By Jarred Meeks
A Zionsville yoga studio owner has renewed her lease for for another five years to continue offering a unique type of training in the area.
Lily Kessler, owner of Blooming Life Yoga Studio, wanted to make an impact on the Zionsville community, so she offered the nation’s first teen-specific yoga training program that allows teens to become fully accredited yoga instructors and pursue yoga as an intrapersonal journey.
Kessler, who taught school for 16 years in the Washington D.C. area, said she “still wanted to have that connection with kids” after moving to Zionsville. She wanted to “make them feel like they have a safe space” to explore who they are and learn about yoga and its benefits.
Kessler felt they teens could benefit from taking yoga classes with adults, who could provide support and different perspectives. So, she combined the studio’s teen programs with the adult programs, where teens can still become accredited.
“We realized to better serve (teens), we needed to have more adults in the room,” Kessler said.
Some of the teenagers that finished the teen-specific programs at the studio have gone on to become instructors. The studio, through Yoga Alliance, a U.S.-based nonprofit membership trade and professional organization for yoga teachers, offers a 200-hour foundational program as well as a 300-hour advanced program for those seeking accreditation.
In addition to making an impact in teen lives locally, the studio offers pilgrimages to Peru, India and Costa Rica for a deeper exploration of yoga and meditation practices with humanitarian missions in each.
In Costa Rica, the studio supports the Girls for Success center, founded seven years ago by one of the studio’s teachers, Sally Bassett. The center and its program aim to enrich, educate and empower girls in the rural area of Hone Creek and the surrounding community in Costa Rica.
The studio also gives to the Horse Plus Humane Society, the largest horse welfare organization in the U.S.
For more, visit bloominglifeyoga.com.
