After the birth of Wendy Landry’s daughter 20 years ago, she underwent post-partum depression. When a friend gave her a gift certificate for a yoga studio she had no idea it would change the course of her life.
Landry, who is a certified yoga therapist, opened Om Prana Yoga & Consultants in Parkville in 2014 and is about to celebrate the popular studio’s 7th anniversary this Saturday, March 20, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Previously she had worked as a U.S. probation officer and retired six years ago to run Om Prana Yoga full-time.
Although her first class 20 years ago was challenging, she soon saw the benefits of yoga.
“I was out of shape,” Landry said. “I was not flexible. I was emotionally all over the place. Someone on the mat next to me at the end of class leaned over and told me I would be sore the next day but to come back because I would feel better. I did. She was right. I started taking classes two to three days a week and within a month I had found my sense of humor again. I felt better physically. After six months I started noticing I had a lot more flexibility and my back stopped hurting.”
After practicing yoga for five years, she decided to take the 200-hour yoga teacher training at Dallas Yoga Center, in order to learn more about yoga beyond the physical practice. She learned a lot about herself through the program and studied with master teachers around the world, educating herself on anatomy and kinesiology to help clients preparing for, or recovering from joint replacements, cardiac and cancer yoga therapy and advanced restorative yoga to stave off stress and illness recovery. She had no plans of becoming a yoga instructor at that time, but she soon realized she had a passion for teaching. She also has a master’s degree in counseling and an MBA in strategic leadership.
Wendy Landry
“These two masters degrees, along with all my yoga training, are the perfect combination for working with clients in a yoga therapy setting and running a small business,” Landry said.
Her 500-hour teacher training program was completed at the Himalayan Institute, Honesdale, Pa. There she met Dr. Carrie Demers, who taught anatomy.
“After learning of my experience and training ‘Dr. Carrie’ referred me to the International Association of Yoga Therapy (IAYT), which is the governing body for certifying yoga therapists,” Landry said. “I am one of the first IAYT Certified Yoga Therapists in the Kansas City area.”
She retired six years ago from working as a U.S. Probation Officer and began working full time as a certified yoga therapist, teaching group yoga classes and running Om Prana Yoga full time.
Om Prana has three yoga teachers, a yoga therapist and an employee who works in the boutique at the studio. Prior to COVID-19, two more teachers taught at the studio. One of the teachers is also a nurse and all her time has been devoted to hospital patients.
Since Om Prana is a healthcare center, Landry knew it was vital to handle COVID safely.
“We have been faced with a virus that is transmitted through breathing and my business is moving and breathing,” Landry said. “Many of our students are in their 60’s and up. On March 13, 2020, we stopped doing in-person yoga classes, due to COVID. I went home depressed and worried about my students and my business. The next day my husband and I started working hard to get classes up livestreaming on Zoom. We have continued to livestream classes on Zoom for the past year. Teaching online and seeing my students happy and healthy is literally the highlight of most of my days. I log on early so my students can get on and see each other and catch up. They have told me that these classes are often the highlight of their days and are grateful there is a piece of ‘normal’ in these abnormal times, while staying healthy. They have appreciated that we made the virtual move so they could continue with their practice and not have to worry about COVID.”
Many of her students are being vaccinated and the Om Prana staff will be fully vaccinated by April, at which time clients will get the option of face-to-face sessions or livestream sessions. Staff is working on a plan to open up to small in-person classes in the spring, while continuing to livestream them.
Since there are many styles of yoga and levels of training for teachers, Landry says it’s important to know how much training a teacher has to ensure they have adequate understanding of how the body works so as not to cause the students pain.
“This is why we became a yoga school in 2014, and why we offer continuing education classes for teachers,” Landry said. “We teach group classes that are alignment-based classes. Every person comes to class with their own stories living in their bodies from injuries, emotional traumas or stress. Therefore, yoga practices are not a ‘one size fits all’ and it takes dedicated teachers who understand the human body to lead safe movement classes. We explore, even in our livestream classes, how each student feels moving and thus where the best placement for their hips and feet should be for the individual, for example. Our movement classes provide students with a balanced practice of stretching and strengthening. We also offer restorative yoga, my favorite style of yoga. When I was a U.S. probation officer, I was supervising an ambitious team and wasn’t sleeping much. The stress of the job and raising small children caught up to me and I broke out in shingles at the age of 39. It was suggested to me that I start doing restorative yoga so my nervous system could rest. I changed from a very active, daily yoga practice to one to two active classes a week and the rest of the time, restorative yoga. I quit having health issues related to stress. Restorative yoga is a still practice using blankets, blocks, and other yoga props to hold you in the poses for five to 20 minutes. The goal for restorative practice is relaxing into the pose in order to balance the nervous system and relax.”
