Yoga Lab

03/16/2026

Happy Monday!! I saw this quote as a reminder, back to campus, back to rain, back to warm, back to cold again, back and forth and back and forth. Like the weather, feelings come and go, too. Hopefully you received a bit of a break last week and felt that spaciousness. I (Kristen) had some beautiful experiences with you right here at home, and I’m grateful for that. I’m also happy to see you all again at Yoga Lab! 🧘‍♂️ 🤸‍♂️

When do YOU feel joy? When did feel joy last week? What are you looking forward to this week? Can you bring joy into today? Be as you are, and be joyful in that, even in the back and forth of whatever life brings. 🌟

See you at the studio!

Thank you to Nicole for the cards!

03/15/2026

Time to play! 🤸‍♂️ Looks fun right?! 🤩. This excerpt is a flow from Saturday’s Level 2/3 Fire Up 🔥 class! We activated glutes and core to prep for backbends, grounding and stabilizing, pulling into the core, then lengthening and opening the heart from a secure center. We definitely got hot and sweaty 😅! Creating flows is an embodied movement art practice for me and I love sharing it with others! 🤸‍♀️. I was inspired by this quote by Richard Wagner, “Joy is not in things: it is in us.”

What’s your takeaway from that quote?

I wonder, have you ever found yourself “bending over backwards” for another? It’s one thing to show up when a friend really needs support, it’s another thing to try and fix someone, get approval, or validation from them to feel whole, or to uphold an image built on an unstable foundation. In yoga, sometimes we can approach backbends the same way, overextending ourselves literally and losing our own connection to ourselves and our center of strength in our own core. Then we’re like “why does my back hurt?” Instead, center in self-security and inner peace first, know your boundaries, take care of YOURself first. Then you don’t need to seek joy or love from anything or anyone else. You will generate it!! Simple things will be enough, sunshine, birdsong, breath. And your back will thank you when you don’t need something else to hold you up, or someone to rescue you, when you can hold yourself up with your own self-regard. 🥰

Backbends are heart-opening, and relate to balance in relationships, balance in giving and receiving. It takes effort and courage to set those limits and hold back, and support yourself so you don’t “break” your back, that’s the core strength that will protect you. With that self-reliability, trust, and assurance you can feel safety and inner peace in yourself right now.

Thank you for the b***y music boost and Nicole for the affirmation cards!

🧘‍♂️

03/12/2026

New added by popular request! I’m offering another Core & Pelvic Floor 4-week series in April!!

Join me Tuesday nights in April from 7:30-8:30pm to learn how to get your core to function properly and dynamically after a lifetime of alternative habits, pregnancy, menopause, etc.

Get guidance on how to engage properly for movement and daily activities. This series will address pelvic floor dysfunction, diastasis recti, prolapse, and more.

Learn targeted exercises to improve breathing, abdominal firing, hip strength, and overall core coordination. Also, learn how you can get so much more out of your day to day movements by making small but significant changes.

Sign up now!

Yoga Lab offers yoga and meditation classes to take care of your mind, body, and spirit. We emphasize mindfulness and functional movement to promote physical and mental well-being. In yoga, you are the laboratory. Yoga is an opportunity to know yourself better. Yoga Lab is a supportive environment w

03/07/2026

What’s your morning routine when you travel? Starting the day with yoga is the best!

Whenever we’re in a place with nice weather, Jeremy and I love to find a space to practice together to greet the day. This was our yoga spot this morning in sunny CA.

02/23/2026

Does your back ever hurt after yoga back bends? Postures like cobra, locust, updog, table, dancer, etc? We can help. Come to my classes this week to learn more about backbends and how to stay pain-free in your yoga practice.
Anatomy is empowering.
Smart sequencing makes a difference.
Functional movement is fun.
Let’s get back into it with mindful awareness and curiosity instead of striving to create a shape.

We’ve got your back!

Strong Foundations Level 1-2 with me (Anna) starts soon - 5:30-6:30pm, and there are still a few spots left.

You can also catch this theme in my Power Lunch classes this week, Wednesday and Friday 12-1pm.

02/23/2026

What are your lunch plans this week? Did you know that Yoga Lab partners with to have the option of a delicious and nutritious vegan lunch delivered right to the studio after yoga class MWF 12-1pm? Come get your movement practice in and an awesome meal all over your lunch hour! Take it to go or stay and enjoy connecting with fellow yogis - nourished by movement, nutrition, and good company. Now that’s a Power Lunch!

