Who We Are

Two women smiling outdoors, one with short dark hair and tattoos on her arm, and the other with long wavy blonde hair in front of a floral background, both wearing black tank tops.

Valerie Moselle and Brinn Rawles, co-founders of The Mill Yoga

If you remember Luma Yoga, you might remember us, too. One of us was an owner, and the other a longtime student. We both loved that studio, and like so many of you, we’ve missed it since it closed during the pandemic. The Mill Yoga is our way of carrying that spirit forward, with a new home and the same care for this community.

This Place

In 1906, a steam-powered mill was built by the San Lorenzo River. Here, redwood cut from the Santa Cruz Mountains was shaped into window sashes and trim for a growing region.

Today the mill’s machines are quiet, and its buildings hold a gentler kind of work. In the mountains where the timber was cut, young redwoods now tower in rings around the old stumps. Long before the mill, this land was home to the Awaswas-speaking Uypi people. When the Spanish missions arrived their lives were upended. But their descendants live here still, working to restore native lands and traditions.

Places carry history, just as people do. Yoga teaches us to pay honest, unhurried attention to what is here, including the parts that are hard to see. We hope The Mill becomes a place to practice that attention together, and to breathe, rest, and gather with care for one another.

Woman practicing yoga outdoors under a thatched roof, hands in prayer position, with a serene expression.

Brinn Rawles

Brinn is a longtime yoga teacher, retreat leader, and the founding visionary behind The Mill Yoga. A Yoga Alliance Registered Yoga Teacher since 2023, she is grounded in both traditional yoga and modern movement science. An accomplished kiteboarder, Brinn knows firsthand what athletes ask of their bodies, and she brings yoga to them as a path to strength, mobility, and recovery. She is the creator and producer of an annual yoga retreat in La Ventana, Baja, which she designs and manages from start to finish. With The Mill Yoga, she brings that same care and vision home to Santa Cruz.

Black and white photo of Valerie Moselle. Her hair is curly hair, she is wearing a sleeveless top and sitting indoors on steps with a plant in the background.

Valerie Moselle

Valerie is an advanced yoga and breathwork teacher, author, and entrepreneur. A 25-year veteran of teaching,Valerie has studied and taught in the San Francisco Bay Area, Southern California, the Pacific Northwest, Holland, the U.K. and India, and has worked in close collaboration with international Breathe to Heal teacher Max Strom coaching teachers around the world. She currently lives in Santa Cruz, CA where she authored Breathwork: A 3 Week Breathing Program for Clarity, Calm, and Better Health and co-founded Luma – an award-winning family focused holistic wellness center.

Yoga is skill in action.

Bhagavad Gita 2.50