Over the years, Om Prana has had students from 5 to 80 years of age. Quality of life improvements associated with yoga include, better balance to reduce falls associated with aging, increased range of motion, increased bone density, which can reduce risk of breaks and fractures, muscle lengthening and strengthening, which supports bones and reduces physical pain, better circulation so the organs function optimally, decreased blood pressure, anti-inflammatory effects, increases sleep, and reduces symptoms of stress.
The American Psychological Association published a study a few years back that showed yoga reduced depression. Dr. Dean Ornish conducted a study that showed that yoga in conjunction with mindful exercise and healthy eating reversed heart disease.
Landry says the one thing we need to live is oxygen, but most of us are not taught how to breathe properly, and that when we get stressed or have chronic pain, the first thing people tend to do is hold their breath, which can reduce oxygen to the brain and make decision making difficult.
“Muscle soreness also becomes an issue,” Landry said. “Yoga poses that you learn in yoga classes at Om Prana Yoga & Boutique loosens up muscles to help the respiratory system work better. When we are able to breath we are able to reduce the negative impact of stress on the body and mind. So, breathe!"
“I have worked with a lot of teen girls privately to address anxiety,” Landry said. “We have had a 70-year-old woman come in and try yoga for the first time and now she takes classes three days a week. She was diagnosed with Osteopenia right before she tried yoga. About a year ago, she told me she had a check-up and reported her bone density had improved. Other benefits for yoga for seniors is improving balance. When senior students are looking for a place to practice yoga, please make sure your yoga teachers have training to work with yoga for aging.”
Increasingly, yoga classes are also being offered by businesses and corporations to help their employees handle stress and manage change. A big part of learning yoga is about how to breathe and use different breathing practices to calm the mind and relax the body.
“I have worked with many organizations, including Park University and Kansas City Medicine and Biosciences over the years to lead yoga classes for their employees,” Landry said. “This past year I have offered corporate yoga classes live on Zoom. Many employees are now working from home and it has been a fun way to get a little team building in while learning ways to stretch and strengthen the body to relieve lower back pain, for instance, from sitting too long at their computer. Some businesses I have worked with get insurance premium reduction incentives from taking classes. From a business perspective, when employees consistently practice yoga and relieve stress, they take less days off work and are more productive when they are working because they're able to better concentrate. That’s money well spent.”
The Om Prana Boutique at the studio offers products such as, Woodstock chimes, organic elderberry products for immune support and overall well being, Solmate socks made from recycled materials, raw honey for allergy relief and immune support, and Baker Creek Heirloom seeds.
Om Prana students are greeted by JoJo, the canine greeter at the studio.
“We adopted JoJo from Friends of Parkville Animal Shelter when she was 18 months old,” Landry said. “I knew when I met her she had the right energy to work with me at the yoga studio. JoJo could be described as a serious introvert. She really likes to just hang out and observe. In my yoga therapy practice, she just knows who needs her to curl up and cuddle with them and it is almost always my clients with cancer. She just knows who they are. During COVID, she has missed being at the studio regularly with our students. Over the summer we adopted a puppy from FOPAS, his name is Cooper. He is the exact opposite of JoJo. They make a good team.”
Landry’s favorite part of teaching yoga is that while she and her co-teachers take yoga seriously, they don’t take themselves seriously. She love to laugh and have fun with her students while they practice yoga. She sometimes even breaks out into random songs.
“I am known for helping people feel better physically and mentally through yoga,” Landry said. “My business exists because I love helping people enjoy the wholeness of their lives. I wake up in the morning thinking about new, innovative and fun ways to help people get rid of, or manage pain in a non-threatening way. I am known for helping people feel better physically and mentally through the different practices of yoga. For example, 52.5 million adults in the U.S. are affected by arthritic pain. We work together on lifestyle changes, relaxation techniques and small movements that will make the biggest impact for relief.”
To find out more about Om Prana, visit the website at www.OmPranaYoga.com, call 816-876-4638, email info@ompranayoga.com Follow Om Prana on social media at www.Facebook.com/ompranayogaparkville, Instagram-ompranayoga and YouTube at Om Prana Yoga.
