When Coco Bates steps into a room, she brings a calm that fills the space.
The yoga teacher and sound therapist has become a quiet force in Houston’s growing wellness scene, guiding women to slow down, breathe deeply and reconnect with themselves.
Her journey started in Waller, Texas, where Bates says her roots taught her about strength, faith and showing up fully for yourself.
“I’m a country girl at heart,” she says with a smile. “Being from Waller, just outside of Houston, that Southern energy, it’s always been in me. Coming back home now, it feels like everything came full circle.”
Before becoming a holistic practitioner, she chased her creative dreams across the map. She studied fashion in California and then spent five years in New York, where she worked in public relations and marketing.
“I loved it,” she says, “but I felt empty inside.”
Behind the stylish photos and press events, she was battling depression and anxiety.
“I was going through so much personally, relationships failing, burnout, just trying to figure out who I was outside of all that,” Bates said.
Her healing journey began quietly, through yoga and meditation. Then came a turning point, a solo trip through Southeast Asia that would literally knock her off her feet.
“I was in Bali, on the back of a motorcycle and got into an accident,” she says. “I flew off and hurt my back pretty badly. That was when I realized how connected everything is, the physical, the mental, the spiritual.”
She began rebuilding from the inside out through therapy, breathwork and yoga. She saved every dollar she could to attend yoga teacher training. The road wasn’t easy. Her father passed away the day she arrived in Thailand, forcing her to pause and grieve before returning months later to complete her certification in India.
“That was one of the hardest times of my life,” she says. “But it taught me that even when you can’t see it, there’s purpose in the process.”
When she returned to Houston, she wasn’t immediately ready to teach.
“I needed to ground myself,” she says. “After everything, I just wanted to be still.”
A few months later, she began teaching small yoga classes, first in College Station, then back in Houston and started attracting women who saw themselves in her story.
Her classes are intentionally intimate.
“It’s about community first,” she says. “When people come in, I ask, ‘What inspired you to be here today?’ Everyone’s story matters. And in those stories, we find connection.”
Most of her students are Black women, spanning ages from their 20s to their 60s.
“I love seeing us taking our emotional and spiritual wellness seriously. That’s what fills me up,” she says.
That sense of community has always been at the heart of Bates. She created Blossom & Sol Fest, a natural hair and culture festival that launched in Austin and later found its true home in Houston during SXSW week.
“It started as a blog and turned into a festival,” Coco says. “It brought women together around wellness, culture and creativity. They’d come in not knowing anyone and leave like family.”
For Shellsy Malveaux, a longtime friend who first met Coco at Blossom & Sol Fest in 2018, that balance is exactly what Bates helps her find.
“I was so drawn to her energy, the message, the intention and her beautiful spirit. I knew right then that I wanted to support her and whatever initiatives she created,” Malveaux says. “Over the years, she has helped me slow down and really focus on my wellness through meditation and sound healing. Coco is one of the few people who genuinely checks in, not just as a friend but as a sister.”
When people come in, I ask, ‘What inspired you to be here today?’ Everyone’s story matters. And in those stories,
Coco Bates
we find connection.”-
Malveaux has gained a great deal of knowledge about holistic care. It keeps her grounded and she’s learned to trust her intuition and prioritize rest.
“She [Bates] encourages you to try things outside your comfort zone, like new poses and breathing techniques and as an Aries, I love a good challenge,” Malveaux says. “Her classes always leave me feeling lighter and more connected to myself.
Now firmly planted in Houston, Bates sees her work as part of a larger movement reshaping wellness for Black Houstonians.
“It’s surreal,” she says. “I used to call myself a full-time yoga teacher before I even was one. I believed it into existence. That’s the power of vibration and speaking life over yourself.”
