AMENIA —No matter their age, ability or level of yoga expertise, every body is welcome to join a class at Amenia Yoga — A Place for Wellness, which opened at 18 Old North Road in Amenia earlier this summer.
With about 30 years of experience practicing yoga, Amenia Yoga owner and instructor Sarah Wallace returned to the United States last October after living in Italy for the last 28 years. While living on a vineyard there, Wallace started holding yoga retreats, welcoming visitors from all over the world.
She returned to the States last fall in pursuit of a new adventure when a friend of hers found her a place at 18 Old North Road. After looking at the space last November, everything aligned for Wallace and she moved in last March.
Reflecting on what yoga means to her, Wallace described it as a profound connection to her body, heart, mind and spirit — a transformation of sorts.
“We want everyone to feel that they are home, that they’ve come home,” Wallace said of her hopes for Amenia Yoga. “It’s unsettling for me when people have been told, ‘Oh, you can’t do yoga because you’re not flexible,’ or ‘Oh, I can’t do this because I can’t touch my toes,’ and it’s unsettling for me to think of all the people that might avoid yoga or might have negative experiences in doing yoga because they think it’s all about being flexible, agile, young and being able to twist yourself into a pretzel, and it’s not.”
At Amenia Yoga, Wallace said yoga is about people connecting with their bodies, spirits and minds, and understanding how their bodies work.
“We just want people to feel welcome here and that anybody can do yoga,” she said.
Opening for business in early June, Amenia Yoga offers classes every day of the week at different levels of experience. For the early risers who want to start their day with a good stretch, Amenia Yoga offers a 7 a.m. Zoom class on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. On those same days, the studio offers an in-person senior yoga class at 9:30 a.m. and an all-levels class at 5 p.m. On Tuesdays and Thursdays at 9 a.m., Sara Regan, Amenia Yoga’s other instructor, hosts an all-abilities yoga class.
Saturdays are left open, and private classes are available on demand. On Sundays, the studio offers classes at 11 a.m. for all levels of yoga experience. More classes — including a wheelchair yoga class taught by Wallace — are also available.
After hosting yoga retreats in Italy, Wallace is looking to hold yoga retreats at her Amenia studio. Come this fall, she plans to hold a six-week yoga course for bone health on Tuesdays, starting Oct. 5. Along with herself and Regan, Wallace shared her thoughts on bringing in an instructor to teach Qigong (a Chinese healing art) at the studio and offering prenatal yoga and offering Reiki master’s services to the local community.
To learn more about Amenia Yoga and its current class offerings, contact the studio at info@ameniayoga.com, call 646-401-4188 or go to www.ameniayoga.com.
Photo by Kailin Lyle
Residents from around the region have found a way to connect with their bodies, minds and spirits by participating in one of the many classes currently being offered at Amenia Yoga — A Place for Wellness, located at 18 Old North Road, behind the Freshtown Plaza off of Route 22 in Amenia. Photo submitted
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