On Thursday, Sept. 22, Latitude 44 Yoga Studio held a 108 Suns Fall Equinox guided meditation. 

According to Amanda Hilson, yoga teacher and UW-Eau Claire French instructor,  it was a celebration of the Fall Equinox where day and night are of equal length. 

“It’s allowing us a time to look inward as we move into this time of darkness going into the autumn,” Hilson said. 

Latitude 44 Yoga Studio is located in downtown Eau Claire and according to Hilson it provides a variety of classes to the Eau Claire area. 

Hilson said the studio offers several varieties of yoga that include meditation, heated classes that are warmed to 90 degrees and flow classes that emphasize movement and breathing. 

Additionally, the studio offers Barre classes, which according to the Cosmopolitan, is an exercise technique that involves combining movements from dance with elements of yoga and strength conditioning. 

“You don’t need dance experience but it gets its inspiration from ballet and is more of a fitness class,” Hilson said.  

The studio also offers high intensity interval training which according to Hilson is split into two types: move classes that focus on body weights with repetitive movements and strength classes that focus on traditional weight training. 

According to Vox, “HIIT workouts generally combine short bursts of intense exercise with periods of rest or lower-intensity exercise.” 

Additionally, HIIT workouts boost cardiovascular health according to Vox. 

Hilson said that the benefits of attending the studio are broad and support both physical and mental wellness. She also said that the environment of the studio is supportive of all students. 

“It’s a very welcoming and warm studio and it’s open to all people of all different levels of fitness, body types and whoever just wants to have that time to take care of themselves,” Hilson said. 

According to Hilson, her passion for teaching yoga came at a transitional period of her life. 

“I found it as a space where I could come to my mat and let go of things that were inhibiting me from being well,” Hilson said. “It helped me let go of the stressors and let go of those things that were causing hardships so that I could focus more on the positives and finding wellness.”

According to Amy Erickson, owner of Latitude 44 Yoga Studio, the studio will next be holding a Full Moon Attunement from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 9 that involves guided meditation and discussion when the Moon reaches its fullest state during the Lunar Cycle. 

For more information and to sign up for classes if interested, check out the Latitude 44 Yoga Studio website. 

Adams can be reached at [email protected].