Yoga classes aimed at needs of individual

Stephanie Rochon, news co-anchor of WTVR, Channel 6, relieves her stress by practicing hatha yoga at Glenmore Yoga & Wellness Center. She has taken classes from Nancy Tatum, one of the owners, for nine years.

"Nancy has a wonderful personality," Rochon said. "She designs the class around what the students need that day."

Rochon enjoys the center's warm, friendly atmosphere. "It's a very enriching experience."

Tatum and her husband, Kevin Casey, opened Glenmore in 1997.

Along with a range of yoga classes, Glenmore offers therapeutic massage, wellness workshops and individual consultations as well as a gift shop.

The center moved into its 4,800-square-foot location at Glen Eagles Shopping Center in western Henrico County in 2003 and has more than 350 students.

It's a far cry from yoga classes Tatum taught in the Florida room of her home. She has been teaching yoga since 1970s and led classes at YMCAs and health clubs before opening the center.

The business has grown consistently. In the past year Tatum said she has seen a 20 percent increase in her yoga income.

Glenmore focuses on two groups of yoga classes: mainstream yoga -- a blend of hatha, vinyasa and ashtanga styles -- and therapeutic classes that include gentle and ageless yoga.

"Our mainstream classes are challenging for the body and calming for the mind," Tatum said. "Within those classes we offer different levels."

Glenmore also has prenatal and mother-and-baby classes as well as a class that blends yoga and pilates, meditative yoga and YogaDance.

Many of the students in Glenmore's therapeutic classes are referred by physicians or therapists.

Sally Beckman, 76, started taking ageless yoga classes after developing a hip problem. She likes the small class size.

"They are tailored to individual needs," she said. "I feel like I need the classes because they help my flexibility and strength. I wouldn't be able to do what I do if it weren't for taking those classes."

Beckman finds Tatum to be upbeat and knowledgeable.

"She lifts your spirits," Beckman said. "She makes suggestions on how to make adjustments to compensate for any problems you may have."

Beckman, like many older adults, worries about falling.

"As we get older we lose our sense of balance. Yoga helps me with that."

Tatum, who has a master's degree in gerontology and is a certified yoga instructor and massage therapist, recently completed her second research study on the therapeutic effects of ageless yoga.

"It increases the breadth and range of motion of the spine and joints," she said. "It helps to improve balance and muscle tone. It strengthens the body."

Tatum also has branched out to work with different groups, such as veterans who suffer from post traumatic stress disorder, people with scoliosis and children with autism.

Tatum has developed a nationally recognized program to train yoga instructors. About 60 people have completed the program, which began five years ago. Tatum certifies the teachers before they register with the Yoga Alliance, a professional international organization. In classes, students learn anatomy as well as the basics of yoga. "You need to know anatomy to teach yoga effectively," Tatum said.

The center has 15 instructors, all of whom graduated from her program. Each is trained to accommodate the needs of students.

"We know our students and we work with them individually based on their physical issues," Tatum said.

Amy Taylor, who has been taking intermediate yoga classes for two years, likes each instructor at the center for different reasons.

"They are wonderful," she said. "They get to know all the students. In class they always ask if anyone has anything going on [physically] that they need to know about. That's what makes them special."

Before taking classes at Glenmore, Taylor tried a variety of activities, everything from lifting weights to Jazzercise.

"This is one of the few activities I have stuck with," she said. "I never get bored. It's fun. Ten years from now I will still be going to Glenmore."