Ruth Fisk, cross-legged in the middle of a dimly lit room, faces about 15 students with her arms upstretched above her head.
“Inhale,” she said.
The word begins in her soft-toned voice before trailing off into a whisper. The silence extends to the walls of the room, but the outside world is loud with the sounds of the traffic on Grand River Avenue. No one is distracted.
Fisk asks the class to participate in three “oms” with her. The students quietly chant the sacred Hindu word symbolizing the true self. The two-letter word stretches into a 30-second hum.
This practice of expanding the mind and the spirit needs expansion itself, teachers at the Center for Yoga, 1770 E. Grand River Ave., have discovered.
“This expansion takes us to a different scale,” said Fisk, owner, director and teacher at the center.
The continuing need to expand is because of the increase of student interest in the center, Fisk said.
“I’m imagining that the demand is higher, but demand is such a strong word,” she said. “People are wanting to take better care of themselves.”
Rob Eschbach, founder and director of the Yogic Sciences Research Foundation, also noticed the increase, but isn’t sure of the reason.
“This time of year people are worried about their New Year’s resolutions, so that’s a factor,” he said. “But we’ve noticed recently it seems as if some of the classes are, well, we don’t have big enough rooms.”
The foundation is an in-home nonprofit organization in East Lansing offering free or cheap yoga classes for students year-round.
But Eschbach said the heightened interest in taking yoga classes may pass.
“It comes in waves, and lately it seems like we’re at the high point of the wave. I don’t know how long it’ll last,” he said.
There are currently two studios at the center with a third to be added. The new room used to be an attorney’s office, but the center plans to refurnish it to meet its needs.
Thirty-one classes are now offered, but 15 will be added to the list beginning March 4 after the renovation is finished.
The center houses 16 teachers, each specializing in different styles of yoga and some in different styles of massage and exercise. The studio is fully equipped, and all mats and other yoga equipment are provided for students. Class sizes range anywhere from 10 to 25 people, bringing the total number of students to about 400, Fisk said.
But that number is growing, and this is not the first time the center has had to expand since Fisk opened it four years ago. In September 2000 it was moved into an already existing space and turned into the smaller studio and the lobby.
Fisk encourages those who have never experienced yoga, as well as those who have, to attend the center for a yoga open house from 2-6 p.m. Sunday. Yoga miniclasses, 10-minute massages and light refreshments will be available.
For more information on the open house or classes, the Center for Yoga can be reached at (517)333-9883. The Yogic Sciences Research Foundation can be reached at (517)351-3056.
