CHARLOTTE, N.C. A full room of yogis sit quietly on their mats, focusing on their breath and meditating before a yoga class. Then, out of the silence, one kitten pounces on another. The moment is broken by laughter. This is cat yoga.

My favorite thing is probably the laughter, yoga instructor Eva Mathieu said. Teaching other yoga classes without cats in it can be sometimes people come in with an expectation that maybe you have to be flexible or you have to be good at yoga or maybe theres gonna be judgments or something like that. Being here, the wall is already broken.

Mathieu has worked at Charlottes Mac Tabby Cat Caf in NoDa since February. Shes been doing yoga for years and teaching for two, so about a month after joining the cat caf team, she started teaching the cat yoga class.

RELATED: More than 80 cats adopted from Charlotte cat cafe

The cats roam around the room the entire time, often lying on yoga mats or running around the room playing with one another.

It makes my job easier to teach and let people have a fun time and fun experience when theyre already in a good mood, Mathieu said.

Every Monday, cat lovers and newcomers gather to stretch, relax and play with cats. Mathieu described the class as a good beginner class, making it accessible for anyone to join in.

I like to keep it simple and very relaxed and focused on the cats and a little bit more connecting with yourself and your soul and the cats as well, Mathieu said.

The way they kick off the class sure helps -- Mathieu goes around and sprinkles a little bit of catnip on each mat.

The biggest tip I could give you is bring a mat that you dont mind getting a couple little claw marks in, Mathieu said.

She said the cats dont usually need the extra boost, but it makes it even more fun. Every meditation without fail, Mathieu said, the cats will act up. She said one time a cat ran out and jumped on her head just after she told everyone to inhale.

Participants at cat yoga are sure to be entertained. All of the cats at the cat caf are available for adoption, so if a yogi falls in love with the cat on their mat, they are able to apply through a Charlotte foster network.

If youre not a cat person, this will probably convert you, Mathieu said.

Mathieu recommends anyone interested in attending a class sign up ahead of time, as they have filled up before, and doors lock promptly at 7:30 p.m. each Monday.

Despite how energetic the cats are at the beginning of the class, they tend to tucker themselves out by the end of the class. After playing nonstop, most of the cats are lying down on the floor or on yoga mats as the hour wraps up.

Its just a really good place to get to know cats and their personality, Mathieu said.

To close out the class and transition to 30 minutes of cat time, Mac Tabby tradition is to gather for a loud om in unison -- one that always wakes the cats and alerts them its time to play again.

Then just as they were before the class, all the cats scurry around, ready for someone to play with and pet them. Mathieu encouraged people to come see the cats and try their hand at yoga, especially if its their first time.

We will welcome you with open arms and open paws, Mathieu said.

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Cats on the mats: Charlotte's Mac Tabby Cat Caf hosts weekly cat yoga - WCNC.com

Please RSVP at: https://www.innerengineering.com/ieo-new/free-sessions/?state=njHow successful you are in life simply depends on how well you can use your mind and body. This session offers simple, but powerful yoga postures to bring stability and balance.- Can improve memory, concentration, and mental clarity- Can relieve stress and anxiety- Strengthens the spine- Takes only 5-10 minutes to practice daily Designed by Sadhguru, a self- realized yogi and foremost authority in he field of yoga. This session will be conducted by a trained Isha facilitator, after which ongoing online support will also be available.Free and Open to All (Age 7 & up).This session is brought to you by Isha foundation, an international non-profit aimed to bring well-being to everyone through yoga and meditation. What to bring Please bring a yoga mat & a towel and arrive on an empty stomach condition i.e. approx 1.5 hrs after a light meal.

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Yoga For Success - (Free and Open to All) - Patch.com

RSVP : https://www.innerengineering.com/ieo-new/free-sessions/?state=njThis session offers simple and powerful yoga postures to bring stability and balance. Enjoy simple, easy to practice yet potent tools to enhance health, joy, peace, love, success and inner exploration which help one cope with the hectic pace of modern life and realize your full potential in all spheres of life.No physical agility or prior yoga experience needed. Please bring a yogamat & a towel and arrive on an empty stomach condition i.e. approx 1.5 hrs after a light meal.BENEFITS- Can relieve chronic ailments- Can relieve back pain, stress, anxiety and tension- Strengthens the spine- Can improve memory, concentration and productivityDesigned by Sadhguru, a realized yogi and a foremost authority in the field of yoga. This session will be conducted by a trained Isha facilitator. Ongoing online support will be availableFor ages 7 and aboveThis session is brought to you by Isha Foundation, an international non-profit aimed to bring well-being to everyone through yoga and meditation.

