STUDIOS

by Emme fredricks

Yoga Mountain Shadows offers a sense of home to many people in Colorado Springs. High ceilings and natural light are not the only things that make this studio so enticing; its mission to get people moving, while offering a sense of community, is what makes this studio so unique.

Many of the studio’s students are either newer to yoga or are slightly older and looking to maintain an active lifestyle. Because of this, Yoga Mountain Shadows is committed to being a judgment-free zone.

“When you come in, don’t worry about what other people are doing. Just relax, listen to the cues and let your body move,” says owner and director, Elsbeth Micklewright.

Yoga Mountain Shadows offers heated and non-heated classes. Some of the most popular offerings include a non-traditional Vinyasa, Warm + Gentle, Yin and Ashtanga.

“We don't have a specific type of class where we follow certain ideologies; it is a general mix,” Micklewright explains. “When students have questions about other classes, it's nice to tell them that they have already done most postures in other classes they’ve attended. It allows them to step out of their comfort zone and try something new.”

Additionally, she adds that her teachers have a fair amount of autonomy when it comes to teaching. It provides a variety of choices for students where they can find what they like, and it allows the teachers to teach what they are feeling and get creative.

Everyone at Yoga Mountain Shadows has a unified goal of moving their body. This commonality creates a sense of community that truly differentiates them from other studios.

Even as COVID-19 forced the studio to go remote at first, their community remained intact.

“Although our students had any studio in the world at their fingertips with online platforms, we still meant enough to them to stick with us. It was a good way to connect with people,” shares Micklewright.

Although the studio still offers one online class and one hybrid class, Micklewright explains that they currently cater more to face-to-face connection.

Micklewright hopes everything about the studio radiates the feeling of a home. “The space makes us what we are for sure,” she says. Whether it is the coffee bar in the lobby, wall decor from people in the community, free yoga mat rentals or essential oil towels after hot yoga, “It’s those small things that we didn't necessarily plan on doing that we like to do as it strengthens relationships,” she adds.

As for the future, Micklewright says she’s sticking to her goal of getting people to move and have options. “It is kind of a funky time balancing what we might put out there versus what we might get taken away [due to the virus],” she explains. “But having that community and relationship no matter what business it is, really does go a long way." + 4663 Centennial Blvd, Colorado Springs, CO 719.799.6697

EMME FREDERICKS was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan. She moved to Boulder, Colorado to study advertising and business and she fell in love with the mountains. She loves all things outdoors, anything creative and has a passion for health and wellness. She is currently interning at Jaunt Media Collective, the publishing company behind Spoke+Blossom, Covered Bridge and YOGA + Life magazines.

by Lisa Blake

When you walk into a Thrive Yoga Summit class or workshop, you’re in good company. The new Frisco wellness-based gathering space is busting down intimidation barriers and pulling together bodies of all shapes and ages.

Owner Mia Tarduno is building up studio cornerstones of community, awareness, compassion and kindness through niche classes like Yoga for Graceful Aging, The Stiff Men’s Club and Yoga for Mental Health. “It doesn’t matter what you look like, what clothes you wear or if you can touch your toes; anyone is welcome here,” Tarduno says.

The Frisco author, yoga instructor and life coach opened her locally owned Thrive Yoga outpost in July, marking the fourth Thrive brand studio in Colorado. The small, welcoming space focuses on vinyasa, slow flow and meditation, along with community-based events that include monthly women’s circles, sound journeys and yoga for menopause workshops.

Tarduno, 30, studied anthropology, dance and environmental studies at Hobart and William Smith College in upstate New York — a coursework trio she’s thankful to tap into on a daily basis. She began her yoga teacher training sophomore year of college and continued to become a 500-hour Registered Yoga Instructor, Certified Trauma Informed Yoga Teacher, Registered Restorative Yoga Instructor and Certified Professional Life Coach. Tarduno specializes in yoga for women’s health and cyclical living in her business, Move Create Radiate. Her classes and offerings blend the tools of yoga, ancient wisdom, breathwork, rituals, somatic movement and exploring vulnerable moments to help heal and nourish.

After landing in Summit County by way of

Boulder and teaching yoga at the Silverthorne Recreation Center for five years, Tarduno decided to take 2019 to travel and further her studies. A stop in Bali and workshops surrounding trauma informed yoga resonated deeply.

“Trauma is anything that overwhelms the body’s ability to process a situation,” she explains. “This can be extreme stress or a traumatic experience, and when that happens, our brains disconnect. Trauma informed yoga reconnects the areas of the body that are severed during traumatic experiences.”

Returning from her travels in March 2020, Tarduno made a home in Frisco and taught private yoga sessions during the pandemic. In April 2021, she was teaching a women’s health yoga class at a Thrive location and noticed there was a Summit County location opening soon. She reached out to the brand owner and 35 days later, opened her own Thrive studio walking distance from her house, just off Main Street in Frisco.

Tarduno’s mission at Thrive is to create gathering spaces for others to share knowledge, express themselves and feel supported. Her yoga classes aim to reconnect people with their natural states of being to restore balance in their health, lifestyle, work and relationships.

“It was really important to me to welcome in people who haven’t felt welcomed in other wellness spaces before,” she says.

While hand-selecting Thrive instructors, Tarduno will ask them to share a hardship that they’ve overcome, seeking out a certain level of vulnerability and willingness to open up about their personal journeys.

“They understand that yoga has this deeper impact on their growth and lives and processing the things they’ve been through,” she says. “That it’s more than just moving their bodies and feeling good.”

Look for Thrive Summit’s calendar to expand to offer book clubs, songwriters circles and other intimate gatherings centered around community and internal growth. + 101 3rd Ave., Unit C, Frisco, CO 970.455.8786

LISA BLAKE is a freelance writer living in Breckenridge, specializing in dining, outdoors, ski resorts and wellness. She is happiest on her mountain bike, yoga mat or in a raft with her husband, son and pug. Her work has been featured in Aspen Modern Luxury, Purist, 5280.com and GoBreck.com. Find her at lisablakecreative.com.