Amaryllis Centre
Posted: Monday, October 24th 2011
Before October 23, 2009, Red Deer lacked a local hot yoga studio, but Shauna Clark changed that. While working for the television show Survivor, Shauna discovered the physical and mental benefits of hot yoga. She then moved to Red Deer and opened the Amaryllis Center located on 53rd Street. “I wanted to open a yoga studio for 4 or 5 years and I was so excited to be able to do it,” says Shauna. Shauna admits that she likes her “hidden” downtown location because of the sense of community, central location, and the eclectic mix of people.
The Amaryllis Center’s greatest strength is the emphasis placed on individuality. There are so many different people with different yoga personalities including yoga newbies, yogis, families, WHL players and many others. There are nearly an infinite number of yoga paths to fit each personality. Shauna is an enthusiastic advocate of this individuality. “Yoga is self-expression, a journey. It is a time to be with yourself, just you and your breath. Yoga finds people; people don’t find yoga,” Shauna expresses.
Shauna and her staff of ten instructors are a passionate and compassionate team. “Our job is inspiration and we love to see people transform during classes. It is like they leave as a different person.” Shauna recalls two memorable stories of transformation. One woman was in a bad car accident and she came in and lay on the floor of the studio. The energy of the people in the room was healing to her. There was another man who had nerve damage and he couldn’t lift his one arm. But he tried and tried and eventually he reached his hand above his head and he was crying because he could do it.
The Amaryllis Center will become home to many new and exciting things in the future. Shauna will offer lunch time classes as well as a candlelit yoga class. Also, she will try to give students at the college a free sample class.
Shauna would like to invite everyone to visit the new website: www.amaryllliscenter.com as well as the Facebook (Amaryllis Center) and Twitter (@HotYogaRedDeer) pages for information, updates, and inspiration!
“We welcome anybody and acknowledge everybody. You will find a connection here. The Amaryllis Center is a place that can feel like home; it is safe. Yoga really is the ability to work hard, but have freedom in the breath,” Shauna sums up. So for rejuvenation or relaxation, go to the Amaryllis Center and experience the art of hot yoga.
