“When I had to step away from soccer during college, due to a health concern, yoga was there for me. I get excited to try out new yoga studios when I’m traveling and have practiced at some pretty cool places, but Inner Fire Yoga feels special to me.”

“Yoga is such a different kind of challenge than what I’m used to compared to wrestling.  It has really taught me how to truly be present and to just focus on my breathing. Yoga makes my body feel so much better and it forces me to work on patience, balance, and strength which are super important the older I get.”

“I was first brought to yoga because I was an athlete in high school and wanted to balance out my movement with flexibility and avoid injury. During college I found yoga again as a means to build strength and then finally found yoga a third time in my late twenties after being diagnosed with chronic pain and fatigue. It was then that I understood yoga’s real purpose in my life.”

“Yoga helps me to keep calm as a teacher by day, and to be a more patient, centered and strong mother. It has allowed me to show up to a fresh start each morning when working with children in trauma who need me to help guide them as they learn and grow.”

“Yoga has given me the opportunity to really reflect on my body and how it feels. It's been really nice to be active in a safe environment where I don't feel judged for not being able to do the absolute max.”

“Yoga helped me develop the habit of relaxing into my innate tranquility within, no matter what chaos was swirling around outside.”

“My favorite is 90-minute sessions as they give me a second chance every other minute for every single asana. I can be more generous and gracious to myself. I can be more playful by being fierce and calm at the same time. I can focus on great effort in asana and completely surrender in savasana. I am learning how to live a life through yoga, reconciling a million things through my breathing.”

I moved back to Madison after a few years and found Inner Fire Yoga, and I’ve never been happier. I spent 12 years in the infantry, so I had a lot of joint and back pain. Thanks to Inner Fire Yoga and the great classes here lead by people like Karen Rigsby, that pain is virtually gone.

Next month will be a year since my first class and I can't imagine ever stopping. I'm glad I finally signed up for a class after only driving by the studio - it was a good reminder to take a leap and try something new!

It was love at first sweat! I love the heat (being a SoCal girl) and the way the class forces me to be present, mindful, and in tune with my body. So far, I’ve gone to over 50 classes in a little over three months, and I’ve loved every one!

Once I became a member, I tried out lots of classes and realized there were many classes I liked, which inspired me to go to yoga several times a week. I’m stronger, calmer, more patient and grounded (on the good days!) because of my yoga practice. I’m also virtually pain-free.

Establishing my yoga practice was the first step towards choosing things that give my life more purpose and intention. I have the utmost gratitude for Marit and the Inner Fire Yoga community for helping me find my path.

Being active has always been an important part of my life. In high school, I played tennis competitively and would practice nearly every day after school. Once I was in college and had less time for tennis, I started taking cardio-focused group fitness classes, like Zumba and HIIT, at our student rec center. I felt like I needed something high energy with a competitive component to maintain my attention and get a good workout.

While completing my first year of law school, I neglected to find time to take care of my mental and physical wellness. This spring, I decided to tackle both through yoga! As a busybody, I thought that I would be bored and under-stimulated by yoga. I now know that yoga is very stimulating, and continues to challenge me every time I practice.

I started practicing a few years ago in graduate school at the University of Illinois when I saw a flyer for weekly free yoga in my office. I had been experiencing repetitive stress injuries from years of running, so it was a convenient way to recover and remain active. I was surprised at my lack of strength and mobility in areas I had overlooked while running competitively.

Thank you for pointing the Student Spotlight almost 200 miles northwest of Madison! My name is Kaia Simon, my pronouns are she/her, and I live in Eau Claire, WI where I am an Assistant Professor of English at UW-Eau Claire.

In 2018 my life had very little structure. I was finishing a graduate program and a dissertation, confronted with days, weeks, and months of nothing but writing and far too much time to think. It was draining and disorienting.

A yogic lifestyle involves an emphasis on comprehensive, holistic approach to health. For me, this means I need to be physically active daily to properly integrate mind, body and spirit. I find that doing yoga accomplishes this to the extent that such awareness also transcends to other aspects of my life and those around me.