Start with breathing then a little meditation to center yourself.

That’s how Brian Dotson starts his yoga class at the Maple Valley Creative Arts Center.

From there it depends on the experience level of his students.

“If several beginners were in class that day, we’d instruct them on how to keep their spines straight and prevent injuries to themselves,” Dotson said. “Usually at the beginning or end I’ll toss in some elements of Qigong which incorporates the same breathing and energy flow, but really adds to the variety of movements in the class.”

Dotson and his wife Randa Hilal recently began teaching yoga, first out of Intent Yoga Center in Enumclaw, and now twice a week at the Arts Center.

They are graduates of Ananda Institute for Living Yoga and they teach a style called Ananada Hatha.

Shortly after finishing the training, Dotson and Hilal began their own business, Eightfold Yoga.

He originally got into the practice “on my own through curiosity.”

“I’ve been involved in martial arts for a long time so it was sort of a natural thing,” Dotson said. “A couple of years ago due to injuries I stepped back from the martial arts a bit and started practicing yoga more frequently. People told me, ‘You should be teaching this.’”

Since Hilal was also interested, it made sense for them to learn to teach yoga together.

Dotson is friends with Mary Jane Glaser, who is president of the Maple Valley Arts Council, which calls the Arts Center home, and her husband mentioned to Dotson that there was a great space available.

“My wife and I thought that while the timing wasn’t ideal the opportunity was pretty good,” Dotson said. “We thought we would take a leap of faith given that there’s not a lot of yoga in its true sense available in Maple Valley.”

Glaser said that it seemed like a natural fit to have a yoga class at the arts center.

“The ambience in the Creative Arts Center is calming and lends itself well to meditation,” Glaser said. “When Brian and Randa approached us, they recognized the arts center as a place where people could practice the healing arts of yoga.”

In every way yoga is considered an art by the Arts Council, Glaser said, “it is movement akin to dance.”

“We are pleased to offer such a lovely facility to the yoga students,” she said. “Yoga is becoming increasingly popular as people are seeking to become physically fit and alleviate stress.”

Dotson said a key thing they want to provide students is a place where they could feel taken care of and catered to by their teachers.

“We wanted something people could come to and walk away from thinking, ah, that was nice, as well as feeling like they got a little bit of exercise, too,” he said.

“That’s what we’re attempting to get going there.”

Classes are offered at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesdays and 8:30 a.m. on Saturdays at the Arts Center. Dotson and Hilal take turns teaching.

“When my wife teaches it’s a little more classic Hatha,” Dotson said. “When I teach it has a little more Asian flavor to it, a little more Qigong. So I blend a little bit of the martial arts side of things. Qigong is sort of like tai chi, but less martial in its appearance, feel and form.”

Once the class has worked through the breathing, centering and meditation exercises that are intended “just to bring your energy and attend to the room to leave the outside world outside,” they then move on poses.

“We’d go through a basic warm up session to prepare people’s bodies and minds for a little more intensive movement,” Dotson said. “Then we go into whatever series of movements that are appropriate for the people that are in class that day. Frequently both of us are there so students often get two instructors for the price of one.”

Dotson said he hopes more people will be drawn to the class for its unique approach to yoga that is hard to find in the immediate area.

“I can guarantee that anyone who walks into our class that they will get a new, fresh and varied type of situation than anything they’ve experienced before which was my goal at the start,” he said.

For more information visit Dotson and Hilal’s site at www.eightfoldarts.com or log onto the Arts Council’s site at www.maplevalleyarts.com.

Reach Kris Hill at khill@maplevalleyreporter.com or (425)432-1209 ext. 5054.