Englewood Spirit Award Announcement by Randy Moore – I’m very pleased to announce that Lata and Robert Coykendall are the first recipients of our Englewood Spirit Award. The award recognizes an individual or couple for making a sustained and meaningful contribution to the health and vitality of the greater Englewood community.
This is our second community award. Last year, we presented Lee Reid of Reid’s Nutrition Center with our inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award. We look forward to introducing two additional awards through our sister magazine South County Healthy Living. They include the Venice Spirit Award and the North Port Spirit Award.
Lata and Robert own Loving Light Yoga & Healing Center. They’re well known for their diverse classes and healing modalities available at their center, as well as their Gentle Yoga Class on Englewood Beach. The couple moved to Englewood in 2007 from Naples. They moved from California to Florida 9 years earlier to take care of Lata’s mother. Lata discovered the benefits of yoga as part of her recovery from a serious car accident.
Their relocation to Englewood was prompted by prior visits and their attraction to the beauty of Englewood Beach. Lata was inspired to offer free yoga on the beach to share the gift of yoga with as many people as possible. Charlotte County was receptive to the idea and a key supporter ever since.
Starting with only 9 people in 2008, the class grew to 100 participants within one year. Many thousands of people have participated since, and that includes close to 400 guests at the 10-year anniversary class last March. In 2013, when Robert joined as a yoga instructor, the class expanded from four times a week to daily. That’s also when the couple added Sunset Yoga.
Lata and Robert opened their first studio in January 2010, and they moved into their current studio three years later. They teach 3-4 classes a day and they take pride in offering a variety of classes to meet the needs of different people. They also host a Healing Circle 4:45pm the first Thursday of each month.
Lata and Robert inspire many people with their commitment to fostering all forms of wellness and the well-being of our community. Englewood is a better and healthier place thanks to their dedication to teaching and their loving spirit. In keeping with a tradition we started last year with Lee Reid, we invite readers to drop off a single flower to Lata and Robert anytime through February to acknowledge their contributions. Stevens Florist is conveniently located next to their yoga studio at 3455 S. Access Road.
Congratulations Lata and Robert!
