Shannon Aldrich Payne, owner of Maya Whole Health Studio on Lake Washington Avenue, takes serious the name of her shop and believes that in “whole health” involves not only taking care of oneself, but also giving back.

“It’s just an important aspect of health,” she said.

That’s why she started the Community Benefit Partnership program and for the past several years, her yoga studio has made donation to local charities, moving from quarterly at the start to different monthly recipients now.

This month, the studio is collecting food and supplies for the Rainier Valley Food Bank. Next month it’s Operation Smile, followed by Lionheart, an organization that benefits firefighters, in February.

Giving back has always been part of the business model at Maya While Health, which opened at the Bristol in 2010 and moved to its current location in 2012, she said, calling it “integral” to what they do.

Prior to opening the studio, Aldrich Payne worked in human services for the City of Seattle and King County, getting resources to the people who need them. And while she may have left that job, it never really left her.

“I’ve always had a really strong connection to community involvement,” Aldrich Payne said this week.

She set up the Community Benefit Program to continue the work. She said it helps underline for her and her clients the importance of giving back and its connection to overall physical and mental health, something she said was ingrained in her as a child.

“There’s so many different ways of giving,” she said, adding that it’s not always about money.

The goal of the program, Aldrich Payne said, is to not only collect donations, but also raise awareness for a local nonprofit. Typically, the studio hosts a benefit class for the organization, which people can attend simply with a donation, and then a second or third event through the month designed to build further awareness.

For example, this month’s donation class, benefitting the Rainier Valley Food Bank, will be an all-levels yoga and meditation class at 10 a.m. Dec. 24. All are welcome to attend with the donation of money or a non-perishable food item.

On January 9, there will be an open house and even for Operation Smile, a nonprofit group that performs surgery on children born with cleft palates and other dental issues.

Aldrich Payne said the program is becoming self-perpetuating, with customers bringing in suggestions.

“Usually they come to us, oftentimes, through one of our clients,” She said about the choice of nonprofit to help.

“We try to do nonprofits that are near and dear to people’s hearts,” agreed Malia Dullanty, the community outreach coordinator.

Dullanty said they try to focus on local programs, like Lionheart, for example, which was started in honor of Renton firefighter Donovan Eckhardt, who died this year, but sometimes pick larger organizations, like Operation Smile.

“I think it’s just finding a balance,” Dullanty said.

For more information on Maya Whole Health or their Community Benefit Program, visit http://www.mayawholehealth.com.