Wauwatosa Business Spotlight Yoga instructor practiced the art before it was all the rage

Catherine Ross was yoga when yoga wasn't cool.

"I was one of the very first centers in, practically, the whole state. I started yoga when people were still making jokes about yoga, like, 'Who are you? Yogi Bear?'" laughed Ross, 76, who opened Center for Yoga in her Tosa bungalow in 1973.

Ross began practicing yoga when she was 23, but was drawn into the then-emerging world of yoga as a profession following her work as a registered nurse.

"If you're a nurse, you see so much human suffering. And I thought, 'There must be other means and ways that one can sustain their health without so much suffering.'"

Ross got the chance to prove her hypothesis after staying home with her children.

"Once they were in school I really intensely picked up my practice of yoga."

Nearly 40 years later, Ross has established not only a vigorous practice, but also laid deep roots within the local business community, working as both a business owner and a member of the business improvement district board.

And she credits much of that success to her teachers, a who's who of yogis — a list she rattles off as readily as she slips into Adho Mukha Svasana (that's downward dog for those unfamiliar with Sanskrit, the traditional language of yoga).

"I met Swami Rama and studied five years with him, and there was Swami Bhashyanada, Swami Bon and Swami Muktananda."

Ross even met BKS Iyengar, internationally known founder of Iyengar yoga, considered by many the father of modern yoga, and the inspiration for much of Ross' own work as a yoga teacher.

"He followed — because, you know, he passed away earlier this year — the eight steps of yoga. And each one of those steps is a learning experience," explained Ross, who also teaches Hatha and Raja yoga.

Despite her impressive list of instructors, Ross said it is their lessons, not their fame, that endures.

And, she said, "There's never an ending to the learning. Everyone's journey is different. It's a journey inward. And every person has a different experience. I was just graced. I walked in at the right time."

She also credits her students with keeping her connected to yoga.

"It's the same pleasure you find raising a baby," Ross explained. "Some of my students have been with me since I opened. My oldest student is 90 years old. She came to me when she was 60, after her husband died. She was depressed and heard yoga would help her with depression. You're so proud of them. To see her, at 90 years of age, this woman — I have students who are 40 years of age, and she has more flexibility than they do."

Regardless of their elasticity, Ross said she most enjoys helping students evolve, one pose at a time.

"It's so wonderful to see their expressions and their joyfulness when they leave. To see this wonder and their enthusiasm is rewarding on its own," she said.

JUST THE FACTS

BUSINESS: A Center for Yoga, 7810 W. Harwood Ave.

WEB: www.acenterforyoga.com

PHONE: (414) 476-1718

OWNER: Catherine Ross

INCORPORATED: 1973

TYPE OF BUSINESS: yoga studio

PEARLS OF WISDOM:"There's never an ending to the learning. Everyone's journey is different. It's a journey inward. And every person has a different experience."