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Yoga for Beginners for Health, Peace and Joy (Free and open to al - Patch.com

With the hustle and bustle of the holiday season approaching, many will look for a way to relax their mind or body. Yoga may be the answer.

There are different styles of yoga and Brittany Holtz, founder of Studio B Power Yoga, says there is something for everyone.

We were all beginners at one point, says Holtz. Be compassionate to yourself and open to learning.

At Studio B, Holtz offers power vinyasa and yin yoga. She describes power vinyasa flow as a more athletic style while yin yoga is more of a deep stretch for relaxation.

Youre going to build strength, see increased flexibility and get a cardiovascular workout in a power yoga class but theres also mental health benefits, she explains. It really becomes a moving meditation where we do lots of breathwork and the focus is connecting your breath with your movement.

The physical health benefits include increased balance, flexibility and strength, but there are mental health benefits, too.

What Ive found is that what keeps people coming back is the mental health benefits. They feel calmer, more connected with themselves, they feel more grounded and thats shocking sometimes to some people, says Holtz.

While all levels of ability are welcome in every class, Holtz offers a beginner series for those new to yoga. The next session starts in January.

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Healthy Living: The benefits of yoga - ABC27

On the day I moved into Vassar, my family and I grabbed a cup of coffee at the Crafted Kup. My mom, whos been a yoga instructor for seven years, saw a sign over the coffee shops storefront for Stone Wave Yoga, which had just opened over the summer. She thought that having access to yoga could help in my transition to college, so she encouraged me to visit the studio. Halfway into the semester, I unexpectedly found myself following her advice. I didnt go for class, though, but instead to talk to studio owner Liz Glover Wilson. I wanted to learn more about her business as a component of the Arlington community, but also hear her insights on yoga as a method of self-care.

I found a sandwich board on the corner of Raymond and Lagrange Avenues which directed me to the second floor of an office building. Signs for the studio led me down a carpeted hallway until I found a door bearing Glover Wilsons definition of a stone wave: a place of beauty, strength, and fluidity. I visited on a Friday, one of the days on which Stone Wave offers Bikram yoga and pilates classes in a heated studio, so the room was still warm from an earlier class. Glover Wilson and I sat on the floor in front of the mirrored studio wall to talk, and she was happy to share her passion for the practice that has helped her find peace.

When she was in her early 20s, Glover Wilson started taking Bikram yoga classes in New York City. Initially, the practice mainly appealed to her because of its physical benefits. Later, she began to explore other aspects of yoga, developing an interest in breathing methods, meditation and the selfcare involved in the practice. By her late 30s, she was practicing yoga while working in a corporate job and living in the East Village. Then her younger sister Esther died in a car accident at age 37, and Glover Wilsons outlook changed. I was numb for a while, but then I started to wake up,she recounted. I felt really strongly that I had no more time to waste and I had to do the things that I felt [I should] do.

Her shift in perspective eventually led her to move to the Hudson Valley and pursue her passion. She opened her first Stone Wave Yoga studio in Gardiner and has since expanded her reach. Throughout our conversation, she cited intuition as a force driving her decisions, at one point telling me that this force would eventually help me pick a major. This instinct also led her to open up her studio in Arlington. One night early in 2019, she went for a walk around the area while waiting to pick up a pizza on Collegeview Avenue. She saw a storefront for rent and called the real estate company on the spot. She didnt end up renting that space, but the company referred her to a rental around the corner. After only three weeks she signed a contract for the space that would become her new studio. The studio has been open since July, and so far Glover Wilson feels her instincts have steered her right: She loves the new branch and is working to integrate it into the Arlington community.

