This is the first of two articles originally run highlighting yoga classes in the Merrimack Valley of Massachusetts. A future update will feature yoga in New Hampshire’s cities and towns.
It’s the New Year. Did you vow to get in shape?
De-stress? Live a healthier lifestyle? Yoga offers all of this and more. Yoga can tone muscles, relax the body and mind, and promote well being. The word yoga translates as “yoke” or “union,” as its practice connects the body and mind by combining physical postures with various forms of meditation. Yoga practice that flows through a series of poses while keeping an awareness of the body and a focus on breathing is often called meditation in motion.
Early yoga involved only meditation. The system of poses evolved from the need to move and stretch so yogis could be more relaxed when they sat for long periods of time. Yoga practices today vary in styles, but all focus on balance, strength, and flexibility in mind and body.
Whether you’ve never stepped onto a mat or you’re interested in deepening your yoga practice, the Merrimack Valley has plenty to offer to beginners as well as experienced yogis. There are classes to suit nearly every need in settings that are as diverse as the instructors.
Variety of Styles and Teachers: “Every yoga teacher is different,” says Stephanie Suprin, instructor’s manager at Latitude Sports Club in Salisbury. “That makes each class a little different.”
Latitude, also with locations in Andover, Bradford, and Methuen, offers soft-flowing yoga through fitness yoga. The studio, tucked in a corner of the upper floor with large windows looking out at the woods, can fit up to the fifty people who often show up for athletic yoga. Yet, it still feels personal in smaller classes that focus on deep breathing, relaxation techniques, and slow transitions into postures.
Colleen Westcott teaches a Kripalu class at Latitude that is a graceful flow of poses. She shows modifications to each pose for beginners or anyone who doesn’t feel comfortable going into the full expression of the posture. “It’s like riding a bus,” she says. “You don’t get on to ride to the end; you get off where your stop is.”
There’s an evening yoga session that is a relaxing, restorative class, morning and mid-afternoon classes that are a bit more demanding, even a yoga “on the ball” class that challenges stability. Suprin’s athletic yoga is based on Yoga Fit, a style that is akin to Power Yoga. The room tends to be warm and the poses challenging. “We appeal to all levels, though,” says Suprin. “I always suggest alternatives to the full pose, or to take a rest in Child’s pose.”
Roberta Dell’Anno agrees with the philosophy of teaching to all levels. “Come out of a pose at any time your body needs to,” she tells her students. Dell’Anno teaches Iyengar Yoga, which stresses proper alignment. Her studio, Essential Yoga, is cozy, with cathedral ceilings and a serene pond view. A set of shelves houses plenty of props she uses to help in alignment. For a reclining pose, students may choose blankets, bolsters, and sand bags, along with the added comfort of heated eye pillows. Straps and folded or rolled mats help in seated poses, and Dell’Anno often uses the wall or table tops to help her students get into the proper position.
“I owe so much to yoga,” she says. “I no longer have chronic back pain.”
Dell’Anno spends time with each student in her class. She observes and steps between the mats to adjust her students, making sure that their feet are at the proper angle to support their knees and their spines are straight. “I love giving back,” she says. “Yoga has done so much for me. I just want to give back.”
Left: Deidra Bates of Chelmsford practices Pigeon at Beyond Bliss Yoga Center. Center: Andrew Furst of North Reading concentrates on his Twisted Chair pose during class at Essential Yoga Studio. Right: Essential Yoga Studio owner Roberta Dell’Anno helps Laurie LaBrie of Andover with an advanced form of Side Plank. Photo by Kate Harper
Gia Saraceni, fitness director for the Greater Lowell YMCA, says she also has yoga to thank for easing the pain she suffered from aching joints after running marathons. “Yoga changed my body,” she says. “It changed my life.” Saraceni is trained in the Yoga Fit style of yoga, while several other teachers at the YMCA offer other styles, from family yoga to a gentle stretch class for seniors.
“We offer yoga for every age and every ability,” explains Saraceni. She and her fellow teachers show modifications to various poses, such as bending your knees in a forward stretch to protect your lower back, or placing your hands on a block if you can’t reach the floor without strain. “There’s no goal in yoga,” Saraceni says. “It’s about what feels good for you in the pose, in your body, today.”
The Merrimack Valley YMCA also offers nearly a dozen classes, from gentle to power to restorative yoga. There are branches in Andover/North Andover, Lawrence, and Methuen.
