Making IT personal for 25 years
West Central Wisconsin is in a ‘pickle’
June 30, 2025
SUAMICO – When describing Stacy Ryan, those who know her might say she’s an author, a podcaster, a cancer survivor, a widow or an Ironman finisher.
Wanting to share her life experiences and needing another challenge, Ryan said you can now add yoga studio owner next to her name.
Ryan is finalizing details of the soon-to-open area studio – which will be located in the upstairs portion of the building located at 1755 Riverside Drive in Suamico’s Vickery Village.
Though still working on the details of finalizing class schedules, setting up instructors and making the upstairs space on Riverside Drive “perfect,” Ryan said plans call for the Zen Den Yoga & Wellness Studio to open Sept. 7.
As of now, she said fall classes will include breathwork, sound healing, food for thought, healing in harmony, slow flow, restorative, chair, parent/child and adolescent yoga and runner’s recovery yoga.
Ryan said she wants the classes to be small – eight participants maximum – so as to not be intimidating.
“I want the people (to come) who have always said to me, ‘Stacy, I’ve always wanted to try yoga, but dot, dot, dot – fill in the blank,’” she said. “People want to try yoga, but it’s too intimidating for many. I want to make this space the opposite of that and create an environment where people learn what yoga is.”
Furthermore, Ryan said classes will have only eight people per session for three reasons.
“One, the space really only has enough room for eight people,” she said. “Two, it’s what I’m feeling is the best number so people can create friendships and three, it’s not intimidating.”
Ryan said she doesn’t necessarily think she’ll be teaching the classes but will be more behind the scenes.
“Since conversations took place in May, I’ve talked to at least 10 instructors,” she said. “I met with them one-on-one at the studio and have been building the vibe in my head. Some classes will be two- to four-week sessions, others will be pop-ups, etc. I’ve had some people say, ‘Oh, my gosh, you’re going to grow out of this space.’ I don’t want to grow out of this space. If anything, I will add more classes.”
Ryan said she could envision having up to four or five morning classes and another three or four afternoon/evening classes per day at the studio.
“Certifications are important for yoga instructors, obviously, but to me, that’s way down on the list,” she said. “I want people to understand these are real-life people who have real-life experiences. They’ve gotten their certifications and now want to share their knowledge and passion because it helped them through their life experience.”
From a business perspective, Ryan said “it’s fine and dandy to want to start a business,” but there still has to be a need.
“There are yoga studios within a 10-mile radius, but it’s similar to a bike shop, a brewery or a small coffee shop,” she said. “It’s small area businesses that support each other. You should collaborate and then create your own vibe because all yoga studios – all bike shops, coffee shops, etc. – are different and have different audiences.”
Ryan said working with other studios “has been great.”
“All of them have been like, ‘Go, Stacy, go – we’re happy for you… anything you need to know from a business perspective or behind the scenes, let us know,’” she said. “I’ve met with a few of them, so that’s been great.”
Even before she officially opens this fall, Ryan said there are opportunities to participate in a Zen Den class or two.
“Though the yoga studio classes will only have eight participants per session, we have two free, family-friendly yoga classes we’re doing in the pavilion (at Vickery Village),” she said. “Those are at 5:30 p.m., July 16 and Aug. 20. The pavilion can probably hold up to 100 people. Vickery Village and I coordinated to set that up. It will give us a chance to introduce Zen Den (to the community). I’ve chatted with all the teachers lined up to see if they can make it and share some information about what they’re teaching, etc.”
Ryan said she’s not nervous about her new adventure – “it’s more excitement energy.”
“It’s like training for an Ironman (2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike, 26.2-mile run) for nine months and getting to the start line and being nervous about getting a flat tire, bonking, the weather, etc.,” she said. “You can control your training, but there are many things on race day you can’t control – but it’s all worth it. I just want things to go the way I envision them and satisfy what the community wants.”
Ryan said updates on classes and more information can be found at thezenden.us or the studio’s social media platforms.
A long-time vision
Ryan said to understand the story of why she is opening Zen Den, it’s important to go back in time.
Originally from Manitowoc, she said she moved to the Green Bay area in the early 1990s.
“I had an amazing husband for 30 years, but he passed away from cancer in 2020,” she said. “Since then, I’ve needed to figure out what my life would be like without him.”
Ryan said she calls 2021 “the year of survival.”
“I was just trying to figure out how to get out of bed every day and live life, even if that meant brushing my teeth or getting outside for five minutes – just simple things,” she said.
Ryan said while her husband was battling cancer all of 2020, he had a simple message for her.
“He kept telling me, ‘Go live your best life – you have so much to offer this world,’” she said. “He would constantly tell me that. I promised him at the time I would do it, even though I had no idea how I would accomplish that.”
As 2022 rolled around, Ryan said she knew she had to start doing more than simply getting out of bed every day.