When discussing her goal for her practice, Glover Wilson emphasized inclusion. Coming from the city, shed left a culture where yoga students were often boxed into a model-like body type and lifestyle, and she didnt want to propagate this expectation for her students. Yoga is not actually about the aesthetics, she said. Its actually not about the poses, its about your journey when youre in the poses. Yoga, Glover Wilson believes, should be a space in which people can be totally themselves, no matter their level of fitness or experience. Her studio offers a variety of walk-in classes each week in different styles to appeal to a broad audience of potential students.

She hopes that Vassar students will explore the practice for themselves, both for the physical and mental benefits. Glover Wilson compares yoga to an oasis, and hopes that more community members will discover these moments of peace for themselves. I know for myself when I was in university the pranayama, the breathwork, the importance of the time alone on the mat, is really important to the success of your college experience, she told me. She hopes that yoga will provide her students with a peaceful place to decompress and find moments of rest.

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Stone Wave Yoga provides an oasis of self-care in Arlington - Miscellany News

A Provo charter school acclaimed for its unusual academic approach of teaching kids lessons based on nature, yoga and Love and Logic has filed for bankruptcy less than three years after it opened.

Treeside Charter School submitted a federal claim Tuesday, outlining the nearly half a million dollars it owes to debtors. That includes an unpaid loan from the state for $180,000 and state property taxes for $87,000, according to accounts submitted to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for Utah.

The schools director, its founder and its board president did not return calls Wednesday or Thursday.

The director of the school spoke at a Utah State Charter School Board meeting Thursday. He reiterated that the board intends to reorganize not close and that all debts will be paid.

Certainly, [the filing] happened very quickly," said Benjamin Johnson, who has been with Treeside for a year. "But our board is very proactive and taking care of our interests. ... This school and what it stands for will be here for a long time.

Treesides school board President April Clawson added: We had no choice but to do what we did.

Treeside Charter, located just east of Utah Lake, opened in August 2017 and teaches kindergarten through sixth grade. It practices the Waldorf education model, focusing on the child as a whole and educating on core subjects through art, music, movement and the outdoors. Students are expected to study plants, practice mindfulness and start learning another language at age 6.

The hope is that by learning through head, heart and hands, kids will be more creative and confident.

She left the charter in March to pursue other ventures and has been involved with starting schools for 15 years. Lundgreen said she wants to preserve the beauties of childhood, The Herald reported.

Treeside Charter has struggled, though, to gain footing academically. In its annual report card from the state issued last year, Treeside fell below almost every benchmark, including developing for test scores and in critical needs for both growth and the progress of its English language learners.

Kristin Elinkowski, president of the state charter school board, said during the boards monthly meeting Thursday, We have been aware of the circumstances of this.

It had issued a notice of concern to Treeside about two months ago. Members of the charters school board read it aloud, in full, at their September meeting, according to audio and minutes.

The notice talked about fears from the state over financial viability, the cost of its facility and the setup and safety of its open campus. If improvements are not made, SCSB will consider action to protect students, it read.

One school board member responded: We have tried to honor and use wisely state tax money. We are doing our best to mitigate what this letter says. As a result, we have some hard decisions to make.

As of a September financial update, payments for the building space the school uses were consuming 25% of revenues, which is unusually high. It costs about $375,000 a year to lease.

The notice from the state charter school board noted that expense and suggested, Paying such a high rate on the lease may not be a good use of taxpayer funds and takes away what should be going to students in the classroom.

Treeside has been fighting with its landlord since its onset and is in the middle of trying to settle a lawsuit with the owners over lease disagreements and who has access to the property. That was filed this April.

Meanwhile, the financial update also noted that the school has seen an increase of $280,000 in expenses, lost an expected $200,000 based on low enrollment and has a resulting projected balance thats in a deficit by about $300,000.

The Salt Lake Tribune reached out to the attorney representing Treeside in its bankruptcy filing but did not get a response. The school is contracted to pay the attorney another $50,000 on top of its existing debts.

The filings Tuesday outline that Treeside owes roughly $474,000 to its top 20 creditors, but there are others and it likely owes between $1 million and $10 million total.

Charter schools were meant to be educations disrupters. But some in the community fear that they waste money and set up alternative programs that dont educate students well.