Another place to find a variety of styles and class times is at Union Studio in Andover. Gail Mann, one of the instructors at Union, teaches by integrating Iyengar and Vinyasa Yoga.
“I’ll work on a theme, maybe hip openers, concentrating on alignment and flow,” says Mann. Other classes that Union offers aim to restore. “They’re for senior citizens or anyone who may be injured because the classes are not overly rigorous. They focus more on strengthening,” explains Mann.
The Mat and More: Leigh Snow, co-director with Manny Muros at the Yoga Center of Newburyport, suggests that students “come to yoga with a lot of patience and compassion for yourself and do what is right for you.” The Center is an Anasura-inspired studio that offers prenatal yoga, family yoga, and easy does it yoga, to name only a few. In addition, there is a book club, regular film series, and a number of workshops presented by world-renowned
professionals.
“We’re so fortunate to be able to bring in amazing teachers,” says Snow. With more than a dozen instructors, there are introductory sessions to choose from as well as evening meditation, intermediate classes, and special events. “People tend to come less to ‘do’ yoga than to become a yogi,” Muros says. “We’re a community of practitioners. We try to make it all available.”
The Center, located near downtown Newburyport, is inviting with its honey- colored pine floor and lace-curtained windows that shine light onto a row of large, lush houseplants. Back in the entryway, there are several bulletin boards with postings for new classes, upcoming lectures, or weekend workshops.
Laura Marie of Shakti Wellness Yoga in Chelmsford teaches classes, but also took her training a step further. Marie is certified in therapeutic yoga, which applies yoga techniques to an individual’s physical and emotional stresses.
“I specialize in working with people one-on-one,” says Marie. Her clients come to her with any variety of issues, from cancer to trauma. Marie also conducts free classes in connection with the Greater Lowell Rape Crisis Services Center for women who have survived sexual assault. “I feel honored to work with the people I’ve seen in therapeutic yoga,” says Marie. “It’s really rewarding work.”
Finding Your Own Style: For anyone interested in learning more about the eight limbs of yoga, for a deeper understanding of yoga practice, or to become certified to teach, consider Anahata Integrated Yoga Teacher Training. The program, directed by Pam Britton and Chris Morton, is run from Britton’s studio in Newbury. The second-floor, sky-lit room is a combination studio, classroom, and peaceful place for reflection. Britton and Morton blend a mixture of Vinyasa, Kripalu, and Iyengar yoga, exposing students to various styles and encouraging each to find their own expression.
“Yoga is not just the mat,” says Britton. “It’s not all physical. The poses are a doorway into the practice of life, of learning to open up to resistance, of relaxing.” The 200-hour training program is designed for students who wish to enhance their professional or personal lives by delving deeper into the eight branches of yoga, poses or asanas being one of the eight arms.
Essential Yoga Studio’s Dell’Anno, center, leads her class in their practice at her Andover location. Photo by Kate Harper
Britton says that while many students go on to teach, some of the program participants have included massage therapists, physical therapists, and psychotherapists looking to weave yogic philosophy into their professions. “Yoga can help maximize our lives, our potential,” says Morton. “It’s a practice of radical self-acceptance.”
Becky Bronson of Beyond Bliss Yoga Center in Chelmsford also offers introductory teacher training as well as regular classes. The training introduces people to a different style of yoga called Svaroopa.
“I was teaching Kripalu-style yoga before discovering Svaroopa,” says Bronson. “I loved what I saw in some of these classes. I was amazed at how different the training was.”
The basic difference is that poses are less about stretching than releasing tension in the spine. Students flow through fewer poses and settle in each pose longer. “There’s a focus on alignment, but we use props. We never try to force into a pose,” explains Bronson. Much of the class is spent on the mat or in chairs, with little standing. “That release that happens can make you stand differently,” says Bronson. Svaroopa is slower than other styles, which can also slow the mind, and it is often referred to as “bliss yoga.”
“We see a whole array of students,” says Bronson. “Mostly, though, we see people who really want to slow down.”
Regardless of their styles or whether they teach yoga classes in cozy spaces or cavernous gyms, there is one thing in common among the teachers in the region, something they all share: Each holds a warm smile that reflects a passion for yoga.
