ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — It’s been a stressful month for people across the Tampa Bay area affected by Hurricanes Helene and Milton, and one proven way to relieve stress is through the power of yoga.
Yoga instructor Emily Zaunbrecher, who owns The Studieaux in St. Petersburg, said her heart broke when she saw the devastation caused by these hurricanes. She said she wanted to give back the best way she knew how — by offering free yoga to those victims.
“Our offering of yoga is a proven way to calm our nervous system and decrease the excess stress that is associated with a community experiencing something like these storms,” Zaunbrecher said.
Before she was wearing yoga pants and leading breathing exercises, Zaunbrecher was wearing scrubs and helping to save lives as a nurse in St. Pete.
“As a nurse, when something like this happens, I sort of want to run towards the fire," Zaunbrecher said. "I want to put my finger on the bleeding artery.”
Zaunbrecher decided to use her new career to help out hurricane victims in a different kind of way.
“If you are a person who is in a position to help to sponsor a yogi, basically you can pay $44, and that will sponsor someone who was maybe so badly affected by the hurricane that they could really use their resources elsewhere,” Zaunbrecher said.
Michelle is one of those yogis who was gifted free classes from an anonymous donor. Her St. Pete home suffered extensive damage during both storms.
“This is going to be close to $10,000 out of pocket, if not more,” Michelle said.
The irony is she needs yoga now more than ever, but she doesn’t even know if she can afford it.
“Its a domino affect for everybody, people who were hit hard now need those resources to put their homes back together,” Michelle said.
Michelle was overwhelmed with joy to find out someone she didn’t even know donated yoga classes to her.
“I have no idea who it is, but thank you very much to whoever it may be," Michelle said. "It’s greatly appreciated."
Zaunbrecher hopes more people sign up to donate and receive classes. Michelle said it’s helped her recapture that warrior spirit needed to push on.
“Without this, you are going back into that head space you really don’t want to be in," Michelle said. "But when you come to yoga, you purge it.”
For more information on donating yoga classes, click here.
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