SALT LAKE CITY — Take a deep breath in, and for a moment let everything else go.
Sometimes, the hardest thing to do is slow down, but according to Lila Studio keeper Chanda Way, they're aiming to make yoga more accessible for the community.
"Originally I went to yoga for physical healing because I had been in a car accident," said Way. "As I deepened my yoga practice, I found all the side effects that came with it, which was just a calmer mind and just a deeper breath in general."
After starting in Salt Lake City's The Avenues, the studio eventually moved to its current Sugar House location.
"It was an old appliance repair shop, and it was very dirty and needed a facelift," said Way.
With a little work, Way turned the space into one purpose-made for yoga. Over time, it became a place to gather for events with a multipurpose main floor and speakeasy in the back.
How they instruct yoga is also different, taking a gentler approach as opposed to the more common "power" yoga style in the West. Way's approach was informed while studying yoga in Bali.
"One of the things my teachers would say is, 'rest is best for the West,' and it's because we have a very sort of ambitious approach to life, and that's beautiful, but we need balance," said Way. "We like to let people know this is your time, you've basically just carved out this time for yourself, enjoy it, meet yourself where you're at honor your body."
