Lauren Plagens, who recently gave away all of her business suits, is wearing leopard-print leggings and a tank top to work. Happily, her attire is appropriate. Instead of heading to the office each morning to sell insurance, she now does sun salutations in the bright Avon studio — called 3Sisters Yoga + Fitness — that she runs.
While Lauren is the full-time force behind 3Sisters, the studio is a collaboration. The owners include, you guessed it, her sisters Courtney Plagens and Halle Plagens, her father John Plagens and family friends Walt and Beth Henry. In addition, there are about a dozen other yoga instructors who teach the two to four classes offered each day.
“We all had a shared passion for yoga,” Lauren says. “So we wanted to do something together. The idea emerged of opening a small boutique studio.”
3Sisters offers beginners yoga, warm yoga flow, gentle yoga, hot power yoga and yin/deep stretch. Fun classes like teen yoga and Hot Happy Hour Yoga shake up the schedule. One of the more popular classes, beginners yoga, is taught by John Plagens and attracts a new crowd: “A lot of men who have never done yoga before,” Lauren explains. “My dad takes them for a beer after.”
For those who prefer their workouts zippy, Beth Henry leads a fitness class on Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings.
The studio itself is on the small side — intentionally. Instructors watch over students, gently assisting them with poses. “We can offer more personalized attention,” Lauren says. “It can feel like family.”
Dreaming up the concept of a yoga studio was the easy part. Finding the space and building it out was much more difficult. The sisters, who grew up in Avon Lake, chose Avon to open the studio, largely because the city of 22,000 residents had no dedicated yoga studio.
They found a space they liked on Ridgeland Drive, just across from Avon Village School, but it needed to be completely remodeled, including new hardwood flooring, freshly painted pale blue walls, the addition of a bathroom and — the biggest expense — a new boiler and furnace that cranks up to the 94 degrees needed for hot yoga.
The studio space was finished several months later than the owners had planned but, looking back, Lauren sees the zen in the situation. They opened the last week in August, at the start of the new school year — a time when families tend to resume more of a schedule after the happy chaos of summer break. “In hindsight, it all worked out,” Lauren says.
Three Tips from 3Sisters to Stay Stress-Free
1. Take one minute out of your day to breathe deeply.
2. Connect with nature. Bundle up and get outside to enjoy your external surroundings and realize the beauty of the world around you.
3.Strive to do something active each day, even if it’s only for a few minutes. It will improve your mood!
