With midterms just around the corner and endless other tasks piling on the ever-expanding “to-do” list, students may be having a harder and harder time finding a moment to just … breathe. Luckily, according to Pranam Yoga Shala studio co-owner and founder Anne Thompson, there may be a quick fix for that.

“Yoga is so good for calming stress and for learning new ways of handling daily activities and decisions,” Thompson said, sitting cross-legged with her hands cupped around an orange mug of honey lemon tea. “You learn through yoga to put yourself through simulated stress environments and learn how to handle those through movement and breathing. It allows you to take that out of the studio, elsewhere and into your everyday life.”

Pranam Yoga Shala, co-owned by Thompson and Libba Harmon and located at 148 S 39th St., focuses primarily on the practice of vinyasa yoga — in other words, the relationship between breath and the movement of poses. Thompson and Harmon were inspired by the wholesome lifestyle that yoga encourages, as well as by volunteer work in the Omaha area, so they collaborated to create a “house with heart and soul” that would provide those two very things. 

As for the latter, the studio works actively to both fundraise and raise awareness of local charities and sustainability action. They call this commitment to charity “seva,” or “selfless service.”

“I love the people and the sense of purpose,” Thompson said. “I love feeling like I’m truly making a difference by bringing people into a setting where their lives can change. Our vision of building community is really important to me.”

The studio, in just three words, is cozy, warm and colorful. The building features two exercise rooms, one of which is embellished with a large rainbow elephant on the wall. As the studio works to further the mission of sustaining materials, all of the building’s interior components are created from recycled materials such as old, wooden barn panels. 

A frequent participant in classes is Thompson’s Labrador mix, Samantha, who with a demeanor like a Zen guru sits in on sessions (“she has the best downward dog,” Thompson joked).

One of the studio’s most loyal students, Bill Fischer, added that, regardless of age or profession, yoga is a surefire way to balance stress.

“If you slow down and focus on what’s important, [yoga] lets you calm yourself to where things that aren’t really important roll off you,” Fischer said. “You learn to let go of things so that it trains you to not have expectations for the outcomes of things. You can’t control everything.”

Among Pranam Yoga Shala’s offered amenities are retail products, free WiFi and free tea of your choice. The wide variety of classes and services include meditation and mindfulness, massage therapy and acupuncture. Free classes, open to the community, are offered on both Wednesdays and Sundays in meditation and vinyasa respectively. New students also get the deal of an entire month of classes for $30.

Students seeking a safe haven for their worries and strife, then, might just be in luck. The community and lifestyle her studio offers, in Thompson’s opinion, is a solid first step toward self-actualization.

“It’s at its birth; it’s something that’s growing — it would appeal to any age, but especially younger people can come in and be a part of it from the get-go,” Thompson said. “Growing and learning — lots of that happens here.”

A community class exercises a series of poses in the studio of Pranam Yoga Shala. The class focuses primarily on a form of yoga called vinyasa, which follows the flow of movement and breath. “It helps your health, your mood, your sleep, your family relations, your relations with other people,” student Bill Fischer said.

Courtesy of Pranam Yoga Shala