Unlike the Utah Board of Education, the state charter board is an unelected group whose members are appointed by the governor. The two boards have disagreed for years over who can regulate and control charters, including how to manage their money and potential closures.

State business documents show the school has lapsed on its renewal. It was considered delinquent as of Oct. 15.

Link:
Utah charter school where students focused on nature, yoga, 'Love and Logic' files for bankruptcy - Salt Lake Tribune

It is weird how the little mermaid is called Ariel, isnt it? She has access to water and a bit of land, but definitely not the sky. No wonder she is frustrated. I have many thoughts like this as I hang upside down, blood rushing to my brain. Despite the fact I am wrapped in and suspended by the thinnest material, I feel safe and my mind is free to roam. Such is the paradox of aerial yoga (Flying Fantastic, three classes for 45, flyingfantastic.co.uk/buy-credits). Restorative and beginner-friendly, it is suitable for people with mobility issues, and also me; it would not be unfair to describe this as yoga in hammocks.

Iyengar yoga has long made use of slings to push positions further, but aerial yoga is different derived as much from the circus as the subcontinent. Tutor Edel Wigan shows us how to wrap ourselves in large loops of fabric suspended from a rig, and trust them with our weight. It is a bit like trapeze. (Wigan devised her company, Flying Fantastic, with her husband, Chris, when they lived in Argentina where circus schools are 10 a penny.) The class starts gently, leaning on ropes, swaying in circles to learn to trust them with our weight. We jump inside and expand the cloth. Farcically, my fabric keeps swinging around so I am facing the back of the class. I have to crane my neck to see the teacher, flailing to spin back around. I look like a buffoon. But I feel incredible.

The loops of red fabric act as a hanging seat, hammock and harness, offering the chance to swing, spin or fly. Its exhilarating. As well as freedom, there is a security to aerialism. Whether looped around ones arms, or enveloping us completely, the fabric has always got you, as Wigan says. One can do yoga poses that would be too challenging for a novice in another setting, pulling oneself up into a vertical sit-up, or being gathered into an assisted toe-touch, or back-bend. A weightless shoulder-stand is relatively easy, especially with ones entire body supported. It feels glorious, too, akin to being a silkworm in its cocoon. Isnt this what we all want? A chance to let go of adult cares and simply pupate? When we come to the shavasana, lying horizontal and completely enveloped in material, it is the most peaceful floating experience imaginable outside of a Trainspotting heroin sequence.

Speaking of which, my experience isnt all nirvana. After the class, I feel ropey. I mumble an excuse and make my way downstairs, past people I barely see. My brain is on rollerskates. I kneel down at the nearest bin and vomit copiously. A roaring rain dance of half-digested banana, in front of a waiting class of trapeze students. As I upchuck my guts, one of the students sadly remarks: Its my birthday. I attempt to wish her the best, but all that leaves my moaning hole is a fleck of quiche.

I cant really blame the class. Taking pictures for this column requires me to swing around upside down for inadvisably large amounts of time. (In the class, everyone works to their ability, taking breaks whenever needed.) I didnt eat a proper breakfast, and am still recovering from a cold. I also hate to get up before 7am. And to be honest, my pants were too tight. So: the media, physical frailty and bad pants. Its a perfect storm.

Recovering at home, I stop thinking about the tsunami of vomit and remember the joy of the silken cocoon. The class was thrilling: a way of moving I had never known, or known I could try. (UK circus schools are geared to professional qualifications more than recreation, which seems ironic.) For me, the yoga element was neither here nor there. And anyone of delicate constitution should swing with caution. But how often do our bodies get to experience a different relationship to gravity? I felt sick watching the film Gravity, too, but it was still an amazing experience. I feel leaden on the ground perhaps its time to fly again. Darling, it is better, flying unfettered! But I might eat two bananas next time.

Apologies to the student whose joyeux anniversaire I ruined. Given a choice, Id rather have vomited in the recycling bin proof we dont always get what we want.