Power Lunch (Level 2-3) 12-1pm Mon, Wed, & Fri
Mon with Kristen, Wed & Fri with Anna

These are some images of the delicious lunches last week.

This week’s menu:

Monday: sweet and sour cauliflower over quinoa with orange sesame kidney beans. Elaine’s tea.

Wednesday: corn tortilla casserole with sweet potatoes cowboy cavier and roasted vegetables, baked with salsa and served with side salad. Maple balsamic dressing. Blue Eyes Tisane.

Friday: grilled tofu grain bowl with roasted vegetables, greens, black beans, and Thaihini dressing. Chamomile tea.

Lunch with tea is delivered right to the studio for only $13!
The menu is posted weekly on our Yoga Lab State College app. You can easily sign up for class and lunch right in the app - download it now and plan your lunches for the week!

02/22/2026

Gettin’ twisted this YTT weekend - mixing it up in our 200 Hour Yoga Teacher Training with a challenging Level 2-3 fiery flow, then slowing things way down to focus on creative adaptability and accessibility with chair yoga. There are so many ways to practice to suit every need!

This weekend also included an anatomical focus on twists, practice teaching on unique chosen themes, Q&A on a variety of topics, unplugging with a mindful mellow flow, gratitude meditation, discussion on cultural appropriation, history of yoga, and mindful democracy.

Yoga is soooo rich. It’s not just one thing. It’s complex and layered and twisted, and beautiful to explore together in community.

Stay tuned for the dates of our next yoga teacher training - we’ll be opening the next round of applications soon for Fall 2026.

02/20/2026

Thanks to everyone who came out to to celebrate the launch of Jeremy’s new book! “On Mindful Democracy: A Declaration of Interdependence to Mend a Fractured World” 🥳🎊

Gratitude to Elaine for facilitating a great discussion and so much love for this beloved community who showed up in support!! 🥰 💖

02/12/2026

Who lifts you up in life? Who reminds you that life is full of sunshine and rainbows and love? Who makes you want to play and laugh, try new things and be silly?
Come to partner yoga and bring that person who makes you smile! 🥰🤗🌞🌈💕

Valentine’s Day Special - Partner Yoga with Kristen
Sat Feb 14, 4-5pm

No prior yoga experience needed, just be ready for fun while you flow and move with your partner side by side and in partner yoga poses. Come and play!

📸 Rainbow Sparkles, Chasing Waterfalls, and Happy Valley Aurora designs from

02/07/2026

It may be 🥶 outside but Kristen brought the 🔥 this morning! On these cold cold cold days just getting off the couch and getting to the studio is the hardest part. But it’s so worth it! We promise you’ll get fired up! 🤸🏻‍♂️

Fire Up (Level 2-3) with
Saturdays 9:30 - 10:45am
🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

🎥 Kristen’s fiery flow melted the ice in these Ice Water Leggings from ❄️🔥🌞🤸🏻‍♂️

02/04/2026

Partner Yoga with Kristen on Valentine’s Day 💝 Saturday, Feb 14 from 4:00-5:00pm! Sign you and your partner up now for this special event! Any partner! Friend, family, or that special someone will have a fun time flowing together, and no prior experience is necessary!

02/03/2026

Yoga Lab congratulates co-founder and Penn State Professor Jeremy Engels on the publication of his new book On Mindful Democracy: A Declaration of Interdependence to Mend a Fractured World! (link in bio)

There will be a book launch party at Webster’s Bookstore on Wednesday, February 18, at 7pm. Come celebrate with us!

Prof. Engels will have a conversation with Elaine Meder-Wilgus about the book, and then there will be time for questions and discussion. There will be books for sale, and Jeremy will happily sign your copy. Refreshments will be served.

In his new book, Prof. Engels uses the occasion of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence to reimagine democracy not as a war, but as a “shared practice of caring for each other and for the life we share.” Drawing together his scholarship on democracy with his work as a scholar-practitioner-teacher of mindfulness meditation, Jeremy completely rewrites the original Declaration as a “Declaration of Inter-dependence” that grounds democracy in mindfulness, compassion, and Beloved Community.

Jeremy’s first trade book, On Mindful Democracy is written for a wide public audience and is published by Parallax Press, the press started by Zen master and peace activist Thich Nhat Hanh. It is distributed by Penguin Random House.