“We see the word wellness all around us these days. It’s one of those buzz words that not many people dare to define due to the enormous responsibility of defining it. It attracts our senses because we believe that it’s a word we should understand, a state of mind that we should naturally, intuitively know...” - Jenn Ciarimboli

    A visit to Balance Yoga Studio on a beautiful, sunny April afternoon was met by the warm and genuine smile of Owner Jenn Ciarimboli, who was just finishing a class with one of her students. After offering a few words of encouragement, Jenn and this writer entered a warm and spotlessly clean lobby... barefoot. One of the perks of entering Balance Yoga Studio is going shoeless.
    A prior phone conversation yielded a sense of what she is trying to achieve with her practice, as well as what inspired her to study yoga. With so many options, what prompted Jenn to choose yoga?
    “People get too caught up in their own story,” she said. “It does not define us.”
    At that moment, there was a clear understanding of what was meant by that statement–– the present is what is important. Yoga is about the present, and we are about the present.
    As many of our career paths lead us today, so did Jenn’s, finding her on the fast track in the corporate world for a period of time.
    “We live in a society that is so overwhelming,” she said. “We are either going to surrender to the stress or find a new way of doing things. We don’t have to be controlled by all the outside forces.”
    This visit to Balance Yoga was planned during its grand opening at 900 Rutter Avenue, in Kingston. The studio’s earthy, aesthetic atmosphere features the works of resident artist Leigh Pawling, with hand-painted Sanskrit writing and images of graceful yoga poses that appear to swirl throughout the lobby. Rich plums and burnt terracottas combine with the warmth of the studio and laid-back demeanor of its occupants, all designed to send one clear message: breathe.
    A chat with Jenn on the way to her office yielded a chance meeting with a noteworthy visitor from San Francisco, California. Pradeep Teotia was there to conduct a workshop for a few days. He had been practicing quietly in the sunlit studio.
    “People are afraid of trying new things,” he said, adding that the fear of trying new things extends to basic human interaction–– an unwillingness to give yourself to someone else, if only in the form of a simple “hello.”
    With the inspiration of yoga in her life, one would envision Jenn’s world as being very calm and serene. After all, her studio also features a massage therapist and a naturopathic doctor, Heather DeLuca. But, Jenn is a real person in every sense of the word– wife and mother of four children, ranging from a toddler to a teen. Juggling a full schedule that contains plenty of after-school homework and activities ranks her right there alongside every other incredible woman.
    “Women seem to need this (yoga) more,” she said.
    Jenn noted that yoga helps its devoted practitioners avoid what is called “Monkey Mind,” a chaotic state of consciousness in which the brain and body work double time to yield a state of unease.
    As our conversation continued, Jenn and Pradeep issued a warm invitation to attend an evening workshop that would introduce me to their world. After worrying all afternoon that my yoga outfit wasn’t quite up to snuff and that my moves would be pitiful compared to the rest of the class, I was greeted by a group that represented all ages and body types. Everyone was eager to introduce themselves and I got the feeling that they wouldn’t mind if my plank pose went belly up.
    The practice that follows is challenging at times, and utterly relaxing at others. Each pose can be altered to match physical ability, giving all ages and levels of athleticism a chance to enjoy the benefits of expanding the body while relaxing the mind. As we lied breathing deeply at the end of our practice, I thought of nothing in particular, which was my task for that moment. Living in the present is the goal, and Balance Yoga Studio is the place to learn how.
    For a schedule of classes, visit www.balanceyogastudio.net or call 570-714-2777.