Gallen's Mission is to Make Yoga Accessible to All

Kathleen Gallen knows that the world of yoga can be intimidating for a neophyte. With seemingly endless varieties – Bikram, Vinyasa, Hatha and Prana, to name a few – cropping up all over the United States, yoga has gained in popularity over the years. However its popularity has also helped generate a somewhat elitist reputation which, Gallen said, can scare off those who could truly benefit from its practice.

She hopes that her studio, Gallen Massage and Yoga, located at , will help break that stigma and give patrons of all ages and comfort levels the opportunity to improve their health through the practice of yoga.

“My goal was to make something grassroots and local that feels approachable and accessible to people who may not be quite as open to alternative practices like yoga,” Gallen said.

She knows, from personal experience, about the healing properties of yoga – not only for the body, but for the mind and soul, as well.

After spending two years working as an English teacher in Slovakia for the Peace Corps, Gallen took up yoga to battle the depression she developed after returning to the United States in 2000.

“I was very alone in Slovakia with no phone, no television and very little internet access," Gallen said. "Without those distractions, you really get to know yourself. But when I came back to the United States, I lost the sense of community I gained in the Peace Corps and the shift back to living in a democracy as opposed to a communist country was very difficult for me. I was extremely depressed.”

To battle that depression, she studied yoga at in Sarasota before relocating to N.C. in 2006 to study massage at the Asheville School of Massage & Yoga. After that, Gallen traveled across the country in 2008 to study Gestalt therapy at the Esalen Institute in Big Sur, Calif.

There, she learned about the ways an individual’s mental and emotional states are intertwined and affect the physical well being. She discovered that yoga and massage can work as powerful tools to promote harmony between those various processes.

 “I realized that pain isn’t all physical. A lot of it is emotional and mental. I learned how we identify with false beliefs that we often don’t even realize we unconsciously hold," she said. 'When I tied that idea in with yoga, I realized it’s more about self-awareness than physical poses.”

It took Gallen years to learn how to deal with the serious back and hip injuries she incurred during a car accident as a child.

Gallen traveled around India, Thailand and Bali to further study body work.

“I was confused by how many styles of yoga there are in the United States,” Gallen said. “Then I went to India and realized how simple it really is. My goal with my studio is to return to that practical simplicity. I want to take the materialism out of it again.”

Gallen finally returned to Bradenton when she decided to sell her house and officially move to Big Sur. Once she was back, she was somewhat surprised to realize she wanted to stay.

“I felt more needed here, kind of like a big fish in a small pond. While I would have had to wait tables or something to support myself in California, I knew there was a much greater need for my service here,” she said.

Gallen opened her yoga and massage studio in October, 2011, making her one of only two people in the area to practice Esalen massage.

“Esalen massage is a series of long, fluid strokes that work with the entire body rather than pieces of it,” she said. “It consists of a mindful touch with a lot of rocking, stretching, moving the body and working with breathing to help the receiver enter a trance and heal by completely letting go.”

Currently, Gallen Massage and Yoga employs two yoga instructors, two massage therapists, a T’ai Chi instructor and the location includes a reflexologist, with on site.

“We get people in their winter years who have never done yoga coming in, which is very exciting,” Gallen said. “People who come to practice yoga here feel like they can actually do it without feeling like they’re being ‘picked on’ by the instructor.”

Yoga and T’ai Chi classes are available Monday through Saturday at the studio, and massages are available by appointment Tuesday through Friday. Hour-long private yoga and posture sessions are also available by appointment.

To schedule an appointment, visit the Gallen Massage and Yoga website or call the studio at 941-713-1637.

“There seems to be this idea that you have to be a certain kind of person to do yoga, but you don’t have to be a flexible vegetarian to learn how to breathe and flex your hamstrings," Gallen said. "Everyone can benefit from it.”