LEWISTON — Eight months ago, inside a defunct Lisbon Street storefront across from Lepage Bakery, the ceiling was black and the floors were dark — and a spa-like atmosphere didn’t even cross a viewer’s mind.

“It used to be a furniture store,” owner Shanna Breton said. “It used to be somebody’s plumbing business. It was a paint store. It was a bar — several times. I had a couple (of) raised eyebrows that I was taking it on, and I had no doubt.”

She turned that used-to-be into a serene retreat.

There are eight dimly lit hanging lanterns. Soft music. A babbling fountain. A stone feature wall.

It’s now Poise Yoga Studio & Foot Sanctuary.

“I had one person walk in (and say), ‘I can’t believe we have this in Lewiston,'” Breton said. “It’s a great compliment. We want that in Lewiston, right?”

Breton, who grew up in Greene, had been taking yoga classes off and on for seven years when she decided to become certified to teach. She wasn’t sure at the time that she actually wanted to lead classes. She’d had a 26-year relationship end. But more yoga just felt right.

“Things just sort of unfolded without a lot of major planning,” said Breton, 44. “I started to turn to yoga for my own sanity, basically. For me, it was mostly really just taking time to be still and take care of myself, and then I realized it was a great stress reliever.”

In quick succession over the past year, she got certified and got over an intense fear of public speaking.

“The desire to teach was greater than the fear,” she said.

That’s when she found out about the available space at 351 Lisbon St. The space was being used for storage at the time.

“I didn’t hesitate once I saw it,” Breton said. “I jumped right into a renovation, to a website and figuring out what I was going to teach for classes.”

For now, she teaches hourlong Hatha yoga classes Monday and Thursday nights, an all-levels class of basic poses and a flow class with “slightly more movement.”

Breton plans to add children’s yoga and hopes to offer restorative yoga, a slower-paced class with an emphasis on breathing work and holding poses longer.

“I feel like we need to take more time to do things like this for ourselves, rather than be so overscheduled and busy, stressed out and sick,” she said. “I feel like if we can’t relax, we can’t recover.”

Classes have both regulars and drop-ins. She asks that people arrive five minutes early, and she offers early students a cup of tea.

“I just like the idea that they might be still for a couple of minutes,” Breton said. “It settles them in.”

For the foot sanctuary, Breton offers hourlong foot reflexology sessions on Thursdays, Fridays and some evenings that start with a foot soak in a big, golden bowl.

Breton is balancing the new business with her job of the past 11 years as a dental hygienist. She’s cutting back that work to three days a week and hoping it gives the studio space to grow.

She officially opened last month.

Yoga classes are $13 each or a 10-class pass for $100. Reflexology is $50 an hour. 

Breton is happy to be part of the growth on Lisbon Street where there’s “so much potential and so many reasons why I should be here rather than should not.” 

“I did not see this in my future and I’m so excited about it,” she said. “I feel like really, everything has happened as it should. We never really know, I guess, what’s ahead.” 

kskelton@sunjournal.com