Two yoga studios relocating to downtown Lombard

Two established yoga studios opening in downtown Lombard on July 1 will offer a variety of services for anyone interested in the discipline, from kids and beginners to advanced yogis and veterans.

After 10 years in Glen Ellyn, The Yoga Place is relocating to the old hotel building on the southwest corner of St. Charles Road and Park Avenue.

Owner Julie Stewart said she decided to move her business out of the space at 488 Crescent Blvd. in downtown Glen Ellyn when the rent went up. She reached out to her neighbor, Tom Smith, after hearing from a friend that he had purchased the old hotel building and was doing renovations.

"It just has a really good feel to it," she said of the third floor ballroom where her classes will begin next month. "It's a beautiful space."

The studio will be renamed The Yoga & Ayurveda Center. Stewart said ayurveda is "the sister science of yoga," and a philosophy followed by several teachers who work in her studio.

"It's a service that people look for when they figure out what it is," she said. "I hope soon we'll have a consultation room, people can come and talk to us about ayurveda stuff. I think that will evolve."

New offerings at the Lombard location will include a yoga and meditation class and yoga for kids.

"It's kind of going to be a brand new start for everything," Stewart said.

Other classes include beginner, freedom, Iyengar, Kundalini, morning, restorative and tantra yoga. Hours will vary based on each week's schedule, which can be found online at www.theyogaplacege.com.

At a recent village board meeting, Lombard Town Centre Executive Director Sarah Richardt said the ballroom still will be available at certain times on the weekends for people who are interested in renting it for private events.

On the next block, Vicki Kaiser is moving her nearly 8-month old business, Shoucha Yoga, from 305 Westmore-Meyers Road to 11 N. Main St.

"The place I'm moving to was the original place I had selected," Kaiser said.

Richardt said the current tenant, MaidPro, tried to expand in the space, but recently decided to keep its operations in its other office at 15 N. Main St.

Kaiser, a Lombard native, has a Ph.D. in molecular biology. She worked as a research scientist in other parts of the country, but returned to her hometown a few years ago to care for her aging parents and brother.

Last year, she was inspired to stay in Lombard permanently and open a yoga studio that focused on vinyasa flow, which connects movement with breath.

"Every single class, even though it's listed as intermediate, slow or basic, I honor the people who come in, ask them how they're feeling and design practice around who shows up," she said.

Since opening, however, many students told Kaiser they would like to see her relocate to downtown, as it would put them closer to restaurants and other places to socialize together after class.

Kaiser offers free yoga on the second Sunday of each month, but requests that attendees bring a nonperishable donation to the Lombard-Villa Park Food Pantry, where her father once worked as the director.

She also has agreed to start hosting GI Yoga classes for free to veterans battling post-traumatic stress disorder and their families from 8 to 9 a.m. on Mondays starting July 6.

Other offerings include gentle yoga, slow and intermediate vinyasa, restorative yoga, a yoga body boot camp, meditation and essentrics. A complete schedule is available at www.shouchayoga.com.