It’s 6 am and the alarm clock is ringing. She opens the blinds to let the light stream in her cozy, Kansas home. The computer is next. Emails pile in throughout the night; she checks each one. A student asks if they offer a class for runners. A company is advertising a new line of yoga tops. After the emails are responded to, she checks her schedule. On a usual day, yoga teacher Angie Eckenroth plans her yoga class for that day. She asks herself if she will focus on hip openers or heart openers. It usually depends on the type of class and vibe of the group she teaches. Angie can sometimes tell by the way her students walk, that they need to stretch their hips. When she arrives at the studio, Eckenroth sweeps the bamboo floor and rearranges the blocks and weights. She is ready for a day of teaching her passion.

Angie Eckenroth began her yoga practice in 2002. It wasn’t something she grew up doing. It was an accident, really. Eckenroth was an avid runner. She had injured her back with a bulging disc. She could no longer run. Angie was in serious pain; her friend invited her to a yoga class with her. It was a new, but healing experience.

“I took the class and afterward I felt great,” Radiant Yoga’s owner, Angie Eckenroth said.

From then on, Angie pursued her new found interest in yoga. She began practicing more often. It helped stretch and release the muscles around her injury. This relieved the pain. After taking more classes for herself, she began teacher training in 2005. She eventually earned her teaching license and was ready to lead others in yoga. She had been driving to and fro teaching at different studios. Finally, Eckenroth was ready to open her own studio.

“I felt this town needed a place to practice yoga,” Eckenroth said.

Yoga is a great way to heal injuries, strengthen muscles, improve body image, and express yourself. It allows students to go deep within their muscles into the connective tissues to improve flexibility. Also, Angie Eckenroth says, it teaches them how to breathe because a lot of kids don’t know how to breathe. Learning how to breathe helps students connect with their mind and body.

“During a recent yoga class, I was able to listen to my body’s needs and block out distractions to better my practice for that night,” senior Sarah Murphy said.

Physical and emotional awareness is important for concentration and study habits. Being uncomfortable in a chair can bring the focus onto the pain rather than studying. The emotional feelings that come with a bad day can get in the way of  the homework assigned that night.

Yoga allows people to be aware of the body’s needs. It can help relieve stress and tension in a student’s busy life. Exercise physiologist, Richard Weil, says that the breathing techniques practiced in yoga has a mood elevating effect.

“Yoga keeps me relaxed by focusing on only my breath and staying in the moment,” freshman Londyn Bogseth said. “It is a practice you can personalize for you specifically.”