Columbus LIT Life + Yoga uses color therapy, sound baths, aromatherapy to center students

Tyler Saunders
Mon, 05 Apr 2021 22:36:29 +0000
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An instructor at LIT Life + Yoga doing a yoga pose. Credit: Courtesy of The Wonder Jam

New and seasoned yogis looking for a unique spin on traditional yoga can find it at LIT Life + Yoga.?

LIT Life + Yoga, located at 999 N. Fourth St., offers yoga as a multi-sensory experience, using sound baths, color therapy, aromatherapy and more to enhance the flow for students.

“It brings you into the moment and to be present,” Makayla Cook, an instructor at LIT Life + Yoga, said. “We’re stimulated by everything in the outside world, so it gives you a calmer stimulation to focus on.”

Cook said instructors can change the color of the lighting in the room to set the mood before students even enter the studio.

Olivia VanScoyo, a member of LIT Life + Yoga, said she appreciates the colored lighting used to coordinate the flow for each class, as well as other small details used to amplify their practices.

“LIT definitely pays attention to details and it makes their classes a really unique experience,” VanScoyo said. “I’ve noticed the essential oils they diffuse in the studio really help me clear my mind and focus on my breath. I always leave feeling more calm and centered.”

The yoga studio has heated bamboo floors, and each class is set to a specific temperature for the goal of a session, ranging from 75 to 90 degrees, according to the studio’s website. Cook said power classes utilize hotter temperatures to warm up the muscles faster, and restorative classes use cooler temperatures to induce rest.

However, the studio offers more than just traditional yoga classes, Cook said. There are barre classes, AIReal –– an aerial yoga technique that uses a hammock to help students with balance, deepening stretches and avoiding pressure on the spine –– and SoundOff yoga, a late-night flow where students listen to binaural beats through headphones to calm the body before resting, according to the studio’s website.

LIT Life also offers an open mat option, allowing students to reserve a space in which they can practice, experiment or even receive guided instruction, Babajide Ogunmola, creative director of LIT Life + Yoga, said.

Additionally, the studio offers special events such as bringing in yoga DJ Taz Rashid to play music specially curated for the class, Cook said. The events are held around the Columbus area, including at locations such as Gravity Columbus, Via Vecchia Winery and The Kitchen Columbus, Ogunmola said.?

LIT Life + Yoga also holds charity events and has done philanthropic work around the Columbus community through their foundation LIT LOVE LIFE + YOGA — a fund for charitable giving through The Columbus Foundation that raises money through donation-based classes among other events.?

Recently, LIT LOVE LIFE + YOGA has donated to the Loveland Foundation, a nonprofit that provides mental health services for women and girls from communities of color, Ogunmola said.

LIT Life + Yoga is currently offering classes every day of the week with limited class sizes. For more information, individuals can visit the studio’s website.