Staff members at Ellis Middle School laid mats on the auditorium stage Thursday afternoon and started warming up, getting ready for their first staff yoga class of the school year.

Julie Walski, a seventh-grade English teacher, has done yoga before, but was excited to do it with other staff.

“I’m looking to build a sense of community and promote health and wellness here at Ellis Middle School,” she said. “I’m excited.”

Ellis teacher Jill Rollie came up with the idea to host yoga at the school during a meeting, when the principal spoke about wellness.

“[It’s] good for the mind, good for the body, helps with stress, so it seemed like a good option,” Rollie said. “It seemed like it would be good for all people, for everyone.”

Ellis is partnering with Lindsey Kepper and her Yoga Studio and Massage of Austin to bring a yoga class to Ellis twice a month. The class is open and free for all Ellis staff.

“We are thankful for the yoga studio being willing to partner with us,” Rollie said. “It’s a great opportunity for us at Ellis.”

The first day had about seven staff members, although Rollie said some couldn’t make the first class but plan to come in the future.

Lise Mittag, an eighth-grade language arts teacher, was excited to be involved in the first class.

“I think it’s a wonderful thing to end our work day, coming together as Ellis teachers and do yoga,” she said.

This was not Mittag’s first yoga class, but she was excited the school decided to kick off the program.

“Yoga is a wonderful stress release, and it’s something that I want to do to stay fit,” she said.

She hopes to get a nice workout from the class and continue making healthy choices.

While Rollie got the ball rolling for the class, Kepper is excited to keep it going.

“They approached me last year with the idea of making yoga more accessible to the staff there and whenever someone in the community approaches me with that idea I love it,” Kepper said. “The more people we can get doing yoga the better.”

The class, which started Thursday, will be offered twice a month from 3:45 to 4:45 p.m. on Thursdays throughout the school year. It is being held in the auditorium on the stage, because that space is currently free during that time, with no extra curricular activities for students.

They wanted to hold the classes at the school, so it would be more available to staff members.

“I’m excited for the opportunity to get more people onto a yoga mat,” Kepper said. “If that means we have to go to them then we’ll do it.”

The class is learning vinyasa yoga this year and is open to all skill levels.

“We’re teaching it [on an] introduction level for all the people who’ve never been on a yoga mat before,” Kepper said. “It’s sort of nicknamed flowing yoga; it’s a type of yoga where you’re connecting moving with breathing.”

She is excited to be working with the staff and hopes it will help their daily lives.

“It can be really stressful to be a staff member at a middle school,” Kepper said. “They also are experiencing stress in the workplace like the rest of us. It’s going to help them have less stress in their life.”

She explained the stress hormone, cortisol, is always in the human system and can be brought down by what yoga teaches.

“The more you can eliminate cortisol hormones in your body, the healthier you can become,” Kepper said.

Although the class is after school hours, Rollie hopes staff members will continue to come because of the convenience of location and time.

“Right when work is done, you can go to yoga, you can treat yourself to something good for you,” she said.

Rollie is excited to see more people learning about yoga, and participating in things that are good for their body and mind.

“This is just tagging along with well-being, doing something good for yourself,” she said. “It ties with our healthy school goals.”

She hopes it will be a positive activity throughout the year for staff.

“I’ve had a lot of positive feedback from members; they’re excited for this opportunity,” Rollie said.

Kepper was excited about the turnout Thursday. She hopes if people enjoy it, they will look to participate more often than the twice a month it is offered at Ellis.

“I guess if we can introduce more people in the community to yoga, than hopefully it opens them up to wanting it more, and then they’ll come to the studio,” Kepper said. “My whole existence and purpose is to just get more people to do yoga because I think it just makes people be better.”