She said she has always set goals in her life, but her “new” goals had to be different from past ones.
“I’ve been setting goals my whole life, whether it was related to my career or fitness,” she said. “I have done a lot of crazy things. In my 30s, I was doing Ironmans and marathons, so I started setting goals again in 2022. The goals had to be different because I thought maybe I had other talents and skills I didn’t know about.”
From there, Ryan said she made that list of goals and went into them with no regrets or expectations.
“If I tried something and wasn’t feeling it, I said to myself, ‘Alright, no regrets, move on to the next thing,’” she said. “I just tried to figure it out as it went, and it was really about what felt right in my heart – I started learning different things.”
In the meantime, Ryan said her girlfriends kept telling her to write a book.
“(So), that’s what I did,” she laughed. “Three of them, to be exact.”
The books, which Ryan said are self-published, are called “46 Days,” “140.6 sMILES” and “3 Words.”
She said through the process of when her husband was sick and then after losing him, she journaled – which eventually sparked the idea behind the books.
“I had never journaled before in my life, (but it helped) me get some really raw stuff that was in my head and some emotions and feelings on paper,” she said.
About two months after her husband passed away, Rayn said she “needed to get away for a while.”
“So, I hopped in my car and went from Wisconsin to Florida to Colorado,” she said. “I was gone for 46 days – (hence the first book’s name).”
Ryan said “140.6 sMILES” is about the two Ironmans – which totaled 140.6 miles – she completed, while “3 Words” refers to “the most gut-wrenching three words I’ve ever heard – ‘You have cancer.’”
Taking things one step further, Ryan said she started a podcast in 2023.
“It’s called ‘Whole New Life,’” she said. “I created it because as I was starting to get stronger, I needed to share with other widows what I (was) doing to get stronger and to find life again after losing my husband. I started sharing the raw details of what it was like being a widow in my 50s. It was a fun challenge for me and a great distraction.”
Ryan said the books and podcast will hopefully show others the emotional, mental and physical strength she gained from all of her life experiences.
Back in the fitness realm
With three books and a 30-episode podcast, and as she began getting stronger emotionally, Ryan said she knew she couldn’t continue talking about being a cancer survivor or a widow at that level for the rest of her life.
“If I continued to do that, I would never be able to 100% heal,” she said. “Then 2025 came along, and I was like, ‘I need something else in my life – I need another goal.’”
With a health and fitness background, Ryan said she figured diving back into that sector would be a good start.
“I didn’t know exactly what it would look like, but here we are,” she said. “I have been hanging out in the Vickery Village area for the last year and a half. I have a boyfriend who is a widower. He was also with his wife for 30 years, and she, too, passed away from cancer. We bought a house together, and we’re going to start our whole new life.”
Ryan said it was a conversation with two other Vickery Village business owners that got the ball rolling on her yoga studio idea.
“When I get my bike serviced at Suamico Bike Company – also in Vickery Village – I always have great chats with (owners) Matt (Fisher) and Laura (Grovogel),” she said. “I said to them in May, ‘I feel like yoga would be a beautiful thing at Vickery Village.’ They’re like, ‘Yeah, you should start it.’ I’m like, ‘Well, maybe I will.’”
Ryan said all of a sudden, something in her heart opened up, and she knew starting a yoga studio was her next challenge.
From there, she said Grovogel got a hold of Dr. Jon Henry – who took over Vickery Village with his wife in 2019 – to ask if any space was available.
“Upon meeting with him, he said, ‘I’ve always felt like this cute little space (at 1755 Riverside Drive) would be a great place for some type of yoga studio,’” she said.
Walking upstairs and seeing the space, Ryan said it almost brought her to tears.
“I told Dr. Henry that something in my heart was telling me this is what I wanted to do right now,” she said. “I told him once I get something in my head, I’m a very driven, passionate and go-100-miles-per-hour person.”
To her, Ryan said the space “screams yoga.”
“That’s quite the oxymoron, but it’s true,” she laughed. “It’s this beautiful, calming and relaxing space. All I had to do was spruce things up a bit and sweep. It’s already painted and everything.”
When Henry asked Ryan what she was thinking, she said she was “literally building the yoga studio in my head.”
“I told him I wanted to create a small community space that people can come to for yoga and wellness-related things,” she said. “We shook hands, and here we are. My nieces helped me come up with the name and design the logo.”
Forward and beyond
Though Ryan said a person’s journey is never complete, now that she’s feeling whole again and more like herself, she can move forward with Zen Den and her “new life.”
“This is what my husband meant,” she said. “My heart is happy – it makes sense. I’m happy to see where this journey goes.”
And with any luck, Ryan said she hopes her yoga studio will be a big success and fill a gap in Vickery Village.
“Who knows what my next goal or challenge might be,” she laughed.
