Some of us find relief for our stress through exercise or meditation. Others find their salvation after a long hard day in a good strong cocktail. Either way, local entrepreneurs have found a way to build businesses around our inherent need to unwind and escape.

Stefan Boone, with his wife, Mercy Kitchen Boone, is owner of Preservation Yoga, a Bikram yoga studio on Jefferson Highway in Baton Rouge. Bikram is performed in a super-heated studio, sometimes upwards of 100 degrees Fahrenheit, and though a lot of studios offer some variation of hot yoga, only Preservation Yoga does the real deal. Stefan is a Baton Rouge native who has taught in Nevada, Texas, California, and South Korea. 

Cliff Couvillion and his partner, Matthew Curtis have created the ultimate luxury for the cocktail connoisseur: a line of portable powdered cocktails mixes that you can bring with you when you travel. Leisuremann’s Cocktail Mixes are especially useful if you’re heading to the great outdoors for an adventure that will take you far away from the creature comforts you might find at a resort or a big city hotel bar. But Leisuremann’s hope to be coming to a bar, or home bar, near you, soon. 

Photos over lunch at Mansurs on the Boulevard by Karry Hosford.