“You are here.”
The words hang in the air. I close my eyes as a blanket of quiet settles over the space. All the tension in my shoulders unfurls as the room takes a collective sigh. It’s 5 p.m., and for the first time that day – between the blur of classes and meetings and office hours – I do feel unequivocally, positively here.
It feels great.
That’s the effect of a yoga class taught by Steve Krojniewski – or “Yoga Steve,” if you’re talking to one of his regulars. You can usually find him leading yoga in Studio 4 of the Duncan Smith Center; this is the sanctuary where he provides students and faculty a reprieve from the busyness of campus life.
Krojniewski has changed into normal clothes by the time we sit down for our interview – apparently even yogis have to wear shoes in public. We sip on cups of Hagerty coffee as I try to unlock the secret to his perpetual calm demeanor.
“I’m human too,” he laughs. “It’s been a hard road, right? Yeah, [there’s been] a lot of ups and downs.”
The yogi is likely remembering his late mother, Carol Krojniewski. She was diagnosed with cancer when Steve was just eleven years old, passing away a year later and leaving him with his sisters and dad.
In the aftermath, the young Krojniewski sought refuge where he’d always found it: the St. Joseph River. The banks of the winding river were a regular hangout spot for him and his friends, but drawn to the sound of its running water, Krojniewski increasingly found himself going there alone when he needed an escape.
“I could sit and be still and feel safe. I felt like I had a healing experience there every time I would go,” he explains. Unbeknownst to him, the young Krojniewski was learning a practice that would become central to his future career: how meditation could be a grounding force.
But at the same time, another passion was developing – one quite different from meditation.
“Right after my mom passed, my dad was like, ‘Well, what do you want? What can I get for you?’” he says. Krojniewski’s answer?
A drum set.
Little did I know that most people know him not as “Yoga Steve,” but as “Krojo” the drummer.
Krojniewski’s interest in music stems from years spent in his basement listening to his parents’ records. When his dad agreed to buy him a drum set, he and his neighbor decided to start their own band. “The Mushroomhead Experience” began to put on concerts in the living room whenever his neighbor’s parents left for the weekend.
It wasn’t uncommon for hundreds of locals from their school – from the baseball team to the theatre kids – to show up. People would spill into the backyard as Krojniewski’s dad sat right across the street, supporting from a distance.
“It was a way of bringing people together who wouldn’t normally hang out. We [were] always trying to create this safe space, right? How can you bring all those people together, have everybody get along, and get to understand each other?”
Today, Krojniewski proves that yoga and drumming aren’t so different, after all. As the lead yoga sports coach at Notre Dame for 20 years now, Krojniewski has brought yoga to nearly every corner of campus – from the football team to trauma survivors at St. Liam’s – while still finding time to create original music for rock lovers.
At the heart of both passions is getting to share what saved his own life. For Krojniewski, yoga and drumming weren’t just hobbies; they were survival mechanisms during years of depression, clinical diagnoses and emotional instability.
In an era when national studies report a mental health crisis on college campuses and Notre Dame’s Wellness Center tackles record demand, Krojniewski offers something rare: not a productivity hack or a downloaded wellness app, but the quiet work of showing up to practice. Practicing how to ground yourself, day after day, even when everything else feels unmoored.
Creating spaces for people to do this has become his life’s mission: “When I come here, it’s not about me anymore. I walk into that classroom [or stage] and it’s: how do I serve you?” It’s the only way, he believes, people can connect with their most authentic selves and inspire others to do the same. “I want to teach people to be original. Because if you're thriving … then whoever you show up for is going to thrive.”
Young Krojniewski couldn't have predicted how the St. Joseph River would launch a career where he’d touch so many lives. But perhaps that’s the point: Healing is rarely a linear process. For Steve, it started as survival, became practice and – through his own commitment – transformed into service.
A ripple effect that my mind, muscles and ears alike are grateful for.
Allison Elshoff is a senior business analytics major with minors in the Hesburgh Program of Public Service and impact consulting. Her top three things to exist are hammocks, outfit repeating and mini spoons. You can reach her at aelshoff@nd.edu.
