CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A neuroscientist decided to swap out her research books for a yoga mat.
- Olga Dadalko opened Atha Yoga in south Charlotte in October
- The studio uses infrared heat to warm the room
- The heating method warms objects instead of the air, similar to the sun
Dadalko received her PhD in neuroscience from Vanderbilt University where she did research on how yoga movements affect the brain.
Hot, sweaty and mindful. That is how Dadalko teaches her yoga classes.
She recently opened Atha Yoga in south Charlotte. The studio offers classes at a faster pace with weights and a closer pace without. Temperatures in the room can reach up to 105 degrees.
“It’s an amazing brain-training system,” Dadalko said. “It’s a philosophy that is composed of a lot of different modalities.”
The studio uses infrared heat, which warms objects and not the air. Dadalko says it’s similar to how the sun heats our bodies.
“Research shows that it stimulates the fibroblasts,” Dadalko said. “These are the cells that produce elastins and collagens, which helps revitalize the skin.”
If that sounds scientific, it’s because Dadalko has studied topics of yoga and the brain.
A decade ago she was getting her doctorate in neuroscience from Vanderbilt, and says it was rigorous work.
“I started to look for different ways to sustainably reduce my stress level to get healthy and well,” Dadalko said. “Yoga helped tremendously because I was not the type of person to do any type of exercise.”
It inspired her to pursue research on how yoga movements can affect the brain.
Following one study she conducted on children with autism, Dadalko said, "What we found is that yoga-based balanced training could reduce some core symptoms and produce some neurological changes.”
It made her realize the impact yoga can have. She left her neuroscience career behind and welcomed this new chapter of helping others
“I wanted to help people now instead of working on scientific papers,” Dadalko said. “I am living and breathing now this dream coming true.”
Atha Yoga is offering 30 days unlimited classes for $50 for new students.