Sitting in Healthy Position

Sweat drips down every inch of the bodies stretched taut in a dimly lit room. Calming music plays in the background. The yoga practitioners are just about to finish a class at Sumits Hot Yoga.

Courtney Manning, a Sumits Hot Yoga customer, said these classes are her way of maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

“I go probably around five times a week,” Manning said. “Yoga is not only a physical exercise but a mental one as well, and in my opinion it really helps you improve in every aspect of your life.”

Manning enjoys taking time to focus on her health. She considers yoga one of her most relaxing activities.

Along with taking hot yoga classes at Sumits Hot Yoga, Manning regularly eats at Nourish Café and Market.

“I first heard about Nourish when my friend texted me about it because she knew I really like healthy food and that I am a vegan,” Manning said. “I really like that Nourish caters to all diets in a healthy way, whether you’re a carnivore, pescetarian, vegetarian or vegan. Nourish has something for everyone to eat that can help them have a healthy diet.”

Manning said she actively looks for places that help maintain her passion for living a healthy lifestyle. She explained that eating healthy and regularly exercising is very important to her because she likes to look and feel her best.

“I definitely think that Sumits and Nourish have encouraged not only me but their other customers to live a healthy lifestyle,” Manning said. “I think Nourish does a great job of offering really healthy foods like zucchini noodles instead of carb- and cheese-loaded pasta.”

Manning said having access to healthy options is key in feeding her body the right kind of nutrients. A business like Nourish Café and Market only provides their customers with healthy options.

“It encourages people to make healthy choices like getting a smoothie instead of, say, a soda, because that’s what is available there,” Manning said.

Manning said she thinks the obesity epidemic in Missouri is horrible. She hopes that eventually the obesity rates will decrease.

“It’s really nice that being healthy is a trendy thing, and I hope that it always stays that way,” Manning said.