Participating in a yoga class Thursday night at Body Rock Dance, Health and Fitness Studio in Seymour was a milestone for Kate Stahl.
That marked her 365th day in a row of practicing yoga.
You read that right. Yoga every day for a year.
Whether it was at the studio or at home, the 38-year-old Seymour woman did some form of the health and relaxation discipline.
“I have never seen myself as an athlete or someone who is a fitness guru, and all of a sudden now, it’s kind of like, ‘Well, maybe I am,’” she said, smiling.
The first time Stahl tried yoga was in early 2018. She said she was afraid to just show up to a class because she thought she would be totally lost, so she did some private lessons with Michelle Carter and classes with Heather Boknecht.
Later that year, though, she said she got out of the habit of doing yoga.
Then in April 2021, Stahl participated in a yoga session with Ashley Dec during a sorority outing. From that point, she was determined to make it part of her weekly routine again, so she started going to Dec’s weekly class, which at that time was at CrossFit Seymour.
“When I started doing yoga initially three years ago, I don’t know that I even started doing it so much for the physical benefits. I just was trying to deal with the stress and anxiety of daily life as a teacher, as someone involved in a lot of volunteer organizations trying to juggle everything,” Stahl said. “I found that the benefit was tremendous, and I thought, ‘I need to get back into this.’”
At that point, she had made a lifestyle change and lost nearly 125 pounds.
“I wasn’t exercising on a regular basis at all, and I think I had this predetermined idea of when I lost the weight who I would be and what I would do,” she said.
Stahl learned running wasn’t her thing, but yoga was.
“It was just my jam,” she said, smiling. “I found something that I felt like I could really do on a regular basis long term as far as exercise goes, and I’ve never been someone who does exercises.”
In particular, Dec’s music playlist during classes and the way she leads sessions and offers modifications made for a comfortable environment.
“One of the best things about Ashley’s yoga classes is the supportive community of people that attend each week. We all cheer each other on, and I love that,” Stahl said.
On June 1, 2021, Stahl said she had a terrible sinus infection and missed class the next day. She, however, was still able to practice yoga at home.
Then she started doing it a few days in a row and came across information online about people completing 90-day challenges.
“I was just like, ‘Let’s see what happens,’” Stahl said.
Day 90 landed on class day with Dec at Body Rock, and she asked Stahl, “What are you going to do now?”
“I was just like, ‘I guess we’ll see what happens,’” Stahl said. “Then it got closer to the holidays, I had had a really busy fall, my brother got married and I had lots of different things going on with my family, and all of a sudden, I realized, ‘Wow! I’m still doing this. Wouldn’t it be crazy if I could make it a whole year?’”
Challenge accepted.
A couple of months ago, Stahl realized June 2 of this year would fall on Dec’s class day. If she could continue her daily yoga routine, she would meet that challenge.
“I was just like, ‘Let’s do this,’” she said.
She’s now at 365 days and counting.
During the past year, she has been asked several times “What do you count as a day of practicing yoga?”
“Yoga can be whatever you need it to be on any given day, no matter what’s going on,” Stahl said. “Even on days when I’m not feeling so great, I can do more of the slow flow or what’s called restorative.”
Since the beginning of the year, she also has done spinning at home five or six times a week and weight training three or four times a week.
“I always, always, always end with yoga, no matter what,” she said. “It’s a great thing because it helps me if I’ve completed a difficult spin class and I really worked hard, it does allow me to do the kind of stretching that I need to in recovery and things like that. Then every yoga class ends with a rest period, savasana.”
Stahl said yoga is one of the only true full-body workouts, hitting every single muscle group. Plus, there are mental benefits of it.
“It forces you and gives you time to be aware of your body and what’s going on with it, and that’s really cool, too,” she said. “The best part of it is when your body does things you didn’t know it could do.”
Whether it’s yoga or some other form of exercise, Stahl encourages people to take their time and find the thing that works for them.
“The most important piece of advice for people: Make yourself a priority,” she said. “Just be patient and open-minded about it and take it one step at a time and not really push yourself too much. … I’m always listening to my body, thinking about what I need and what else am I going to be doing that day, how do I feel. Since I’ve committed to yoga daily, it’s just a part of my daily routine, like brushing my teeth.”
Kate Stahl shared these yoga classes available in the area
Ashley Dec Yoga at 7:30 p.m. Thursdays at Body Rock Dance, Health and Fitness Studio, 2021 N. Ewing St., Seymour (facebook.com/bodyrockwithkat, 812-371-8281)
Slow Flow with Michelle at 6 p.m. Thursdays at Body Rock
Yoga at 6:30 p.m. Mondays, 9 a.m. Tuesdays, 7 p.m. Wednesdays and 4:45 p.m. Thursdays at Studio SPF, 214 S. Sugar St., Brownstown (studiospf.com, facebook.com/studiospf)
Ashley Dec Yoga also in Columbus at Tipton Lakes Athletic Club and The Zen Wellness Company
Elemental Yoga Columbus also offers yoga classes in Columbus throughout the week