The history of Lexington’s Pink Lotus yoga studio in Lexington is anything but Zen.
Nicole Zimmer moved to the Midlands and became a single mother. Zimmer was looking for a way forward for her health and her financial future when she discovered she had Graves’ disease, an autoimmune disorder that leads to an overactive thyroid.
She was doing yoga occasionally, but a new dedication hit her to start being consistent by doing restorative yoga with an instructor. A visit to the doctor months later showed that her body fought off the symptoms and brought her back to a healthy level.
A trip to church later offered a sign, just not in a conventional way. “God is in the silence,” Zimmer said of the quiet moments that got her to think, “I just have to get trained in yoga.”
Even the location Zimmer settled on first came to her in a sign, as she dreamed one night about a brick façade with paint on it. In 2011, Zimmer found a spot at the Old Mill at Lexington, which was being refurbished into business spaces. She used a small space at first, then expanded as she gained clients.
Then, in October 2015, the Old Mill was hit by floods that devastated the region’s urban centers in the Midlands. Pink Lotus lived on until COVID-19 once again wreaked havoc for the studio. In-person classes were canceled, but Zimmer created video and other ways to still connect with her clients.
Post-lockdown, Pink Lotus thrives, as the studio offers all types of yoga, including the one that brought Zimmer back to her healthy self, private aerial classes, and is in the 10th year of teaching paddleboard yoga at Lake Murray.
So, it’s no wonder that the name Zimmer found for the studio reflects her journey. Again, a sign led her to name the studio when she learned of the meaning behind the water plant.
“The lotus grows out of the muck and the mud, and every day it reaches for the sun, and when it gets to the top of the water, it’s pristine. It’s crystal clear. No mud is stuck to it,” she said. “It symbolizes our journey through life that we’ve got to get through the muck to get to the other side. And the only way is through.”
Pink Lotus now has 12 teachers who offer a variety of classes, from beginner to advanced.
One of her favorite students is John Hearn. The attorney began taking yoga classes in earnest in 2014, motivated by his daughter’s upcoming wedding. In 2016, Hearn was in a class when he noticed he was not feeling himself. Thinking quickly, Zimmer brought him to the emergency department, where doctors determined he was having a “widowmaker” heart attack that is almost always fatal unless caught in time.
Partly because of his previous practice, Hearn was able to return to yoga a week after leaving the hospital.
Since then, Hearn, who still works part-time as an attorney in Columbia, has become a yoga teacher. “Yoga was the first thing that wasn’t like having to go to the gym,” he said. “It was something that I wanted to do, and that I enjoyed, and still enjoy. I’m practicing now more than I ever have.”
Zimmer considers her practice serious but tries to have fun in the studio classes. “I mean, we laugh. They get a core workout because I’m so funny,” she joked.
Yoga practice fits almost every fitness level and health goal. Here are a few types of yoga classes:
Restorative: Using props such as bolsters and pillows.
Sound baths: Used with restorative yoga classes, sound baths are also done monthly, with members just lying on the floor with the opportunity to meditate or just relax.
Swing yoga: Instructors use parachute material hanging from the ceiling to guide participants through poses that take them off the ground.
SUP yoga: Doing poses on paddleboards, the practice is for the experienced yoga participant.
Yin yoga: Meant to be slow-paced, yin yoga involves holding poses for extended periods and is good at promoting flexibility and joint mobility.
Vinyasa Flow yoga: Combines movement using a sequence of poses, which can be good for beginners while challenging more experienced yogis.