Healing on the highway: Yoga instructor brings movement to life on the road

HARTFORD, Wis. (CBS58) — It’s no secret that life on the road can take a toll, especially for long haul truck drivers who spend hours behind the wheel.

One yoga instructor is bringing movement and mindfulness right to the cab of the truck.

Hope Zvara has been helping people break free from their pain. Thanks to the power of yoga for the past 25 years, including teaching at her own studio in Hartford.

However, in 2017, she felt it was time to shift gears.

"I was really just looking for more. I felt like this wasn't where I was supposed to be, but I didn't know what," said Hope Zvara, CEO and Founder of Mother Trucker Yoga.

It was at a business mixer in town where she met a man who works with truck drivers. he asked if she had a solution to a unique problem.

"Do you have anything for truck drivers? Like in the cab of the truck?" Zvara was asked. "Mother Trucker Yoga. He looks at me and says that's brilliant," said Zvara.

So, she took her lessons on the road. Zvara is now the CEO and Founder of Mother Trucker Yoga.

"The past eight and a half years, I’ve helped nearly 100,000 truck drivers," said Zvara.

Her big rig isn’t meant for hauling supplies. Zvara creates content from inside and outside the truck.

She teaches drivers small, simple movements to improve their mental and physical well-being.

"Some of the things they can do in the driver seat, some they can even do while driving safely, things like meditations, stress relief practices, how to fall asleep better, how to drink water and not stop less," said Zvara.

Because after all, those long trips can be taxing on the body.

"They might be gone six days, six weeks, six months out of the year, living out of their truck, so they’re really limited in resources, they’re limited in availability for healthy food, just access to things," Zvara explained.

"She's a burst of energy just talking to her will give you more energy ," said Sandy, truck driver.

Based in Ohio, Sandy and Stephen are team drivers they will ride up to 11 hours a day.

"I was having problems with my upper arms just hurting like the dickens," said Sandy.

But when Zvara took control of the wheel…

"My arms aren't hurting like before, so that is a big improvement," Sandy explained.

When she turned one on the ignition for Mother Trucker Yoga, hearing the pain truck drivers deal with hit close to home.

"I just immediately fell in love with the men and women of the road because they reminded me of the job my dad was doing," said Zvara.

Her dad was a sewer pipe layer.

"I watched him growing up really just beat his body up for the sake of the job with no thanks, so I really grew a love for the underdog, the men and women of our country that do all these amazing jobs that go unnoticed," said Zvara.

Now she's in the driver's seat and has a way to help them and she doesn't plan to put it in park anytime soon.

"Seeing the lights go on in these men and women's eyes that somebody cares about them," said Zvara. "I can't even begin to describe the feeling that I get when I see that in their eyes and in their body language that I have truly changed their life."