Wellness, hellness, wellness again? Swings and roundabouts. 4/5

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Aerial yoga I look like a buffoon. I feel incredible. And then I vomit - The Guardian

"I started in law enforcement 33 years ago and it was always, 'Suck it up, get over it, it's part of the job, you've got to be tough. If you can't be tough, this profession's not for you,'" Police Chief Doug Keen said. Now, that's beginning to change.

by: Rebecca Burnett

MANASSAS, Va. (WDVM) In 2018, the City of Manassas Police Department reports 167 law enforcement officers in the U.S. died by suicide. The police department is making its officers physical fitness just as important as their mental health.

Police Chief Doug Keen says his police department is midsize, with about 130 staff members. As chief, it gives you a chance to personally know each staff member and get to know them outside of work a little bit, he said.

Through the police departments Law Fit program, sworn officers are allowed an hour of physical fitness each day. Even if keeping up with a runaway suspect is easy, the job is difficult for other reasons.

I started in law enforcement 33 years ago and it was always, Suck it up, get over it, its part of the job, youve got to be tough. If you cant be tough, this professions not for you,' Keen said. Now, thats beginning to change.

In August, the police department added an additional component to its program: its been teaching its sworn officers and staff in yoga, meditation and breathing exercises that are easily integrated into an officers shift. Each session only takes about 10 minutes.

This gives us a chance to give another tool or component to the fitness side of things for staff to be more resilient in their job, said Keen. The breathing exercises can be done in the carand if youre in an office like Chief Keen, at your desk. Even if its just shutting the door, not doing anything on the computer and just trying to relaxI find that when I come out of those sessions, Im more approachable, I want to talk to people, and Im not as tight.

Sworn officers are allowed an hour of physical fitness a day. Counselors are also on staff to help officers in need.

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Operation Yoga: At this police department, mental health is just as important as physical fitness - WDVM 25

Sarah Alexander was working as a mental health therapist when she realized that yoga was a perfect supplement to help trauma survivors.

So, six years ago, Alexander began teaching yoga, working as an instructor at The Yoga Practice for a year until she purchased the Summitview Avenue business in June. The business has 12 instructors.

She has owned Mending Grace Counseling since 2005.

Alexander has a masters degree in counseling psychology from Central Washington University. She and her husband, Jason, have five children, ages 22 to 6.

How did The Yoga Practice get started?

Amie Alapeteri founded The Yoga Practice five years ago. I have been teaching as an instructor here for more than a year and purchased the business in June 2019.

I have practiced as a licensed mental health therapist in the Yakima Valley for 18 years. After discovering the powerful benefits trauma survivors experienced from yoga in conjunction with talk therapy, I began my own practice six years ago and have never been the same. My passion is to facilitate healing experiences for the mind, body, soul and spirit.

Were there challenges that you had to overcome?

Owning a private practice, having small children and taking over a new business has provided ample opportunity for challenge. I can honestly say that I am never, ever bored. Im practicing being intentional with every decision so that I have a shot at being my best self in all the different roles I have. When I say yes to something, it means saying no to something (or someone) else. Im learning the gift of saying no, asking for what I need and not being responsible for things beyond my control.

What do you do to stand out from other yoga classes in the area?

I have an amazing tribe of highly trained teachers who are passionate about sharing the healing power of yoga with our Yakima community. We provide quality, safe, challenging and fun instruction. We are a warm studio not too hot, not too cold the perfect temperature. We offer Hatha, Yin, Restore, gentle yoga, Vinyasa, Tune Up Fitness, and a variety of workshops year-round (yoga for beginners, snow sport enthusiasts, acro-yoga, yoga for runners, handstand workshops, and many more). Yoga not only makes you stronger physically, but mentally, emotionally and spiritually.

My favorite addition at the Yoga Practice has been Yoga Church on Sunday mornings: BYOR (bring your own religion), come early to get a spot. Visit theyogapractice.life for more detail on all our studio has to offer.

Is there advice you would give to other people seeking to start their own businesses?

If I did not truly believe in the service Im offering (the healing power of yoga), owning the business would not be worth all the work. Believe in your product. Success is so much more than monetary gain. My greatest reward is providing a service that I know helps people and ultimately makes the world a better place. Be willing to make mistakes and not fixate on failure but move on. Stay humble, willing to take advice and ask for help youll need it.

