Carolyn Riggie 

Carolyn Riggie never forgets to practice Iyengar yoga, no matter where she is.

“I even do yoga when I am traveling,” she said, laughing. “It allows makes my body feel relaxed and at rest, even in the chaos. Because of it, I can keep walking and tour new places.”

For years, Carolyn experienced chronic pain due to deteriorated disks in both her neck and her back.  Her insurance company suggested that she participate in the National Institute of Health back study in 2006, led by Kimberly. She noticed a positive difference in the way she was feeling, and decided to join Kimberly at Inner Life Yoga Studio to see exactly how far yoga could take her health.

“It was a slow progression,” she explained. “Within a few weeks, I noticed that there wasn’t the intense pain that I was used to experiencing. I was growing stronger, and, despite some fatigue, it got better.”

It still gets better for Carloyn, who is 68 and celebrating working at the WVU Foundation for more than 30 years. She attends both Level I and 50+ classes and, as long as she is faithful to practicing yoga, she is essentially pain free. This allows her to focus on other things, such as volunteering at the Rosenbaum Family House and spending time with loved ones.

“I would recommend it to anyone, especially as they get older,” she said. “Iyengar Yoga helps with those natural aches and pains that come with age—it gets right down into the joints. From arthritis in my hand to occasional knee pain, the yoga keeps it all under control.”