Jill Lawson was an aerobics instructor when she took her first yoga course in 1992. By 1998, she was hooked.
“Yoga is good for the mind and body,” Lawson said. “It’s a safe and gentle exercise with many benefits.”
Lawson said yoga, which she described as an amazing form of mind-body exercise, helps to treat myriad issues including insomnia, and aid in weight loss as well as injury prevention and recovery. It also enhances flexibility, posture, self-confidence and is even used to treat post-traumatic stress disorder, she added.
Despite broader acceptance in recent years, public misconceptions remain when bombarded with images of buff people in wild, obscure poses, Lawson said. The biggest fallacy yoga faces is its simply too hard, she added.
“I certainly would not have gotten into yoga if it was an excruciating, difficult thing to do,” she said, chuckling.
Citing anyone can perform the exercise, Lawson said there are challenging poses associated with yoga, but beginners don’t start at that elevated level.
“It can take years and years of practice to reach that point,” she said.
At her Main Street yoga studio in downtown Cortez, Lawson’s clients range in age, abilities, shapes and sizes. And flexibility is not a pre-requisite, but rather a side effect, she added.
While some yoga classes incorporate traditional spiritual philosophies into their courses, Lawson simply tries to keep her students focused on happiness and good energy.
“Taking care of yourself is the main thing,” she said.
For beginners who may feel intimidated, Lawson tried to ease those concerns, citing that yoga is an internal experience and not an external display. Lawson explained a person with a prior hip injury, for example, might need the assistance of a chair with certain poses.
“We don’t promote how your pose looks, but instead how it makes you feel,” Lawson confirmed.
Lawson first began teaching yoga in Montezuma County eight years ago at area schools and community centers. She opened her first studio a couple of years ago in Dolores, and then decided to relocate to Cortez in April. She has a bachelor’s degree from Fort Lewis College and a graduate degree from Texas State University, both in exercise science.
Lawson earned her yoga teacher certification from Yoga Alliance. The global governing body for yoga instruction, the 200-hour teacher certification course took five months to complete.
“The need just kept growing and growing and growing,” she explained of opening the Cortez studio. “Due to the increased popularity, I certified eight new teachers, and things are going fabulously well.”
Her studio currently offers 25 classes, seven days a week, each developed for various skill levels and held at various times throughout the day. All of the courses are designed to enhance balance and flexibility with a combination of upper and lower body exercises.
To drop in on a course, the fee is $10, but Lawson also offers six-, 12- and 24-class package deals. A community yoga and meditation course, which only seeks a donation, is held every Sunday starting at 10 a.m. Lawson is also offering private one-on-one yoga sessions at 50 percent off during the month of July.
For more information, call (970) 882-7559, visit www.jillllawsonyoga.com or drop by the studio at 30 W. Main St.
tbaker@cortezjournal.com
