A View On: Yoga and Wellness of High Point

Time to get a little stretchy… because today is all about yoga! And if you’re in the mood to find your zen, we want you to meet Karen Altenpohl, owner and operator of Yoga and Wellness of High Point.  

 

Unlike some yogis in the world, for Karen, yoga wasn’t a lifelong passion. In fact, it wasn’t until she was 45 years old that she took her first ever yoga class. But afterwards, everything changed.

“I felt stronger, calmer, and empowered,” Karen says. “I was hooked.”

After discovering this new passion, Karen began seeking out more ways and places to train and improve her skills. She was asked to sub for teachers at the YMCA, and soon found herself teaching classes at various locations, from schools to businesses, to the High Point Hospital, to Leslie’s House (a homeless rehabilitation center for women through West End Ministries). She says the idea to teach yoga “came in her back door,” surprising her but also making her feel as if it had belonged there all along.

Karen took her first Yoga class in 2002 and is the first to admit she found the physical practice first. Yoga has become an ongoing journey for her into grounding, centering and moving into a place of greater compassion.

And Karen’s newfound passion for yoga didn’t burn out, ending like so many hobbies do, a dusty yoga mat in the corner collecting dust with a lot of good intentions. No, Karen sought out yoga instructors for the next 8 years that she felt connected to, going as far as Rishikesh, India to study under yoga instructors there.  

“Yoga has had a profound effect on me, not just at the physical level, but in my mental health and spiritual journey,” Karen says. “Yoga found me when I was ready to pay attention.”

And as Karen found herself in a transitional season (her daughters were leaving for college, and she had recently moved and started a new relationship), she found that yoga was the perfect next step for her life season.  

Now, as owner, operator and instructor at Yoga and Wellness of High Point, Karen shares the passion she has for strengthening her mind and body with her community. With nine different certified yoga instructors, as well as a host of guest instructors, Yoga and Wellness of High Point offers classes in yoga, pilates, and other health and wellness activities for all levels of yoga-doers!  

Karen’s studio on Westchester Drive happens to share parking with her husband’s business, Computerway Food Systems. Karen calls her husband her biggest supporter.

Classes at Yoga & Wellness are alignment-based with special attention to the breath, and moving into mental awareness. Karen infuses her slow, free flow style classes with strength work, and attention to stabilization of the joints during deep stretch.

“I could not run this business without his support. It all happened because he wanted me to have my own place to teach,” Karen explains. It is wonderful to go to the same lovely, serene, clean space every day and be able to teach from my authentic self.”

When she’s not helping High Point residents bend and breathe, Karen loves gardening and picking up flowers from Soviero’s Tri-county Garden Center on North Main. She loves shopping local and finding her favorite new book about yoga at Sunset Books . And if she’s grabbing her favorite High Point meal, she and her husband are heading to Blue Rock Pizza and Tap to get the “Stairway to Free Bird” pizza.

Because while the Altenpohls have different businesses in High Point, they have a shared love and vision of what they want to do in their community.

“We have created this space to bring like-minded people together to support each other and to reach out and give back to the community,” says Karen. “Through our two businesses, Bill and I are actively participating in the revitalization of Southwest High Point… We hope the community we are building will continue to grow and give back for many years to come.”

” The practice of Yoga will bring fearlessness and empowerment into our daily lives, and grow us in pure compassion toward ourselves and all sentient beings.” – Yoga & Wellness

Yoga and Wellness of High Point is located at 2710 Westchester Drive. You can find out more about Yoga and Wellness of High Point and how to attend a class, by visiting their website.

Support a local business and give Yoga and Wellness of High Point a try! It will leave you saying, namaste.

Discovering our High Points,

HP Discovered

Photography by Maria West Photography

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