After his first yoga class, 8-year-old Sam Fujita could feel a difference.

He nodded when his mother asked him if he felt it in his muscles.

Sam and his older sister Julien, 10, sat quietly through the hour-long beginner class completing each stretch. The room was silent the entire time, except for the instructor and some trickling water.

Their mother, Lisa Fujita, brought them to a free yoga class earlier this week during the grand-opening of The Healthy Life Studio, a free-standing studio dedicated to yoga.

The studio, which officially opens for regularly scheduled classes on Monday, will also provide pilates and life coaching.

Fujita took her children to yoga "because they go through growth spurts and it's good for them to be flexible."

Plus, she wanted to support her friend, certified yoga instructor Jess Ryan, in her new business.

Ryan and certified mind-body coach, Abigail Steidley, opened The Healthy Life Studio this week because they were tired of holding random workshops for their services and having no answer when people asked them where they held regular classes.

They were tired of being the only major city in Wyoming without a yoga studio, they said.

People in Casper have been able to attend yoga classes for years with gyms and Casper Recreation Center offering sessions. Even some physical and occupational therapists offer yoga, but Ryan and Steidley said there was no central location for yoga lovers or people wanting more mind-body connections.

Laramie has two yoga studios and Cody, Pinedale, Lander and Gillette have at least one, Ryan said.

"We've lived in a lot of other places and they had it and we missed it," Steidley said. "When I was in Virginia, I went to a beautiful yoga studio and I was bummed when I came here and there wasn't one."

Others in the community said it was time Casper showed people yoga, pilates and life coaching are not just for the Coasts.

Renate Pullen said it will help broaden the mindset of Casper and expand holistic approaches to health. She also attended Monday's free class.

"I loved it," Pullen said. "To do it in the evening after a long day at work, I am sure I will be here many days a week."

When Ryan and Steidley met, they quickly realized how much they had in common. As a certified mind-body coach, Steidley focuses more on the mental aspects of yoga whereas Ryan focuses on the physical.

A mind-body coach is "someone who teaches you ways to de-stress mentally," Steidley said. In her private practice, Steidley helps people reduce stress, lose weight and find pain relief over the phone.

Steidley will hold classes, such as Melt Stress Mondays, Transform Yourself Tuesdays and Weight Loss Wednesdays, regularly at the studio as well as private sessions.

Ryan will offer a "wide array of yoga classes," including restorative yoga, yin-style yoga and beginner yoga.

Every other Saturday, Ryan and Steidley will give Casperites a creation of their own, The Healthy Life Method Yoga and Mind-Body Coaching Combo, which combines their specialties.

"What we really want to do is create a community and not target a specific audience, because so many people can benefit from yoga," Ryan said. "We want an open loving, passionate community."

Everyone has stress, Steidley added.

"People who have been drawn to us, who want to do this, now have a central location to go," Steidley said.

The studio, a big open room perfect for lots of mats, is located at 235 S. David St. next to Metro Coffee Company.

Yoga can reach a diverse group of people, Ryan said, and can help all ages.

Steidley said her grandmother does it to stay flexible for tennis matches.

Eight-year-old Sam Fujita can do it to stay flexible to keep growing.

Contact health reporter Allison Rupp at (307) 266-0534 or allison.rupp@trib.com.

Opening schedule

Grand-opening events are free. Regularly scheduled classes begin Monday. Visit www.healthylifestudio.com for a complete schedule and prices or call (307) 472-1962.

Today

5:30-6:30 p.m.: Stress SOS

Saturday

9-10 a.m.: Get Up and Go Yoga Flow

10 a.m.-noon: Free hand massages, one-on-one body coaching consults

12-12:45 p.m.: Pilates

1-2 p.m.: Refreshments, studio question-and-answer session and prize drawings

2-3 p.m.: Foundational Yoga