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Editor’s Note: “Shaped By COVID-19” is a weekly series designed to help you stay active while you’re homebound with workouts from some of Denver’s leading fitness and wellness professionals. Got a fitness tip or favorite studio? Email us at digital@5280.com.
The Gym: Lacuna Juice and Yoga
Year Founded: 2019
The Trainer: Megan Whiteside, co-owner
A lacuna is another word for an unfilled space—a gap, if you will. And if you’re like us, well, you can probably use a little lacuna in your life, be it some physical distance between the kids/dogs/partners/roommates you might be stacked on top of right now, or the mental space to continue to deal with the repercussions of the novel coronavirus.
Megan Whiteside gets it. The cofounder of Lacuna Juice and Yoga was a professional snowboarder whose life was packed with training, travel, and competitions most of the year. When she hung up her bindings, the Coloradan turned to yoga for restoration. In 2019, she and her husband, Trent DeMichele, opened Lacuna Juice and Yoga in RiNo as a place where clients could find mental space (and delicious cold-pressed organic juices). In addition to familiar Vinyasa movements, Lacuna’s classes integrate Katonah Yoga—a practice steeped in Taoist theory with only a few instructors in Colorado (most of them at Lacuna). “Instead of traditional Indian theology, think more Chinese medicine,” Whiteside says. “And a huge part of Katonah is hands on.”
Which meant, of course, when COVID-19 came around, Lacuna closed down. Whiteside was in Costa Rica at the time and stayed there for several weeks, devoting her time instead to developing a library of subscription-based yoga videos with little more than her iPhone and a jungle backdrop. Today, access to Lacuna Vision, a collection of more than 70 hours of regularly updated content, is available for $25. Live stream classes are also available to monthly members of Lacuna ($140) or as singular drop-in options ($10 per class).
Currently, Whiteside doesn’t know when Lacuna will reopen its studio—opening at 50 percent just doesn’t make sense right now, she says—but in the meantime, Whiteside hopes the collection of Costa Rican sessions as well as those created by Lacuna’s dozen or so teachers will give clients “a bit of escape from daily life.” A break, in other words. Or simply put, some space.
Workout Type: Yoga
Muscle Focus: Restorative, full-body
Duration: 30 minutes
The Workout: There may well be no better way to get your body warmed up and ready for the day than with this 30-minute session. (Note: You’ll need a blanket or pillow and two yoga blocks, although some big books can stand in, too.) The sounds of the Costa Rican jungle accompany your downward dogs and almost make you forget you’re practicing in your basement/den/backyard. The poses are relaxing and restorative and Whiteside’s well-timed cues make it easy to follow along, even if you’re not familiar with the movement (as might be the case for hot yoga or Vinyasa devotees). If you’re looking to amp up your session, simply tack on another Lacuna Vision mini session like this forearm and shoulder loosener, which comes with a delightful audience of howler monkeys.
