Emily Rapp, Founder, Loosen Up Athletes

My Story

I have always been an athlete, from three seasons of high school sports to rowing on the crew through college, and continuing into adulthood with half marathons, 100 mile bike rides , tennis, and hiking.  As I got towards 50, my back was hurting and my legs were chronically tight.  I added fitness class and weights, got massages, went to a chiropractor, many things to try to loosen my tight muscles and make everything hurt less.  Finally I tried yoga. 

My first several months of occasional yoga I found very discouraging.  I was terrible at it.  Many of the poses were not possible for me because something was too tight to reach.  Everything continued to hurt.  I did stick with it, however, because it was pleasant to lie on the floor in the warm room before and after class, and after a while I could see some gradual progress. 

Yoga is not a quick fix.  Luckily for me I persisted, because even with my twice a week class commitment I started to see real progress, and after several years I started to go more often, and not only got more comfortable with the yoga itself, but I could see the benefits in strength and flexibility in my other sports as well.  In 2018 I decided to get my teacher training, so I could share this with others. 

I completed my yoga training at Bode Yoga in New York City in 2019 and became a Level One instructor with the Original Hot Yoga Association.  Later that year we moved to St Louis and I became a teacher at Pure Hot Yoga Studio in St Louis.  I furthered my training in Therapeutic Hot Yoga with Rajashree in March 2020.  While I still teach classes weekly with Pure Hot Yoga, during the Covid pandemic I created Loosen Up Athletes to provide a remote practice option that was also a community in that time of isolation.  The convenience of practicing from home while still feeling accountability from workout partners has ben very appealing and has kept our group growing even as in-person classes restarted.  Join us!