Proprietor of new yoga studio moves toward wellness in Vermilion

VERMILION — For 15 years, Megan Lake-Smith nursed patients and taught others to be nurses, treating patients with a range of illnesses. "I just kept seeing people in the hospital and by the time we got our hands on them, they were so sick it was a like a lifetime of doom, of going to the doctor every six months and staying on pills," she said. Smith, who has a master's degree in nursing, started looking at health and wellness differently. She quit her job teaching at Lorain County Community College, launched into yoga classes and fast-tracked her certification to teach that discipline. And just after New Year's, she opened her own studio, Tranquil Lake Yoga and Fitness, in Vermilion. The career shift even surprised her a bit. She knew while studying yoga she wanted to change her focus from treating illness to naturally preventing or reversing it by enhancing movement and exercise and promoting emotional well-being through the practice of yoga. "Those endorphins and serotonin levels go up when you start moving your body, your muscles start to loosen up and you're doing this beautiful deep breathing and you realize you feel fantastic, like you can take on the world," she said. She thought with her certification she would continue teaching at the college, but yoga rather than nursing. When she was first approached to open the studio, initially she refused. It was the middle of a pandemic. Where would the money come from? Would customers come? But the offer became too good to be true while helping her husband, Kevin Smith, renovate his new business in Vermilion. They already operate the Railway Barber Shop in Avon and last year opened a second location in a historic former hardware store in Vermilion, just minutes from their home. "As we were building up the barbershop, we looked around and thought 'What else can we do to make use of this space?' And a light bulb went off," she said. "I didn't plan any of this. I did nursing for so long I can't believe I was doing something different." More instructors are coming on board and the studio offers group fitness, including cardio and Pilates, belly dancing classes to work on core strength and yoga classes including weight-lifting sculpting and toning classes. There will be six instructors and she hopes to offer five classes a day. She has seen an enthusiastic influx of people coming in, just happy to be out of the house and moving. The equipment is sanitized, mats are distanced and safety guidelines are followed. Standard classes are $13, depending on the type. Five-class passes are $60 and an unlimited pass is $110 a month. "I'm hoping to get people to change their mind about exercise. It's not about how they have to look. I'd say 75 percent of my classes are beginners, and probably 40 percent haven't left their house in six months," she said. "This is way more fun that the hospital. I'm very happy to be in the yoga studio." For more information, visit tranquillakeyoga.com or call (440) 506-2515. Contact Rini Jeffers at rinijeffers@gmail.com.