Edmonton police investigate yoga studio thefts

Edmonton police are investigating after a downtown yoga studio was targeted by a thief, one in an apparent string of yoga robberies.

It was a quiet Tuesday morning at Shala Ashtanga Yoga Centre in downtown Edmonton until an unexpected visitor stopped by.

“There was a women who came in — a female that we saw on video camera — taking our cashbox and a student’s wallet,” Shala Ashtanga Yoga Centre co-owner Laura Turnbull alleged.

Turnbull said more than $600 was in that cash box.

She said her studio isn’t the only one that has recently been robbed. Witnesses and surveillance video suggest the same woman could be behind many of them.

“It is hitting many of the studios in Edmonton, specifically yoga studios downtown, south side, Sherwood Park even,” Turnbull said.

A yoga student who Global News is not identifying for safety reasons was a victim of theft at another studio in July.

She was among several people who apparently had their wallets and phones taken while in class, and alleged others even had their cars stolen. She is now dealing with impacts of identity theft.

“Once I got home, I was cancelling credit cards and trying to keep up with the passwords on my online accounts that were being changed. There was cash withdrawn from two of my credits cards,” the victim said.