While yoga is in the name, the owners of Rainy Lake Zen Life Yoga are hoping to offer more than just yoga classes in an effort to help others experience self-care locally.
Co-owners Paula Plichta and Fiona Ryle opened the centre in Alberton, across from Badiuk’s Powersports in May, after getting the ball rolling with finding a facility and having renovations done earlier this year.
“It’s always been a lifelong dream of mine to have some kind of wellness centre,” said Plichta who also has a hairstyling business in Fort Frances.
“Even when I opened my first hair salon, so no ammonias, no harsh chemicals. It was very much about wellness, stillness and I wanted to bring that forward. I originally started out fitness training, but I ended up with a bad knee injury, so I turned to yoga to slow it down. It saved my life over COVID, brought me to that centre of calmness.”
Ryle came on board with Plichta after they both met in a yoga instructors course.
“I hadn’t initially planned on opening a yoga studio, so a call from Paula brough me on board. But we had been through the yoga teacher journey, in part, together,” Ryle said. “We started around the same time, exploring yoga. I actually didn’t intend to become a yoga teacher, but I loved it so much, I kind of moved into it naturally, and I just wanted to be able to share what yoga has done for me because it’s helped me a lot.”
The centre offers several different yoga classes as well as High Intensity Interval Training and Plichta also offers a variety of spa services out of the facility.
Options for spa services include hot stone massages, facials, Swedish massage as well as foot massages and other treatments. Plichta did emphasize that she isn’t a registered massage therapist so you likely won’t be able to claim her services on insurance. For more details on the specific services or to book you can visit rainylakezenlife.ca
The facility also has a meeting room, where they can do private one on one sessions or host events like birthday parties or bridal showers.
Last week they also held their first sparring class with Rainy River First Nations Rainy River First Nations Seikido Taekwondo Club’s Master Haley Broadbent.
The class saw the group learn a few of the basic sparring moves from the martial art and suit up into sparring gear before getting a chance to try kicking and punching at a partner, some of whom were complete strangers before the class.
Uptake for the place has been slow but steady as they haven’t spent much money on advertising and are relying on social media and word of mouth to get the message out about their facility.
Kirsty Sinclair started coming when she heard about the place on Facebook.
“I reached out and started coming and I’ve been here ever since they opened,” she said.
Sinclair says that when she started coming she couldn’t easily get up from down on the floor.
“I like the fact that I’m feeling stronger,” she said. “This is a place to come to just be yourself, you can work out at your own pace, nobody’s judgy here. It’s just a really nice place to be.”
Ryle says clients are telling her about their personal progress.
“I have had some feedback from people who are coming in and saying they’re noticing that they’re feeling stronger as they carry on, even just through yoga as well as the fitness,” she said. “I think there’s this perception that yoga is just about meditation or chilling out or doing poses. But they are noticing a strength and a flexibility as well just in their joints… I can see it week to week with some students who couldn’t keep their hands bent and are now starting to add in extra movement.”
Plichta has noticed improvements in one client specifically as well.
“I’ve got one lady in her mid 70s she came with a hip pain level of nine or 10, struggling to get out of a chair. She’s been faithfully coming into classes, two-three times a week. She says her hip pain is now minimal a one or two,” Plichta said. “That’s been months and weeks of just coming regularly building that strength, gaining that flexibility.”
Plichta and Ryle have also taken the show on the road, working with Flinders Place as well as Northwestern Ontario Métis Child and Family Services.
They also have a third instructor in Tara Gunderson who came on board in the spring and is offering children’s classes 9:30-10:15 a.m. on Saturdays and leads a “Happy Hips” class on Thursday evenings.
They also emphasized that yoga isn’t just for women.
“It’s not just for women right,” Ryle said. “It is for kids but it’s also for men. We’ve got classes that are strength based and science based, as well as meditative spiritual aspects so it’s not one thing. It’s not one-dimensional.”
Plichta added that yoga in itself is not religious.
“We’re not religious,” she said. “It’s whatever journey you connect to.”
For more information on Rainy Lake Zen Life Yoga, check out their website rainylakezenlife.ca.
