Good Living
center of attention
Photo by greg whitaker
Feeling the Heat Yoga success story featured in national magazine Hot yoga changed Johnni Southerland’s life. And she’s getting national attention because of it. The Evansville resident was featured in the February issue of Prevention magazine, a digest published by Rodale Press. Her soonto-be daughter-in-law, Jenna Bergen, is the fitness editor for the magazine, which wanted to highlight people who changed their lives through health and fitness. Southerland, 60, credits hot yoga for that change. She began attending Yoga 101 after she retired from her job as a speech and language pathologist for preschoolers at the Metropolitan School District of Mount Vernon. Her friend had asked her to take part in the class in January 2012, but Southerland was at first skeptical. She has trouble with her heel and knee, she says. “The heat had hit me like a wall, but somehow I managed to make it through the first class,” she says. “Before I knew it, August had come and I had lost around 20 pounds.” Southerland retired that same month, and it was around that time that Bergen contacted her to take part in the Prevention story. “Since the Prevention story, I have been able to do yoga longer because my strength has increased,” she says. “For me, I did nothing for a really long time, and at the beginning it was challenging,
first person
to say the least. But with each class, I get stronger physically and mentally.” Before yoga, Southerland didn’t have a healthy hobby. “Now, my mornings consist of making my bed and getting my Yoga stuff ready,” she says. “It’s amazing.” Yoga 101 seeks to teach almost all its classes at a 110-degree temperature, says co-owner Jenni Juhl. And the teachers at Yoga 101 all have a different teaching style. Southerland says she has learned something varied from all of them. “They have been great at modifying postures that I wasn’t able to do when I first started,” she says. “I think it’s a great studio, and it has not only improved my strength, flexibility, and balance, but also my life.” — Brendan Haas
Yoga 101 is located at 2800 Lincoln Ave. It can be reached at 812-893-1320 and through its website at www.yoga-101.net. Prevention magazine can be found at www.prevention.com.
Deputy for a day
photo by jerry butts
Stepping into a squad car for a ridealong with Vanderburgh County Deputy Sheriff J.J. Budde was exciting for me. After studying criminal justice, this was my chance to live a bit of what I learned with a man who has spent six years with the sheriff’s department. The first call was from the Dogtown area. A man's dog, which had no collar, had gotten loose and a woman was seen picking
20 March | april 2013 Evansville Living
Civilian sees slice of police life
it up in her car. When we entered the man's house, we were told to be careful because he had other dogs, including a pit bill, which might be vicious – so vicious that he licked my face when J.J. jotted down the information. We went to the Vanderburgh Humane Society to see if the dog that had gotten loose had been turned in. We stopped on the West Side to speak to a man who knew the woman who had the dog. The man was accommodating, but still it was impressive to watch a deputy enter a strange house. I followed like a good "cop." Later, we were driving near the Lloyd and J.J. noticed something strange about the truck in front of us. The license plate was expired, and the driver had used a handicap sticker to conceal his renewal date.
Now, I had the excitement of actually being in a deputy's car with the blue lights flashing. J.J. was careful not to upset the little girl in the truck. Although the man did own the truck, it had to be impounded because it was not tagged correctly. Our last call was to a home where an 18-year-old man had broken his mom's glass patio door in an attempt to enter the house. He lived there, but did not have his key. It was not the first time his mother had problems with her son and she wanted him removed. I felt for the mother, agreeing with J.J. that she would be upset if, in fact, her son was taken to jail. When we left, they had a truce. It was at times like this that you realize a good policeman has to combine psychology with his other talents. I loved my ride-along and gained a whole new measure of respect for our lawmen and women. Now, when I watch my favorite show, "Criminal Minds," I wonder if the FBI has a ridealong program. — Julie Rosenbaum-Engelhardt