Our story
Isabella
Channing
When my family first acquired land in the Hamptons the only structure on the property was the old bunker type shed out in the thick of the woods. We named it The Shack.
I grew up as a child taking long walks out to The Shack with my sister, where we would spend endless days playing make-believe games within its walls. Then as I got older, with my closest friends, we’d take guitars and blankets, fire wood, candles and bottles of wine and spend summers and harvest seasons creating magic and love and art. The Shack was a legend and we were nothing short of a tribe.
I was born to an American father and Uruguayan mother. My mother passed away when I was five years old, leaving me Uruguay and Spanish. In my soul-searching 20’s I ventured to Uruguay, and it was here that I connected with myself, I connected with my mother, and I found yoga.
My life for many years felt split in two: mother/father, Spanish/English, Uruguay/USA. At long last it was time to build the bridge between my two worlds. I dug deep into my roots and began to resurrect The Shack, taking it from a dreamy childhood hideaway to what it is today – an international, multi-disciplinary Wellness Center in South America.
Photo: Ben Collier
Isabella
Owner & Yoga Teacher
Founder of The Shack Wellness Center at Vik - José Ignacio, Uruguay
Born and raised in New York City, Isabella began her wellness journey in her first yoga class at Sara Lawrence College where she attended undergrad. Having suffered from headaches and trauma from losing her mother at a young age, Isabella began her self-healing journey the day she walked out of that class. With the realization that healing and transformation is a lifelong path she eventually made her way back to her maternal roots in Uruguay. There, in 2003 she completed her first teacher training program with The Sivananda Yoga School and for the next 3 years taught in Montevideo and studied with an Ashtanga-Vinyasa Yoga teacher at The Instituto Patanjali where she completed her 2nd teacher training.
She then returned to NYC where she pursued a career in Clinical Massage Therapy at The Swedish Institute for Health Sciences and worked in various wellness centers combining yoga therapeutics, Eastern Bodywork and deep tissue massage. In her quest to deepen the support she could provide her clients, she pursed continuing education in Clinical Psychology at Columbia University as well as joining the team at The Institute for Integrative Nutrition in Manhattan. She also became an avid practitioner of The Jivamukti Yoga Method and received her teacher training in 2012.
In 2013 Isabella opened her own Yoga Studio in the coastal town of José Igancio, Uruguay. She named it The Shack. In 2019 she partnered with the local boutique hotel group Vik Retreats and together they built a beautiful Wellness Center on the property of one of their largest hotels, Bahía Vik. The Shack Wellness Center fulfills her dream of combining different wellness and healing modalities under one roof. She is raising 2 little girls together with her Uruguayan husband, running retreats and open programming at The Shack including yoga, fitness, dance, massage, energy work, healing rituals and so much more. Isabella is known for her bilingual, upbeat vinyasa classes that focus on alignment and breath.