Morgan O’Hare’s Personal History In Yoga Shaped The Path For Present Practice

AUSTIN, Texas–On the day Present Practice, a yoga studio and international retreat business, first opened on January 1, 2026, in a familiar downtown location a couple blocks over from Congress Avenue, practitioners were met with a fusion of experiences inspired by Morgan O’Hare’s own history with the discipline.

To the right of the front doors was the Bali, Indonesia-inspired retail area. To the left was an under-construction Bhutan-inspired café. A short walk down the hallway were custom-built doorway arches akin to Turkish design and even further down, two giant doors imported from Morocco.

Since the age of 18, when Morgan signed up for her first yoga class in Austin, she traveled the world and practiced the discipline on almost every continent.

Fast forward a decade later–after she left a corporate career in consulting–and the result was this: a multi-cultural fusion of her best memories. Members walked down the hallway to the biggest of rooms inside the 6,000-square foot facility, a space meant for 100 people.

They found Morgan inside, ready to host her fifth straight New Year’s class–only this time in a much-bigger venue. “Everyone was like buzzing, being back in the space,” she said.

It was emblematic of the growth Present Practice had made in just a few years’ time.

The Present Practice hallway, featuring giant Moroccan doors outside the main room. Photo Credit: Luisa Pineda

The Origins of Present Practice

Morgan, 29, opened the space with her husband, Ryan O’Hare, 31, an Irishman from Glasgow, after the pair acquired her old business, Yoga hōM, outright from her previous business partner Carter Miles (who is now teaching at Morgan’s new facility).

Present Practice was originally an international retreat business, while Yoga hōM was the studio function. Morgan and Ryan ultimately decided to combine the enterprises, they said, saying it was the best reflection of the company’s ideals. Morgan handles programs, while Ryan deals with business operations.

“They really are the foundation of what Present Practice is,” Morgan said of the retreats, which began around 2019.

Morgan and Ryan met inside a small hostel in China in 2018 while traveling the globe. They started dating immediately, albeit remotely. Then came a massive decision: Both left their jobs to move to Cape Town, South Africa, and work for non-profits, where they then navigated the pandemic and got married off a lake in Italy.

O’Hare, a native of the Lake Travis area in Austin, graduated from the University of Texas, where she majored in nutritional sciences. She hoped the move to Cape Town would spark a career in that field, but then the pair moved back to the U.S. and began working elsewhere, Ryan in software development sales and Morgan in human resources.

Neither loved it.

Morgan kept practicing yoga, though.

In fact, while in college she spent just over $10,000 to earn her advanced certification–first at Core Power Yoga and then in the very space that became Present Practice (it formerly held another yoga studio).

She found purpose there.

“A lot of what yoga gets at is finding your purpose and aligning to your life’s purpose,” Morgan said. “Within yoga, we call it dharma.”

Building The Vision

Morgan and her former business partner Miles opened Yoga hōM in June 2024. It was about the fourth of the size of Present Practice–roughly 1,700-square feet.

When the space needed an expansion, Morgan and Ryan say they bootstrapped cash to buy the business outright from Miles and acquired the property at 206 East Fourth Street with plans to expand.

Morgan’s father is an architect and general contractor, so he helped with renovations, she said. There were moments, too, when Ryan was on temporary scaffolding, working his way across various rooms.

Undeniable was the community-support each received in their quest to form the space. When Yoga hōM first opened, Morgan said, they received help from about 40 volunteers to help paint and build it out.

Ahead of Present Practice’s launch in 2026, that volunteer base pushed out to 100. “They were paying members,” Morgan said, “and they wanted to make it happen.” Ryan said there were many nights catering meals and working through the night.

The result is Present Practice’s current form.

The studio features 14 classes, including Hot Power Vinyasa, Hot Sculpt, and Hot Mat Pilates, along with some strength-based classes.

Present Practice’s main room can host up to 100 practitioners. Photo Credit: Luisa Pineda

What To Expect From Present Practice

When the café eventually opens in March, Morgan says, the studio will intend to serve Desnudo Coffee (a local Austin favorite), along with smoothies and juices once it receives its permits.

The studio currently has about 600 active members and offers small features like warm towels after classes and hot showers. Yoga hōM previously did not have changing rooms or showers. “That was an added feature,” Ryan said.

Meanwhile, there are now roughly 80 classes a week held by 40 teachers. Many of them have known Morgan for years.

Morgan’s international retreat business will continue, with plans to host events in Bali, Guatemala and Costa Rica coming up. She also now hosts advanced certification training (over 500 hours) and offers online programs.

The grand room, which features an ancient Chinese table that was acquired during an estate sale nearby, has even become a meeting space for members seeking alternative ways to power down and relax (rather than seeking the many bars of Austin).

There have been hosted meditations and dance parties, Ryan said.

“We have events for the like-minded seekers who are looking for those non-alcoholic alternatives.”

A month and a half in, Present Practice is finding its place in Austin and building community.

That’s what Morgan envisioned from the start. Ryan, meanwhile, has also found his place within the discipline. He took his first class in 2018 and now uses yoga as a form of exercise.

Present Practice is their own little piece of yoga heaven.

“The whole ethos of Present Practice is to be a sanctuary for the self,” Morgan said.

What Does It Cost to Join?

Present Practice holds a non-member drop-in rate of $35. Membership is currently $199 a month for full use of the studio’s features (towel service and showers), while class packs are also available.

Morgan says the studio also offers work study and “energy exchange” trade for training, which allows prospective yoga teachers to join the gym in exchange for labor. “I invested $10,000 while I was doing all these trainings in college, which was a huge deal. I want to make sure this stays as accessible as possible for people who want to become yoga teachers if they see that path for themselves.”