North East Community Center delivers unity and mindfulness through yoga

MILLERTON — Members of the North East Community Center discussed the importance of community and mindfulness through its programs.

“We can’t be quite as open as we were in the past, but we want to get back to it,” said the director of engagement, Jennifer Kronholm Clark. “And yoga is sort of our first dipping your toes into welcoming the community back into this space.”

With NECC housing a food pantry at its Millerton location, the programs it is able to host is limited at this time.

The community center now hosts free one-hour yoga sessions at different levels out of its building.

A gentle class is instructed by Alix Diaconis on Tuesdays at 8:30 a.m. and a flow yoga class by Caroline Robins takes place on Thursdays 5:30 p.m. A possible Amenia class being added in the future.

“The ability to slow down and check in with yourself which piggybacks into mindfulness, especially in a very busy world, we’re moving fast. We’re going to our jobs,” said Robins.

“Everything is just very fast paced. It’s not always easy, but it is nice to have someone help guide you through that and just kind of bring you to a slower space.”

The courses aim to help the community unite by moving their bodies and even navigate mental and physical challenges.

“As much as it is about movement and that side of health, there’s also the mental health aspect of it, and just seeing someone, especially in a small town, kind of all spread out,” Robins said. “It’s a common meeting place for people to be like, ‘Hey, I see you. You see me.’”

According to Diaconis, a few of her students attending the classes have had surgeries and use these sessions as a supplement to physical therapy, of course, to their own best judgement.

“I have pretty major scoliosis, so it really helps with my pain level, but because of that, I never thought I could be a yoga teacher, because I can’t do a lot,” Diaconis explained, “I’m not that flexible. I don’t look like what you see in photos, but then I realized that that was a misnomer, and anyone could do yoga, and everybody can do yoga, so I decided to become an instructor again.”

In order to be an instructor, a person must be yoga-certified and receive proper training, with the ability to study 200, 300 or 500 hours. Both Diaconis and Robins completed their certification through Yoga Alliance, enabling them to teach at the community center.

Diaconis explained how recently the yoga community has been picking up with a total of eight students who have been attending, surpassing the usual crowd of three to five attendees. She said when the weather gets warmer, classes are held outside, which can be appealing to some. The program is looking into ways to entice people into joining the community.

“There was a senior exercise class that was very popular, and people still ask for it. So we’re looking into what else we can offer,” said Kronholm Clark. “We’re hoping at some point to do some Zumba, like there’s been a lot of interest in that. I think bringing back the senior exercise class would also be really popular if we can figure out how to do that.”

NECC is currently looking for volunteers with certifications or training who could potentially offer additional services to the community and assist the program in growing.

Kronholm Clark asks those who may be interested to reach out to the community center. “Our mission is creating a thriving community, and a big part of that is being healthy and having access to other people,” Kronholm Clark said. “Whenever we can give people an opportunity to move their bodies and take care of themselves and then do it in community, we’re looking for more ways to do that.”

Latest News

Amenia’s Elk Ravine Farm funds conservation through unique tours

Jim Archer of Elk Ravine Farm takes a seat on Billy the water buffalo on Wednesday, Sept. 10.

Nathan Miller

AMENIA — Jim Archer doesn’t look like a typical “influencer.” He doesn’t have a podcast and he doesn’t take jet-setting trips to Bali for advertising shoots.

But he has amassed a following of more than 100,000 people across his Instagram and TikTok accounts. Archer shows off his unique collection of farm animals and produces educational content about ecology and the environment all from Elk Ravine Farm, his property on Smithfield Valley Road in Amenia.

Keep ReadingShow less
Sharon Dennis Rosen

SHARON — Sharon Dennis Rosen, 83, died on Aug. 8, 2025, in New York City.

Born and raised in Sharon, Connecticut, she grew up on her parents’ farm and attended Sharon Center School and Housatonic Valley Regional High School. She went on to study at Skidmore College before moving to New York City, where she married Dr. Harvey Rosen and together they raised two children.

Keep ReadingShow less
‘Garland Jeffreys: The King of In Between’ at the Moviehouse

Claire and Garland Jeffreys in the film “The King of In Between.”

Still from "The King of In between"

There is a scene in “The King of In Between,” a documentary about musician Garland Jeffreys, that shows his name as the answer to a question on the TV show “Jeopardy!”

“This moment was the film in a nutshell,” said Claire Jeffreys, the film’s producer and director, and Garland’s wife of 40 years. “Nobody knows the answer,” she continued. “So, you’re cool enough to be a Jeopardy question, but you’re still obscure enough that not one of the contestants even had a glimmer of the answer.”

Keep ReadingShow less
Haystack Book Festival: writers in conversation

The Haystack Book Festival, a program of the Norfolk Hub, brings renowned writers and thinkers to Norfolk for conversation. Celebrating its fifth season this fall, the festival will gather 18 writers for discussions at the Norfolk Library on Sept. 20 and Oct. 3 through 5.

Jerome A. Cohen, author of the memoir “Eastward, Westward: A Lifein Law.”Haystack Book Festival

Keep ReadingShow less