By David Beers

It is Friday evening and I am unfolding my tense body on the floor of a storefront in downtown Winsted, which is not the typical thing to be doing on Main Street. At the corner of Elm and Main, two doors down from Rooted Market, is Earthbound Yogi, a new yoga studio that opened this past November.

When you walk in, the mats and other yoga paraphernalia greet you in a space that has plants, a soothing low light and calming music in the background. The owner and instructor, Wendy Scanlon, welcomes students, who then settle onto their mats for an hour of whatever flavor of yoga they have signed up for on her website (earthboundyogi.com). Classes always start with Scanlon asking participants what physical issues, if any, they need to work on. During class, Scanlon is very good at describing and talking her students through each move in a thorough, yet easy to understand, manner. Classes always end with a prone meditation called Shavasana, or Corpse Pose.

Scanlon teaches a wide variety of classes every day of the week, both during the day and in the evening. She can cater her classes to any level of experience and offers several classes specifically for beginners. Her website has descriptions of all the classes, which include Beginners Hatha, Slow Flow Vinyasa, Hip Opener, CrossFit, Chair, Age 50+, Hot, Couples, Hard Core, Yin, Restorative and a Guided Meditation. A five-class pass is $75 or individual classes can be purchased for $20.

Scanlon has a welcoming approach that is empathetic to aging, imperfect bodies and the stresses of modern life. She says she wants to “help students relieve their stress and discomfort by making them comfortably uncomfortable.” In other words, students will move and stretch their bodies in new ways that might be a bit uncomfortable but in a natural, stress-free manner.

Scanlon began practicing yoga 20 years ago to help treat her back pain, and she became a certified instructor soon after that. She also has training in human anatomy and physiology, psychology and nutrition. Before opening the Winsted studio, she taught yoga part-time at her home and at the YMCA in Winsted. In addition to yoga, she also offers private health coaching and life coaching. In her pre-yoga work life, she was a IT specialist, a paralegal, a farmer and a baker.

Scanlon is excited about being able to teach yoga full-time in her own studio space. She sees a need for people to reconnect in group settings because there is a unique energy you can get in a group that you miss when practicing yoga at home with videos and via Zoom. You can find that energy at Earthbound Yogi.