Battle Ground’s Clark County Wellness and Apothecary has begun offering yoga classes from two separate instructors at Studio 312.
The yoga classes at Clark County Wellness and Apothecary help people cultivate balance in their lives through exercise.
“People who exercise regularly have better mental health and emotional wellbeing, lower rates of mental illness, anxiety and stress,” said Diana Davidson, with Clark County Wellness and Apothecary. “Some families find, by taking classes together such as yoga, art therapy, nutrition and healthy cooking, the family unit not only heals together but often discovers a supportive local community to help them maintain their newfound wellness.”
Yoga instructors Rachel Valentine and Fran Olinger have brought their broad experience to expand on the services that Clark County Wellness and Apothecary already provides to the greater Battle Ground Community.
“Our body is informing pretty much everything that we do, whether we’re paying attention to that source of information or not,” Valentine said. “And I think yoga gives us that pause to be able to become mindful of that dynamic of mind and body together, really cultivating the practice of being present to this moment versus kind of stuck in the past where a lot of depression can be or stuck in the future where a lot of anxiety can be.”
Valentine is a newer resident of the Battle Ground area after moving here from Texas in 2022. She has been teaching yoga since 2019 and currently offers two classes a week, on Wednesday and Saturday mornings, at the Clark County Wellness and Apothecary center.
Valentine encourages people to try yoga, adding that it can be awkward at the start, but the work pays off both physically and mentally.
Valentine can be found on Instagram: @pursuitofimperfect.
Ollinger utilizes an astrology approach to her classes based on what the astrological sign the moon is in.
“So, today, the moon is in Sagittarius, and Sagittarius works with the spine and works with the thighs, as well,” Olinger said last week. “So, I do my poses based on that. And then the opposite sign of Sagittarius is Gemini. So we do heart-opening type poses.”
Olinger added that often her yoga students wonder how she knows when to focus on certain parts of the body.
“It’s really not me that knows. It’s just my studies around the moon cycle,” Ollinger said.
Since 2001, Olinger has offered at least three yoga classes per week and up to six. Her experience includes teaching preschool-aged children up to elderly adults, she said.
Along with classes at the Clark County Wellness and Apothecary, Ollinger also offers private one-on-one therapy sessions and Thai massage.
Olinger explained her Thai massage practice is a fully-clothed massage where her patient will get into a yoga position and then be massaged.
“People find that it’s very different from a regular massage, but you’re a little bit more involved,” Olinger said. “Even though it’s passive, there’s just more stretching and more opening that you can use.”
To learn more about Olinger and the services she provides, visit blisstotaltherapy.com, call 360-903-8912 or email fran.olinger@gmail.com.
To register for yoga classes at Studio 312 in Battle Ground, call 360-687-2597 or visit studio-312.com.
Clark County Wellness and Apothecary along with Studio 312 is located at 314 NE First Ave. in Battle Ground.
