Chemistry professor opens Summit County yoga studio

Every move, every breath, every posture requires concentration in yoga.

Likewise, every structure, every property and every possible reaction of carbon-based molecules, the building blocks of all earthly life, calls for deep analysis for the practitioner of organic chemistry.

For Lisa Julian, an assistant professor at the University of Colorado at Denver, the blending of yoga and the science of lifes molecules is seamless.

Not long after completing her post-doctoral research in organic chemistry, Julian began her professional career in the pharmaceutical industry.

I used to sit in meetings with these big-wig executives, Julian said. At one meeting they were discussing the release of a new pill to fight obesity. You dont take a pill for obesity. Pills have a place in society, but I saw firsthand they were being overused. You dont just eat whatever you want and then just take a pill and expect to be healthy. You have to make lifestyle changes.

She realized she wanted to pursue a different path. She knew a healthy body required a holistic approach.

A child science prodigy, Julian completed high school early and enrolled at the University of California at Irvine at only 16. By 24 shed earned a doctorate in organic chemistry from the University of Michigan. And at the young age of 33, shes already a tenure-track professor instructing undergrads in organic chemistry and has created an upper-level class investigating the science of food.

Shes also a certified yoga instructor.

Julian just opened a studio, Elevated Yoga and Holistic Health, on Aug. 1, in Rainbow Court at 310 E. Main St. in Frisco. In addition to teaching Hatha yoga in small groups or one-on-one sessions, shell be sharing her vast knowledge of organic chemistry and how the foods we eat react in our bodies.

I teach traditional Hatha yoga, Julian said. But I tend to describe how the breathing exercises take place and how it affects your anatomy.

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Chemistry professor opens Summit County yoga studio