HOBOKEN, N.J. (PIX11) -- Keeping bodies strong and fit while also fostering a healthy mental and spiritual state are some of the many ways in which yoga promotes wellness. All of those qualities were evident at the YogaRenew studio here, where a variety of yoga practices are carried out daily for participants at its spacious facilities, as well as online.
One of those practices is sound meditation. Set up in the YogaRenew main studio was a waist-high gong, a set of crystal singing bowls, bamboo wind chimes, and other instruments that generate calm, soothing sounds.
Operating the instruments to create a meditative soundwave was Lindsay Monal, the sound meditation director at YogaRenew.
She said that the resonance of the instruments, when played in a manner that's curated to promote calmness and centering, along with guided meditative practice, can quickly lead to a relaxed state of mind.
"Over a few minutes, usually," said Monal, "your brain starts to kind of cling onto those sounds that are more resonant, and a little bit more smoothing."
Another aspect of yoga practice was also visible at the studio on Hudson Street. It's where Patrick Franco, one of the yoga directors, led a class.
The poses and movements that he directed were part of his two decades of yoga instruction. He's visibly strong and fit, and said that while that's good, the advantage of yoga is that it promotes those things, and much more.
"You learn how to be active in your body, but calm in your mind," he said, "which then you can take into your real life."
Even on a busy workday, at a busy location that's across the street from the Hoboken NJTransit and PATH Train hub, the yoga being practiced and taught at the studio was spirit-renewing. Hence the business's name.
"You feel at ease, you feel at peace within yourself, you feel calm," Franco said.
The soaring ceilings, warm wood, and soft mats and cushions of the main studio all combine for a regenerative, peaceful space. The secondary studio also feels regenerative and peaceful, even though it has a group of computers, a digital camera, and other electronics in one corner.
It's all there because that studio is where online classes take place.
Kate Lombardo is the other yoga director at YogaRenew. She said that when the pandemic hit, the studio moved to online sessions. Rather than go away once the pandemic emergency was lifted, the online presence grew, she said.
It met a need that people who can't or don't want to come to the studio in person, for whatever reason, may have, Lombardo said. Some of those thousands of people live nearby, while others are in locations worldwide, according to Lombardo.
Wherever they are, in person or remote, the effect is the same, Lombardo said.
"In an online format, when we're teaching the practices, it's all about guiding the mind into the present moment," wherever that moment happens, she said.
So whether at home, on the subway, or by a waterfall in a forest, wellness through yoga can still be accessible to anyone, if they engage in guided yoga practices, said Lombardo.
"Wherever they are, and the more often you show up and do it, I think the easier it is to find it during times when you really need it."
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