What is your favorite movie, and why?

As a double business owner, I choose not to spend much time watching TV. But when I do, I want to feel challenged and inspired. I love movies like The Shawshank Redemption and Sea Biscuit, stories of redemption. Witnessing the struggle of trauma transform into triumph gives me hope and courage. We are all wrestling with pain, past and present. Movies like these challenge me to soften my edges and practice radical grace and compassion for myself and others.

If you would like your business featured in Take 5, contact Donald W. Meyers at 509-577-7748 or dmeyers@yakimaherald.com.

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Take 5 with Sarah Alexander, The Yoga Practice - Yakima Herald-Republic

TAWAS CITY With the cold weather and snow making its home Iosco County for the next few months, Alaina Edwards says people often become stagnant and, in turn, sad because their level of activity tends to decrease during this time of year.

As owner of Tawaste Yoga Studio in Tawas City, Edwards is trying to help those in the community combat lethargic lifestyles, while also snuffing out the stigmas attached to such disciplines as yoga.

Any preconceived notions about the practice go out the window when speaking with Edwards. While yoga can be very challenging, she notes that it can also be tailored to those of all ages, abilities and experience. Ones gender, body type and other factors are also irrelevant.

Yoga is just as much about mental health as it is physical, with Edwards pointing out that this natural mood booster is a form of meditation which can provide relief from a number of ailments.

She and other studio employees believe in this so much, in fact, that they have offered and plan to continue providing free sessions throughout the community. This has included chair classes at local senior centers, yoga lessons for area students and athletes and even some free guidance/classes on the Tawaste website.

Theyre just carrying so much weight that they dont need to, Edwards says of the students, in particular, noting that many young people now suffer with anxiety, aches and pains that they shouldnt be facing at this age, but that can be addressed.

Yoga is very humbling, she adds, noting that athletes may be able to run around a field for 90 minutes, but not be able to even touch their toes while stretching. Yoga, on the other hand, can help prevent injuries by loosening up the body, and also aids in curbing stress and anxiety.

Yoga, however, isnt about people just being able to touch their toes. Its all about the breath. We stretch to help get our breath into our tight shoulder, or our tight hip, Edwards explains.

We make these complicated shapes with our body because, the more complicated it is, the less we think. Its a form of meditation. So we get into the body to get out of the head, she describes. When we do that, thats our present moment. And thats all meditation is, is present moment.

She says it can be difficult for some people to only meditate but, when they can concentrate on something like yoga, Then youre there; youre in it.

Edwards says this is why she likes to offer yoga to children, and that she became trained in this field is because she has a son and she wanted him to learn the practice of breath and presence.

And I love yoga with seniors, because theres never a time thats too late, she added.

Edwards studied in Costa Rica and has been working as an RYT, or a 200-hour registered yoga teacher. She also recently completed the 1,000 hours of instructing required to be a teacher of other teachers, which has been a longtime goal of hers.

I did my teacher training because I love yoga. It really helped me with stress and anxiety, Edwards shares, adding that it has also helped with her feeling of calm and grace. Thats one of my prayers, God give me grace. I just learned that, with my breath, it helped me be in the present moment.

When introducing her husband Justin to the area, he loved it immediately and they moved to Tawas City about two years ago. Water and woods mean a lot to us. As a bonus, Edwards also has family who live in the community. They supported her dream of opening the yoga studio, which was realized on Jan. 5 this year.

The establishment features several instructors, including Edwards, and offers everything from Barre exercises, chair yoga and therapeutic massage, to Ashtanga yoga, dance lessons and Yin yoga.

We have some classes that are a lot slower; we dont ever get off of the floor. Its called Yin, and its more of that meditational, slow stretch, Edwards says, adding that there are different strokes for different folks, so she wanted to make everything available that she could at her studio.

She reiterated that Tawaste is all-inclusive and caters to those of any skill level, age and ability. In fact, on the day of the interview for this story, she had recently led a class where the participants ranged in age from 16-75.

Some people also assume that it is mostly women who partake in yoga, but Edwards says Tawaste welcomes a lot of male participants, as well.

