She can make herself parallel to the floor and balance her body weight on one foot. She can lull you to sleep and make you sweat through your shirt. She can teach you a vinyasa and tell you why it's important.
When Kimberly Sotelo developed health complications as an adult, she said she had to take action.
In 2003, she joined Sivananda Ashram, a yoga community in Woodburn, N.Y., to learn not just gaining the muscle strength offered in yoga, but to achieve the holistic health and inner peace rooted in yoga.
"I needed to heal myself," Sotelo said. "It ended up being yoga was the answer."
The days tested Sotelo. Each morning began at 5:30 a.m. and didn't end until 11 p.m. Sotelo said the day wasn't meant for aimless wanderings, but for practice, meditation, daily discourses and hard work.
Sotelo said she spoke with interesting people, experts on astrology and horticulture, and all on the floor, because there, they didn't have chairs.
"It was not just physical practice, that just comes when you're immersed in the philosophy, anatomy and physiology," Sotelo said. "You're in a yoga community, isolated from everything else. It's life-changing."
Now, Sotelo said she uses her knowledge for good. Her Inner Sunshine Yoga and Wellness studio, located at 705 Avenue D in Opelika, held its grand opening Saturday, Sept. 28, to offer lessons and holistic approaches Sotelo learned at the Sivananda Ashram.
Inner Sunshine aims to transform lives through holistic health, individualized attention and alignment-based vinyasa, an active form of yoga.
"It gives people a whole lot more power," Sotelo said. "Your energy and your mind are alive. It helps people avoid hurting themselves and works for the long term."
The facility boasts a large room for practice and a separate room for Thai yoga therapy, a type of massage and assisted stretching.
Auburn students designed the facilities outdoors with a garden of edible, native and endangered plants. Sotelo said it's often frequented by butterflies, lady bugs and lizards, which contributes to the comfort of Inner Sunshine.
"I don't know another way," Sotelo said. "Being able to create a space where anybody is welcome to come and express their thoughts and ideas, to walk into the room and not feel judged."
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