found out, she realized this was the place where she could teach yoga and bring the Orlando community together. 

Petsos’ yoga classes come with a free drink from the Van Goghblin Cafe. (MINAAL ARAIN)

It seems like Petsos managed to do just that. Mary Walason and Erin Rodriguez, attendees of the “Starry Night” class, said that they followed Petsos on Instagram @somehowimeverywhere and were intrigued by the artistic cafe’s vibe. “It went hand in hand together,” Walason said.

Petsos offered a Bad Bunny Super Bowl–themed class on Feb. 8 featuring real bunnies. Upcoming class dates can be found on either the Van Goghblin Cafe’s or Petsos’ Instagram accounts.