“Yoga is a form of self-healing. It affords you the tools to heal yourself,” says Nikki Richardson, registered yoga teacher and owner of Body and Soul Yoga Studio at 3321 Youree Drive in Shreveport. Richardson herself represents validation of the life-enhancing rewards and benefits of her chosen profession.

A Shreveport native who treasures her close family ties, Richardson’s teen years were spent at North Caddo Magnet High School and C.E. Byrd High School. She later attended college at the Art Institute of Dallas.

While activities such as cheerleading, basketball and track were of some interest to her, “I was more drawn to school clubs and reading,” she stated. “I always liked to read and dream as an escape when I was growing up because I lived in an under-served section of the city where lots of violence occurred,” Richardson explained. “I was shy and didn’t know to which social group I belonged. Even as an adult, trying to function in an extroverted world was very challenging for me,” she remarked.

When Richardson became aware that the reticence from her youth was negatively influencing her adulthood, she began to search for healthy methods to address and correct it. She fashion modeled for a while, but again, “I was so shy and soon knew that modeling wasn’t my niche.” And then, something unexpectedly came along that would tremendously change not only her perception of herself but the actual direction of her life: Yoga! “I knew I had a passion for it after my first class. I felt connected for the first time in my life. It took away my anxieties, and I began to embrace myself more,” she said. Her practice of yoga provided personal transformation for her, and she sensed right away that someday she would convey her extraordinary yogic experience to others through teaching. She soon began the necessary training process that would bring that plan to fruition.

Today, Richardson is a registered yoga instructor with 300 hours of classroom teaching experience to her credit, and she is fulfilling her mission of sharing the gift of yoga in her new studio. “Body and Soul Yoga Studio was created as a place of overall wellness, a place to come to bring mind, body and soul into complete harmony,” Richardson said. “Students who practice yoga at home or in gyms are open to many outside distractions such as noise, television, phone and other people. The yoga studio is designed to provide complete disconnect from the outside world for the 60 minutes a student is in class.”

“I like Vinyasa-style yoga, which is simply linking breath with movement,” Richardson said. “It allows more creativity in teaching, and one’s practice soon becomes a moving meditation because everything begins to flow.”

Her teaching manner, of course, addresses those with varying levels of abilities. “I do an intake screening for all my clients and try to offer modifications for certain postures based on a student’s limitations. I recommend private sessions for anyone who needs a more personalized class,” she stated. These private classes are usually given to augment or, perhaps, take the place of physical therapy for a client’s rehabilitation. Richardson is certified in chair yoga and has taught in retirement homes. In addition to the regular group classes at her studio, “I love doing one-on-one classes and offer them at the studio and at clients’ homes,” she said.

Richardson’s goal for Body and Soul Yoga Studio is that it be a one-stop place for clients’ wellness needs. To that end, she has become a certified health and sports nutritionist. “I’m a vegetarian and try to make very conscious and mindful lifestyle choices,” she stated. “I am now providing health coaching services to our clients.” For spiritual needs, Kevin Johnson is a life coach at the studio. “One session with him is life-changing,” Richardson said. Theresa Bradford and Shaunte Thompson are licensed massage therapists with “magical hands and seven years’ combined experience.” Thompson is an esthetician, as well. “We are so diverse and bring something new to Shreveport,” states Richardson.

As Richardson’s adult life became enriched through yoga, she reflected on how its teachings and disciplines could have had a positive impact on her years ago as she grew up in a community that was inadequately provided such activities and services. “It’s those communities that I wanted to target and serve because I have roots there. When I was growing up, I wish that someone had come along and brought yoga to my community,” she said.

Now through her non-profit foundation, “All Bodies Rise,” she is doing just that by holding free yoga clinics for teens from these areas. Richardson is pleased that the techniques she teaches will help to elevate their lives as they learn to be mindful of their actions, to stop and think and to have an outlet to deal with anger.

In her personal physical yoga practice, Richardson presents a beautiful, agile and graceful form that is quite amazing and delightful to watch. A renowned yoga master once said that the success of yoga extends beyond the ability to perform postures to how one uses its teachings to positively influence his life and the lives of others. Richardson exemplifies that quality, and this lovely young woman is a perfect example of living yoga both on and off the mat.

– Jo Ann Garner

Photo by Stacey Tinsley