NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — The pandemic has been tough on businesses across the mid-state, but the owner of a Nashville yoga studio owner had to deal with COVID-19 restrictions while fighting the virus itself.
During a yoga class at Yogasoul on Friday, Cindy Lunsford reminded students to pay attention to their breath, something important in yoga. Lunsford has run the studio on Wedgewood Ave. for two years, and like other studios, hers was hit hard by COVID-19 restrictions.
"I think five our six have closed in Nashville alone at this point," Lunsford said. "I think this is a common story all over, especially for yoga studios."
That story was made even more complex over the summer when Lunsford tested positive for COVID-19.
"I thought I was just fatigued I think maybe, I think I was in denial," Lunsford said.
But even when that fatigue went away, the long-term effects of the virus lingered. She could feel an impact on her heart and on her breathing.
"That was the scariest part and I think the most shocking to students and friends, that of all the people they knew who got COVID, the person who experienced the breathing difficulties was the yoga teacher," she said.
The lasting symptoms made running the yoga studio difficult.
"This is a physical job, and because I had to teach a majority of the classes because of the current situation, I just couldn't maintain it," Lunsford said.
The physical toll of the virus combined with metro shutdowns and class sizes limits just became too much, and Friday evening's class was the last public class at Yogasoul before the studio closes its doors for good.
