On a neighborly street in Anchorage, Kentucky, sits a nonprofit yoga studio, led by Emily Schmiedeler, named Harmony In Motion Yoga.
With just a few months past its one-year anniversary under its belt, the studio proudly boasts a dedication to serving its community and their Everyday Heroes.
“We decided [to] offer special rates for specific groups of people, people who serve others,” said Schmiedeler. “So it’s teachers and students, healthcare workers, military people, seniors and first responders.”
These membership rates allow for those who serve to a more accessible and affordable way to practice. Each week, the studio offers classes with yoga practices centered towards alleviating the physical, mental, and emotional toll that our Everyday Heroes face. With classes that range from restorative to strength-building, the studio leads with the idea of a holistic practice.
“We have chair and gentle yoga in the studio, and then all the way up to power yoga and core focus yoga classes that are more intense. So I wanted to offer just a little bit of everything for everybody.”
And this dedication to their holistic practice extends far beyond Anchorage, Kentucky. Harmony In Motion Yoga is also dedicated to bringing their service to nursing facilities all over the state, supplying yoga videos and resources to over 100 facilities in Kentucky. The movement began with a grant that Schmiedeler and her husband, who works in grant writing, applied for, that works towards improving quality of life.
“The grant we applied for and were awarded, it’s about improving quality,” said Schmiedeler. “So specifically for that part, for the residents in the nursing homes just to bring people together, for the community aspect of it, the social aspect, and also just to help with their mental health and get them moving a little bit more. So even if it’s just small, simple movements, anything to benefit their quality of life.”
Schmiedeler’s own journey with yoga began with her experiencing those same benefits. She picked up the practice with her sister, after her sister began yoga as a way to help her recover from surgery.
“So the benefits it had for me was actually reducing my anxiety and stress. That’s what I noticed first, and then it started to strengthen my body and make me more flexible. But it was more the mindfulness that I really noticed at first.”
Between balancing a full life, a full-time corporate job and a family of ten kids and four grandkids, she found parts in yoga that helped develop her way of thinking.
“When I first went to yoga, it was more the first five minutes of class where you actually have to lay still or sit still and clear your mind and be present, that was really challenging for me at first. Like I was fidgety and then the last five minutes or so of class is Shavasana, where you’re just laying there, you know, completely still and everything’s quiet,” said Schmiedeler. “And those two moments of the class impacted me the most to start because I wasn’t used to doing that, just breathing and just listening to my body and letting myself rest and recover from stress. So that’s what impacted me the most at first, and then it just grew from there.”
And after over two years of her own practice, Schmiedeler began working towards a certification to teach on her own. Currently, she is certified as a 200-hour yoga teacher, devoting part of her time to her studies to become certified as a 300-hour yoga teacher.
She’s also working towards sharing her experience in an accessible, connected way to those around her, and beyond. With plans in place to continue growing her studio in Anchorage and providing more lessons to nursing facilities in Kentucky, Schmiedeler has high hopes for the future ahead.
“I want to expand. So once we get implemented and show the benefits for the residents and what we have, there’s a lot of opportunity or growth to expand to even more facilities and maybe even into other states beyond Kentucky.”
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