Story & Photos by Erin Peterson
Seagulls fly overhead, cawing at the crashing waves. A flute begins to sing. The melodic notes of the harp chime in as the calm and steady voice of Verna Reidy says, “Breath in, and breath out.” Reidy and her yoga class stretch and strengthen their minds and bodies at the Eugene Friends Meeting House while listening to the soothing sounds of nature.
Reidy, who has been doing yoga since the age of thirteen, started the nonprofit organization Yoga By Design ten years ago. “I was looking for a bigger way to move and serve in the world,” she explains. Dedicated to educating people about the healthy benefits of yoga, she tries to create and implement yoga-based programs and services for the good of the individual, the family, the community, and the world at large. Classes cost $8 to $12 each, which goes toward the cost of space.
Yoga is a form of exercise designed to remove tension and stress not only in the body, but also in the mind. Originally from India, yoga means “union” in Sanskrit and, in this case, describes a union between the mind, body, and spirit. Sherry Sterling, a student of Yoga By Design, has been doing yoga for fourteen years and believes it is similar to creating art. “Yoga is a very human-friendly form of exercise,” she says, “It’s a good stress release.”
Reidy’s small and intimate class meets twice a week, practicing poses like downward dog, praying mantis, and child’s pose all while concentrating on their breathing. She believes that consciousness of breath is most important while practicing yoga or any other form of exercise. “It’s all about the brain, the oxygen, and the circulation, and the shifting of consciousness,” Reidy says. “It’s an essential nutrient.”
“Verna is very unique,” says Eileen Thomas, another student of Reidy’s. “She speaks to a certain place inside of me.” Reidy’s students think of her as a humanitarian and as their bi-weekly therapist, teaching them lessons that will last a lifetime. “She’s about healing,” Thomas adds.
Reidy considers the benefits of yoga to be irreplacable. “I always say that if one could sell the benefits that you get from practicing yoga, somebody would be getting rich.”
At the end of the ninety-minute class, Reidy voices a transformation chant for health in Sanskrit that translates to “sun, Earth, infinite, infinite infinity, we are that” and ends with a goodbye saying that means “I bow to the oneness within you that I find within myself.”
Ra Ma Da Sa, Sa Say So Hung.
Namaste.

Gallery • 2 Photos

Non-Profit Offers Low-Priced Yoga