Meet Suzanne Nagel: Founder of Om Lounge Yoga in Pittsburgh, PA, arm balance enthusiast, and serial repurposer. We asked Suzanne to take our EcoKnit™ Ribbed Activewear for a spin and tell us her story:
Tell us about yourself and what you do.
Well, I’m the founder of Om Lounge Yoga. We have two studio locations in Pittsburgh and I run both of them. I teach multiple classes a week, facilitate our 200 Hour Teacher Trainings, and right now I’m especially focused on developing advanced training curriculums. On a daily basis, though, I work at the studio and I hang out with my dogs and my partner – that’s my life!
What’s your favorite part about your job?
I’ll always be a teacher first and foremost, so writing a class and bringing it to life never gets old for me. I love the energy of teaching in-person classes – sharing concepts and teaching students how to connect to their bodies – it’s extremely rewarding and my absolute favorite thing about my job.
How did you come to be a yoga teacher?
I’ve been teaching yoga for a decade now and practicing even longer. Nearly 25 years ago I was working as a television news producer. It was a very stressful job and I had a therapist who suggested I try yoga. Back then yoga wasn’t as well known as it is nowadays, but I fell in love with it. I truly think it was something I was born to do. Knowing me I’ll probably be doing it until I’m 90!
What does sustainability mean to you?
Sustainability is the concept of repurposing to me. It’s about less waste and caring for the world around us. I try to repurpose everything. In our studios I'm using shelving from my kids’ bedrooms when they were little, a table that was going to be thrown away in a dumpster, and an old iphone as a means of signing waivers. We also wash our mugs and cups by hand at the studios. In my home, I like to turn leftovers into new dishes, share books with friends, and turn Mason jars into containers for everything from flowers to toothbrushes.
Tell us about how you feel in your EcoKnit™ pieces.
The fabric is really soft (and a really pretty color). It kind of just moves with you and feels very natural and comfortable on the body. It’s supportive without being too compressive – nothing is pinching my thighs or my waist but at the same time it stays put. Interestingly enough with a lot of the yoga clothes I wear I feel like I have to take them off as soon as I get home, but these I can really sit and vibe in. This is the type of activewear you could grab lunch in or do things around the house without feeling constricted.
Favorite yoga pose – go!
Favorite yoga pose…it’s got to be Flying Pigeon. It wasn’t a pose I came to very naturally. I coveted it (which I know you’re not supposed to do in yoga), but when I finally got it it made me feel so graceful yet extremely strong and powerful.
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