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Yoga for Every Body
“Yoga was not practiced,” she said, “and in fact, some of my churches early on actually preached against it.” The now 34-year-old yoga instructor said she found the practice when she was a senior in high school. “I was a dancer growing up, and a super high- achiever,” she said. “I developed an eating disorder. When I was 17 years old, I spent one month in recovery. There, I was introduced to yoga for the first time, primarily for its
psychological benefits. The breathing, the movement… It was satisfying in a way I’d never known before.” In the early 2000s, it was nearly impossible for a suburban Kansas City teen to not only find places to practice yoga, but also to afford them. Leduc would track down VHS videos to practice at home. She left for college, got a degree in fashion, and then returned to Kansas City in 2011. “I started daily practice with
teachers,” said Leduc. “It completely transformed my life and accelerated my healing. I was moving in a way that I felt strong again. I was growing stronger, becoming more mindful. Even early on in this process, I had an internal whisper to teach.” In 2013, she signed up for yoga teacher training. Leduc describes the past five years as a whirlwind period of “accelerated growth”. She began working for various studios, community centers, and gyms in the Kansas City area. “My goal was to teach as much as possible with as many bodies as possible,” Leduc said. “That has always been a passion of mine. When you look at my appearance: I am a young, white, able-bodied woman—what you would stereotypically expect from a yoga instructor. But I’ve always known that yoga is not for one type of person. It is beneficial for everyone.” Learning to teach all kinds of body types and abilities grew into a determination to make yoga as accessible as possible to everyone. Leduc began teaching classes at Yoga in the Park at the Nelson-Atkins “My goal was to teach as much as possible with as many bodies as possible,” Leduc said.
The Burdette family (left to right: Ryder, Kodi, Megan, and Josh) got out for a morning of yoga at Berkley Riverfront Park July 4.
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FALL 2018
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