This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own. Kathleen Gallen knows that the world of yoga can be intimidating for a neophyte.
With seemingly endless varieties β Bikram, Vinyasa, Hatha and Prana, to name a few β cropping up all over the United States, yoga has gained in popularity over the years.
However its popularity has also helped generate a somewhat elitist reputation which, Gallen said, can scare off those who could truly benefit from its practice. She hopes that her studio, Gallen Massage and Yoga , located at , will help break that stigma and give patrons of all ages and comfort levels the opportunity to improve their health through the practice of yoga. She knows, from personal experience, about the healing properties of yoga β not only for the body, but for the mind and soul, as well.
After spending two years working as an English teacher in Slovakia for the Peace Corps , Gallen took up yoga to battle the depression she developed after returning to the United States in But when I came back to the United States, I lost the sense of community I gained in the Peace Corps and the shift back to living in a democracy as opposed to a communist country was very difficult for me.
I was extremely depressed. To battle that depression, she studied yoga at in Sarasota before relocating to N. She discovered that yoga and massage can work as powerful tools to promote harmony between those various processes. A lot of it is emotional and mental. It took Gallen years to learn how to deal with the serious back and hip injuries she incurred during a car accident as a child.
