Students at Harding University can find peace in new yoga classes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Laurie Swain, Harding University alumna, had a dream to open up a studio to provide meditation for the community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMindfulness is a way of life for me,\u201d Swain said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Swain began her journey with yoga over a decade ago. Starting as a yoga teacher, she found that the benefits of yoga go beyond a physical workout. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI started playing around with meditation and mindfulness-based stress reduction,\u201d Swain said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Last year, Swain started to form an idea to open a studio as part of the Mindful Living Center that focuses on mindfulness of the body and spirit. Swain and her team began to search for a location for the studio. While finding a space that would work proved to be difficult, Swain and her contractors decided to go ahead and move on with the construction process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI started to give up on my dream, but something happened,\u201d Swain said. \u201cI realized that if I stepped out on faith, we could create a studio in this space.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Construction for the studio began in January. COVID-19 proved to delay the construction and opening dates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe were going to open on April 11, but we just kept on building,\u201d Swain said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While the studio was ready to open, the team chose not to risk the health of the community or the staff at that time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOne of the limbs of yoga is non-harming,\u201d Swain said. \u201cWe thought that to open right then would not be best for our community. So we waited.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was not until late May that Swain decided that reflective yoga was exactly what the community of Searcy needed amid the global circumstances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe need to move; we need to breathe,\u201d Swain said. \u201cIt’s good for our flexible mind.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The studio opened June 3 with the intent of promoting health and well-being in a space that welcomes authentic community. Dr. Amy Qualls, an instructor at Mindful State and professor of English at Harding, was drawn in by having the opportunity to teach a more widely accessible yoga class in the community. She teaches a pay-what-you-can outdoor community class on Thursday nights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI desperately wanted there to be an affordable option for a yoga practice in town for anybody who wanted to join,\u201d Qualls said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mindful State Yoga has classes available for anyone. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a very welcoming space with a lot of different kinds of teachers with different teaching styles and different approaches to this practice,\u201d Qualls said. \u201cParticularly for students who may be experiencing stress, or are very busy and never have time to be still, this practice can offer that for them.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Classes are offered every day, from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Rather than offering full year passes, the studio offers semester passes lasting four months \u2014 a length that makes membership more attainable for returning college students. In addition, these passes include a streaming service for participants to watch classes when visiting the studio in person may not be a possibility. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe offer eight different class names and four different levels,\u201d Swain said. \u201cThe level is determined by pace and intensity. It’s more meditative, more about being in the moment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mindful State Yoga also offers a \u201cgratitude rate\u201d: teachers, students and first responders pay a lower price for the classes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This fall, Harding seniors Olivia Nutt and Rachel Frost began to teach classes, and a new 9 p.m. class has been added for a Sunday night session.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou walk in there and you don\u2019t feel like you have to live up to a certain standard,\u201d Nutt said. \u201cIt\u2019s a studio that offers so much heart and love; nothing feels like a competition.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nutt said participating at Mindful State Yoga would be a great way to try something new.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI would tell people to come give it a try, and to try new things \u2013\u2013 we don\u2019t always have to know the outcome of how something is going to turn out in order for us to try things,\u201d Nutt said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mindful State Yoga is located on Pleasure Avenue as part of the Mindful Living Center.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For more information, visit mindfullivingsearcy.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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