Lake Country This Month

By Chris Bennett Special to The Freeman HARTLAND — Lara Lirely stumbled onto yoga for the same reasons you might want to consider stumbling onto yoga. Lirely, owner of Coda Yoga Studio in Hartland, felt stressed and hurried and har- ried while pursuing a bache- lor of fine arts degree in musical performance at the University of Wisconsin-Mil- waukee. "When I started practicing, I was in college and I was stressed to the max," Lirely said. "I was unhealthy, living off the college diet of Ramen and diet Mountain Dew. "I felt like I needed some- thing." A friend of Lirely's suggest- ed yoga. According to the Yoga Alliance, which is the country's largest nonprofit yo g a o r g a n i z a t i o n , yo g a was developed roughly 5,000 years ago in India as a com- prehensive system for physi- cal, mental, emotional and spiritual well-being. Millions rely on the various physical, breathing and reflective aspects of yoga to help raise their quality of life in areas as diverse as fitness, stress relief, wellness, vitality, mental clarity, healing, peace of mind and spiritual growth. The Yoga Alliance said yoga is a system not of beliefs, but of techniques and guidance for enriched living. The two best known source texts for yoga are the yoga Sutras and the Bhagavad Gita. Each explains the nature of and obstacles to higher awareness and fulfill- ment, as well as a variety of methods for attaining those goals. Lirely's path to higher awareness and fulfillment started at Target. "I walked down the aisle and grabbed the first video that looked good and grabbed a yoga mat," Lirely said. "It was the first time I did yoga." Lirely said it did not take long to feel yoga's positive effects. Anytime she felt stress for the remainder of her time in college she would pause, watch her video and do a half-hour session of yoga. "It brought me back into the present moment, and it made me move and it made me work my body," Lirely said. "It brought me back to the here and now, so I could focus." Lirely's dabbling led to something more. She soon found herself going to a yoga studio and studying with a teacher. She dropped about 50 pounds. In 2013, after graduating from UWM, she started teach- ing yoga. She opened Coda Yoga Studio in October of 2015. The lessons of Lirely's journey from music student to yoga teacher can apply to you, and yoga might be a way for you to calm your life and feel its beauty. "I think I see more of a mental or emotional change before I start seeing a big change physically," Lirely said of those new to yoga. "It does not take long." Lirely said to put aside the notion that you are not suffi- ciently flexible for yoga. "It's like saying you have to be clean to take a shower," Lirely said. "You do not have to be at a certain physical level, or be able to fit in the smallest size of yoga pants." You can start with a teacher or feel free to copy Lirely's Target strategy. Lirely said getting a start of any kind in yoga is what matters. "Find a class and time and instructor that fits you and feels best," Lirely said. "Come in something comfortable and move on the mat." An ability to detach from distractions and remain focused in the moment might be in store if you decide yoga is for you and you stick with the regimen. Lirely said the practice of yoga also offers opportunity for healing, as it provides a peaceful and safe place. "For a lot of people, it can be an incredible healing pro- cess for any emotional things they are going through," Lire- ly said. Coda Yoga Studio is located in Hartland at 139 E. Capitol Drive, and is on the Web at www.codayoga.com. Page 2B • FREEMAN & ENTERPRISE LAKE COUNTRY April 2016 Convenient Home Delivery In The first 13 Weeks for just $30 Stay close to Lake Country's most pressing issues in The Freeman Lake Country is your home... READ ALL ABOUT IT! Subscription includes FREE access to Freeman's online edition. Name ____________________________________________________________ Mailing Address____________________________________________________ City, State, Zip ____________________________________________________ Phone____________________E-mail __________________________________ ❏ My check payable to The FREEMAN for $30 * (13 week subscription) is enclosed ❏ Please bill me ❏ Bill my credit card (circle one) Credit Card__________________________________Expiration Date_________ Signature ________________________________________________________ *Offer good for new subscribers only (an individual who has not been a subscriber to The FREEMAN within the last 60 days.) Delivery to Waukesha County addresses only. 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Spring is in bloom, and the grandeur of Earth's annual rebirth inspires many to reconsider interior living space. Refreshing a space involves more than moving the furniture and shampoo- ing the rugs. It is easier to consider the potential of a space and what it might look like if the area contains less stuff. Decluttering is a popular current trend — someone's probably told you to read "Spark Joy: An Illustrated Master Class on the Art of Organizing and Tidying Up" by Marie Kondo. Menefee recommends the book. "A lot of people hold on to things," Menefee said. "By clearing the clutter, you have a fresh start in the room." The true identity of a room can be considered more closely when it is free of clutter, which makes it easier to choose paint and other accents. "Paint can change every- thing," Menefee said. "Once you clear it out it's very easy to throw on some paint and change the color." The subdued tones that dominated interior decorat- ing for much of the last 20 years are giving way to more vibrant colors, such as hues of blue, yellow and pink. Whites, crèmes and taupe grays are used as neutral colors. A room free of clutter and freshly painted is a blank canvas for repositioning the furniture. Menefee said changing and repurposing the furniture can make it look like you have a differ- ent room. Striking a balance, selecting accents Strive to strike a balance between conversation and mass media, and find a lay- out that accommodates face- to-face interaction with the television. "Try to do both," Menefee said. "I hate that we have to center around the TV. Pull it out from the wall, if you can, and have the furniture clos- er together so you can carry on conversation." Smaller accents can be considered once the furni- ture is positioned. This is when you may buy new pil- lows, which add consider- able pop at a relatively small price. Different rugs also help define the new space. Menefee said bird motifs are popular right now, and suggested placing urns topped with craft bird nests on a mantle or shelf. This is also the time to reintroduce previous collections to the space — you removed the items when decluttering. "Use your collections, but don't use every collection you have," Menefee said. "If you have too much out, it's clutter, and you really don't see it." Lamps and lighting are also important factors in defining an interior space. The role of lighting in inte- rior design is under assault with every incandescent bulb replaced by a harsher LED or compact florescent bulb. Menefee said it is not uncommon for a room to be illuminated by up to five lamps. The tips suggested by Menefee can be carried out by a homeowner with the ability and desire to improve his or her home. Menefee said Pinterest is an excellent website to get ideas for small projects, and suggested Houzz as a source of inspira- tion for larger projects. Hiring an interior design- er for a consultation of an hour or two in length is also not cost prohibitive if you desire inspiration from a professional. According to www.houzz.com it can cost as little as $50 per hour and as much as $500 per hour to hire an interior designer, depending on the project. Menefee can be reached through her website, http://www.detailsx3.com, or by phone at 262-367-9050. Retain only what you love with interior decorating Submitted photo Details Design Studio updated the guest room with line walls and accents of black, pink and purple. They repainted the lamps and nightstands and reupholstered the chair in the same fab- ric as the bolster on the bed. Reducing stress with yoga Ancient discipline can help you marry mind and body Charles Auer/Freeman Staff Owner/instructor Lara Lirely in Coda Yoga in Hartland. Charles Auer/Freeman Staff Owner/instructor Lara Lirely in the Coda Yoga studio in Hartland.

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