Business & Tech

Business Spotlight: A Visit to The Yoga Center

Village yoga center owner dispels a big myth about the meditative philosophy and explains how it can help in many ways.

Jackie Morrison had no idea that when she signed up for her very first yoga class in the 1990s that it would lead to a new career and a new approach to living life.

“I remember thinking, after that first class, that there is something to this yoga,” she recalls with a smile. “It changed my life and has brought so much joy to my life.”

And, since opening The Yoga Center on East Main Street in Babylon Village nine years ago, the center's chief instructor has been striving to give others the very same experience.

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“It’s a very relaxing way to purify the body and the spirit. It’s a vacation for the soul,” she says, noting that the center offers many different levels of yoga classes. “It provides a release where you can step out and away from the stress of life."

One of the biggest misconceptions about yoga, says Morrison, is that a body needs to be flexible to benefit from the experience.

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“It isn’t about flexibility as much as it’s about teaching a meditative approach to living,” she says. She recommends newbies try a variety of different classes to find which is the best fit for what they need.

“You do what you can do. There are no mirrors, no competition about your physical abilities. It’s about giving yourself permission to relax and learning to mediate which is very healing.”

The center, located next door to Gemelli's market, offers a wide range of yoga classes and programs including Pilates, Tai Chi, meditation, belly dancing, drumming, and reiki. There are ongoing workshops as well.

One is a 12-month yoga philosophy program that provides a deep awareness of yoga and yoga teachings.

On December 10 the center will hold a ceremony for honoring a woman’s journey of transformation, and there’s a holiday restorative yoga evening on December 16 that promises participants a respite from the hustle and stress of the holiday season. The program is one of several that focuses on celebrating the coming of the winter solstice and transition to the new season with movement and meditation.

On the first Thursday of each month a Reiki Healing Circle is held for helping people reduce stress, restore their well-being and increase their vitality.

Those kind of classes can help those battling disease and cancer, notes Morrison, who teaches yoga at a north shore hospital.

“Yoga has proved to be very healing for those recovering from open heart surgery as it helps the blood flow and can help relieve pain and stress,” she said.

For those looking for something more exuberant and faster paced, there is the drum and dance circle event held the first Saturday night of every month. Participants are used to bring their drums and their “moving bodies.” 

During the holidays The Yoga Center is also sponsoring a food drive to benefit a local soup kitchen. Yoga, as Morrison explains and the center’s activities illustrate, offers far more than just a calming and relaxing experience.

“It’s about gaining inner peace and gaining acceptance of ourselves for who we are,” she says.


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