Enhancing the Mind/Body Connection – Jan/Feb 2008
This is the first of two articles originally run highlighting yoga classes in the Merrimack Valley of Massachusetts. A future update will feature yoga in New Hampshire’s cities and towns.
De-stress? Live a healthier lifestyle? Yoga offers all of this and more. Yoga can tone muscles, relax the body and mind, and promote well being. The word yoga translates as “yoke” or “union,” as its practice connects the body and mind by combining physical postures with various forms of meditation. Yoga practice that flows through a series of poses while keeping an awareness of the body and a focus on breathing is often called meditation in motion.
Early yoga involved only meditation. The system of poses evolved from the need to move and stretch so yogis could be more relaxed when they sat for long periods of time. Yoga practices today vary in styles, but all focus on balance, strength, and flexibility in mind and body.
Whether you’ve never stepped onto a mat or you’re interested in deepening your yoga practice, the Merrimack Valley has plenty to offer to beginners as well as experienced yogis. There are classes to suit nearly every need in settings that are as diverse as the instructors.
Variety of Styles and Teachers: “Every yoga teacher is different,” says Stephanie Suprin, instructor’s manager at Latitude Sports Club in Salisbury. “That makes each class a little different.”
Latitude, also with locations in Andover, Bradford, and Methuen, offers soft-flowing yoga through fitness yoga. The studio, tucked in a corner of the upper floor with large windows looking out at the woods, can fit up to the fifty people who often show up for athletic yoga. Yet, it still feels personal in smaller classes that focus on deep breathing, relaxation techniques, and slow transitions into postures.
Colleen Westcott teaches a Kripalu class at Latitude that is a graceful flow of poses. She shows modifications to each pose for beginners or anyone who doesn’t feel comfortable going into the full expression of the posture. “It’s like riding a bus,” she says. “You don’t get on to ride to the end; you get off where your stop is.”
There’s an evening yoga session that is a relaxing, restorative class, morning and mid-afternoon classes that are a bit more demanding, even a yoga “on the ball” class that challenges stability. Suprin’s athletic yoga is based on Yoga Fit, a style that is akin to Power Yoga. The room tends to be warm and the poses challenging. “We appeal to all levels, though,” says Suprin. “I always suggest alternatives to the full pose, or to take a rest in Child’s pose.”
Roberta Dell’Anno agrees with the philosophy of teaching to all levels. “Come out of a pose at any time your body needs to,” she tells her students. Dell’Anno teaches Iyengar Yoga, which stresses proper alignment. Her studio, Essential Yoga, is cozy, with cathedral ceilings and a serene pond view. A set of shelves houses plenty of props she uses to help in alignment. For a reclining pose, students may choose blankets, bolsters, and sand bags, along with the added comfort of heated eye pillows. Straps and folded or rolled mats help in seated poses, and Dell’Anno often uses the wall or table tops to help her students get into the proper position.
“I owe so much to yoga,” she says. “I no longer have chronic back pain.”
Dell’Anno spends time with each student in her class. She observes and steps between the mats to adjust her students, making sure that their feet are at the proper angle to support their knees and their spines are straight. “I love giving back,” she says. “Yoga has done so much for me. I just want to give back.”
Left: Deidra Bates of Chelmsford practices Pigeon at Beyond Bliss Yoga Center. Center: Andrew Furst of North Reading concentrates on his Twisted Chair pose during class at Essential Yoga Studio. Right: Essential Yoga Studio owner Roberta Dell’Anno helps Laurie LaBrie of Andover with an advanced form of Side Plank. Photo by Kate Harper
Gia Saraceni, fitness director for the Greater Lowell YMCA, says she also has yoga to thank for easing the pain she suffered from aching joints after running marathons. “Yoga changed my body,” she says. “It changed my life.” Saraceni is trained in the Yoga Fit style of yoga, while several other teachers at the YMCA offer other styles, from family yoga to a gentle stretch class for seniors.
“We offer yoga for every age and every ability,” explains Saraceni. She and her fellow teachers show modifications to various poses, such as bending your knees in a forward stretch to protect your lower back, or placing your hands on a block if you can’t reach the floor without strain. “There’s no goal in yoga,” Saraceni says. “It’s about what feels good for you in the pose, in your body, today.”
The Merrimack Valley YMCA also offers nearly a dozen classes, from gentle to power to restorative yoga. There are branches in Andover/North Andover, Lawrence, and Methuen.
