VERMILION, Ohio — A former nurse left her job to open a yoga studio in northeast Ohio. 

“I want to teach health. I don’t want to teach sickness,” said Megan Lake-Smith, owner of Tranquil Lake Yoga and Wellness. 

Lake-Smith got into nursing to help patients feel better physically.

“I noticed people were just getting sicker and sicker and more stressed, and we kept telling them to not be so stressed, maybe practice yoga or meditate,” she said.

She didn't practice herself at that time, but eventually took her own advice and began to learn more about the health benefits of yoga. When the pandemic hit, she decided to use that time to get certified.

“I wanted to focus on wellness more than illness and again, with the pandemic, we were all working from home. So all in one day, I think of it as jumping off a cliff, I signed up for my yoga teacher training, my health coach training and my group fitness,” said Lake-Smith.

Smith quit her job teaching nursing at Lorain County Community College to open Tranquil Lake Yoga and Wellness in Vermilion. She and her husband transformed a former hardware store into a barbershop and yoga studio. 

“I would feel like no matter how hard I worked as a nurse, nothing was changing. We’re not teaching people to be well. We were just treating them when they became ill. Yoga, nutrition, staying active, managing our stress, like actually maintaining our stress is sustainable.” 

Smith’s next goal is to become a health coach to bring even more wellness into people’s lives. 

“The healthiest version of you that you can be," said Smith.