Whatever your age, gender or experience, one point Edwards wants to drive home is that her studio is a safe space where real people can get together without fear of judgement or scrutiny.

For those who still prefer to get their workout done at home, Tawaste now offers online classes. Edwards also wanted to make this available, should inclement weather prevent people from showing up in person.

She says, though, that there are benefits to joining in on group classes, which also nurture peoples social needs. She has been delighted to watch friendships form, with many participants going out to eat or enjoying other activities together once their class ends.

And how nice that, in these times where things can be so isolated by our phones and just watching life happen, its actually happening in this spot, she expressed.

I like to share things that I like, and this has made such an impact on my life, that thats why I wanted to start this business here, because its something we could all use, she went on.

As for what people can do to beat the winter blues and carry that over into year-round wellness Edwards suggests starting each day with gratitude, a focus on breathing and doing a deep stretch. Just maybe inhaling, reaching up, exhaling, folding from your hips, she says.

We all get stagnant in this winter. We get sad. If were going to say one prayer a day, have it be thank you, she also recommends.

And just be mindful when we walk, when we have these slippery surfaces, to take our time. We are human beings, not human doings. We need to slow down, Edwards says.

When we feel like times are getting really tough, green is the color of peace, she also advises. This is why we are so fortunate where we live, because we are surrounded by trees.

If someone is feeling down, overwhelmed or even struggling with PTSD, Edwards says people have found relief just by being in nature and taking in the greenery around them, which is also known as forest bathing.

Thats one reason I have a lot of plants in here, she says of her studio, And its a big reason why we moved here, to be surrounded by nature. So this is a health tip that works for us year-round in our awesome community.

According to Edwards, people feel great after yoga lessons because of the stretching, but theyre also super charging their blood with oxygen, due to mindfully inhaling and exhaling. In with the new, out with the old.

Maintaining a good posture, stretching, practicing mindfulness and engaging in deep breathing to the belly can be carried out by almost anyone, and Edwards says she is actually surprised how some people live without this. Because life gets heavy, and this brings it back to the basics where we have everything we need within us.

She says the present moment is key, as well. Stop worrying about what happened, stop worrying about what might not even happen. Because right now, we are doing pretty good.

As for the deep abdominal breathing, she explains that this sparks the parasympathetic nervous system. The key to longevity is less stress, and the easiest thing to reduce this is by deep breaths in and out. You can feel it work.

Edwards says yoga is also very detoxifying and participants sweat a lot, but the effort is worth the reward. It all stems from our hips a lot of our knee problems, a lot of our back problems. A lot of it comes from these hips that were on, so when we open them up or neutralize them out, we walk better, we sleep better.

She shares that one reason she wanted to become a teacher of yoga teachers, is because she hopes to inspire others.

We teach because it magnifies our own practice, really. You dont teach yoga to become rich, but you do it to enrich your own practice, she notes. The more we practice, the more we crave it, and it becomes like this really healthy addiction, she went on, adding that yoga is a great opportunity to clear the mind and have some me time, without such distractions as cell phones.

Further, Edwards says yoga can spill over into other aspects of ones life, beyond just the four walls of a studio. What I tell people is, take your yoga off the mat. What did you just learn in this hour, that we can bring throughout our day?

Another way to feel healthy and happy is through community involvement, which is something Edwards also practices in her own life.

I love locality. I think we have strength in numbers. And I think thats whats really beautiful about small town life, is that our outreach makes more of an impact, she says.

Edwards is a proponent of local businesses and, rather than compete with other establishments, she prefers to join forces with them.

For example, Tawaste has held Barre at the Bar classes in conjunction with the Buckhorn Inn, as a way of getting people into spaces other than just the studio, and to even further integrate healthy habits into the community.

Edwards, along with Tawaste staff and other local supporters, also sponsored an East Tawas family this past year, through Harbor Lights Pregnancy & Information Center. Edwards says it went so well that the plan is to sponsor a few families this year. Im so excited to see what we can do.

Tawaste Yoga Studio is located at 211 W. Lake St. (US-23), and more information can be had by calling 984-5022 or visiting http://www.tawaste.com.

Link:
Yoga studio owner shares tips for boosting the body and brain - Iosco County News Herald