Studio co-owners never envisioned being thereThey may not be Oscar and Felix, but in their own way Laura Vanderberg and Beth Wipplinger are themselves an odd couple. Vanderberg is a former triathlete and competitive swimmer who once jumped in her car with her dog and drove around the country for two months until, as she puts it, “Cody found me.” Wipplinger is aspecial education teacher at Powell's Westside Elementary School who, by her own description, is “not competitive and not athletic.”

Despite the differences, the two have found a shared commonality through the practice of yoga.

“There was a studio in Virginia Beach where I used to live,” Vanderberg said of her introduction to the activity. “I drove by it for probably a year and a half before I went in and took a class when I was looking for something that could help with injury prevention. I had some stress-related health issues, and after the first week they started to go away. I could tell there was something to it. The scientist in me recognized that I'd only changed one variable in my life. It told me there was something there.”

Gradually, Vanderberg increased her involvement in yoga. She enrolled in a teacher training course, not with the intent of actually teaching, but out of a desire to “understsand more about it.”

Eventually, she wound up teaching.

Wipplinger took her first yoga class while struggling with knee problems.

“I was inflexible,” said Wipplinger. “I had no flexibility and wanted a gentle form of exercise that would help me with my mobililty and flexibility. So I found the studio and wound up going for four months.”

The pair became business partners earlier this summer. They co-own Here, Yoga for the Well-Spirit in Cody. Next month, they'll hold the grand opening for their Here2 studio in Powell, although they already offer classes in the community.

“The thing I loved about yoga was that it met me where I was at,” said Wipplinger. “When I started out, I wasn't able to get on the floor. I had to do techniques against a wall. I took a teacher training course to deepen my understanding and the next thing I know, I'm the co-owner of two studios. I never expected it in my wildest dreams.”

Neither Beth nor Laura acknowledge yoga as a sports activity, preferring instead to refer to it as a health and personal wellness practice.

“It's all about the inside,” notes Vanderberg. “The focus is on the internal rather than the external. When you're lifting weights, you're always looking in the mirror to see if you appear more buff. Yoga works from the inside, out. It requires concentration and challenges you in ways other activities don't.”

The typical yoga class, Wipplinger notes, is approximately 75 minutes in length. All that's needed to attend are some comfortable clothes and a desire to try.

“Everyone is different, but the beauty of yoga is that it accepts everyone,” Wipplinger said. “Yoga's philosophy is no pain, no pain. You go up to the point where your body accepts, but you don't push past that into pain. It challenges you, but it doesn't ask you to go beyond your threshhold.”

Eventually, after the Aug. 14 grand opening, the pair hope to expand their class offerings in Powell, starting with increasing the times and dates of classes. Different styles of yoga will also be sprinkled in to provide variety, as well as class options to specialize more in flexibility or yoga for wellness.

“It's a labor of love,” notes Vanderberg. “You do it because it is a passion, not because you want to get rich or make a living teaching yoga. Both Beth and I have other jobs. This is something we do because we enjoy and believe in it.”

For more information about yoga classes in the area, go to www.hereyogacody.com or call 899-3147 or 202-1180.