Another place to find a variety of styles and class times is at Union Studio in Andover. Gail Mann, one of the instructors at Union, teaches by integrating Iyengar and Vinyasa Yoga.
“I’ll work on a theme, maybe hip openers, concentrating on alignment and flow,” says Mann. Other classes that Union offers aim to restore. “They’re for senior citizens or anyone who may be injured because the classes are not overly rigorous. They focus more on strengthening,” explains Mann.
The Mat and More: Leigh Snow, co-director with Manny Muros at the Yoga Center of Newburyport, suggests that students “come to yoga with a lot of patience and compassion for yourself and do what is right for you.” The Center is an Anasura-inspired studio that offers prenatal yoga, family yoga, and easy does it yoga, to name only a few. In addition, there is a book club, regular film series, and a number of workshops presented by world-renowned
professionals.
“We’re so fortunate to be able to bring in amazing teachers,” says Snow. With more than a dozen instructors, there are introductory sessions to choose from as well as evening meditation, intermediate classes, and special events. “People tend to come less to ‘do’ yoga than to become a yogi,” Muros says. “We’re a community of practitioners. We try to make it all available.”
The Center, located near downtown Newburyport, is inviting with its honey- colored pine floor and lace-curtained windows that shine light onto a row of large, lush houseplants. Back in the entryway, there are several bulletin boards with postings for new classes, upcoming lectures, or weekend workshops.
Laura Marie of Shakti Wellness Yoga in Chelmsford teaches classes, but also took her training a step further. Marie is certified in therapeutic yoga, which applies yoga techniques to an individual’s physical and emotional stresses.
“I specialize in working with people one-on-one,” says Marie. Her clients come to her with any variety of issues, from cancer to trauma. Marie also conducts free classes in connection with the Greater Lowell Rape Crisis Services Center for women who have survived sexual assault. “I feel honored to work with the people I’ve seen in therapeutic yoga,” says Marie. “It’s really rewarding work.”
Finding Your Own Style: For anyone interested in learning more about the eight limbs of yoga, for a deeper understanding of yoga practice, or to become certified to teach, consider Anahata Integrated Yoga Teacher Training. The program, directed by Pam Britton and Chris Morton, is run from Britton’s studio in Newbury. The second-floor, sky-lit room is a combination studio, classroom, and peaceful place for reflection. Britton and Morton blend a mixture of Vinyasa, Kripalu, and Iyengar yoga, exposing students to various styles and encouraging each to find their own expression.
“Yoga is not just the mat,” says Britton. “It’s not all physical. The poses are a doorway into the practice of life, of learning to open up to resistance, of relaxing.” The 200-hour training program is designed for students who wish to enhance their professional or personal lives by delving deeper into the eight branches of yoga, poses or asanas being one of the eight arms.
Essential Yoga Studio’s Dell’Anno, center, leads her class in their practice at her Andover location. Photo by Kate Harper
Britton says that while many students go on to teach, some of the program participants have included massage therapists, physical therapists, and psychotherapists looking to weave yogic philosophy into their professions. “Yoga can help maximize our lives, our potential,” says Morton. “It’s a practice of radical self-acceptance.”
Becky Bronson of Beyond Bliss Yoga Center in Chelmsford also offers introductory teacher training as well as regular classes. The training introduces people to a different style of yoga called Svaroopa.
“I was teaching Kripalu-style yoga before discovering Svaroopa,” says Bronson. “I loved what I saw in some of these classes. I was amazed at how different the training was.”
The basic difference is that poses are less about stretching than releasing tension in the spine. Students flow through fewer poses and settle in each pose longer. “There’s a focus on alignment, but we use props. We never try to force into a pose,” explains Bronson. Much of the class is spent on the mat or in chairs, with little standing. “That release that happens can make you stand differently,” says Bronson. Svaroopa is slower than other styles, which can also slow the mind, and it is often referred to as “bliss yoga.”
“We see a whole array of students,” says Bronson. “Mostly, though, we see people who really want to slow down.”
Regardless of their styles or whether they teach yoga classes in cozy spaces or cavernous gyms, there is one thing in common among the teachers in the region, something they all share: Each holds a warm smile that reflects a passion for yoga.
What you should know Before, During & After Class >
Different Styles of Yoga >
Yoga Studios in the Merrimack Valley >