Yoga for Everyone
Gallery 40 hosts weekly yoga classes to welcome community members by uniting art and exercise.
“If you can sit on a mat, you can do yoga,” says Erica Woolley, as we sit beside one another cross-legged on our colorful yoga mat of Gallery 40.
Surrounded by paintings and sculptures of local Hudson Valley artists on the walls, Woolley leads “Yoga for Everyone: Yoga for Everyone Who Thinks They Can’t Yoga” An approachable and open-ended yoga class rooted in self-acceptance for athletes of all levels, and part of Gallery 40’s approach to establishing a community hub around art and culture.
Warm and welcoming with serene music playing quietly in the background, we discussed the unique exercise form where participants are invited to push themselves physically yet also accept their intentions and movement mindfully. “It helps you connect your mind and your body,” Woolley says on the value of daily movement.
A personal trainer, life, and nutrition coach, of over 25 years, Woolley has dedicated her career to fitness and teaching people to develop a passion for exercise. Coaching every avenue of group fitness classes, Woolley has always been fiery and upbeat.
“But whenever there were times in my life I needed to slow it down, I pulled yoga back in and began a practice,” Woolley says on the mindfulness outlet yoga brought her restless routine.
During “Yoga for Everyone,” Woolley invites people from all walks of life to move with intention. The class begins with a warm welcome and a moment to breathe. “To connect the mind and the body to the breath,” Woolley explained, and to honor your body in the present moment. We sat cross-legged with our palms up to the sky to open our bodies and mind, or, cupped around our knees to stay planted and grounded in the ‘now’. We listened as Woolley set intentions for the hour: “Today is the sandpiper spirit, so we are all about having fun!”
“Don’t be surprised if I have people do a little dance on their mats!” Woolley joked to me as we set up for class moments prior. This was honored, naturally, as we referenced the Rocky Horror Picture Show “Time Warp” classic move, perfectly aligned with the October season, as a fun way to open our hip flexors while in Warrior Two.
“Yoga for Everyone” takes a fun and understandable approach to yoga. Focused primarily on English kinesthetic terms and developing an overall sense of mindfulness, as opposed to the meditative and Sanskrit terms that may be used in more advanced practices, Woolley aims to explain the ‘WHY’. “Why are we doing this? What are you supposed to be feeling?” On a first-name basis with each student, Woolley overs corrections and consensual repositioning to help every student reach their full potential.
Creating a community space, Gallery 40 has big plans in store. “A way to bring the people to the art, is to bring the art to the people!” Going forward, Paola Bari, the gallery’s director, continues to build a community space. Throughout the week, Bari hosts ‘Conversation in Italian’, knitting club, Kid’s Art Club, and acts as a pop-up space for local vendors. “The art changes every month, usually on the first Saturday,” says Bari. This month, the gallery featured Frenchy & the Punk, local artists with their collection Batfrogs. Performers as well, guests were able to enjoy their music at the neighboring 1915 Wine Cellar making each gallery showcase a block event.
Meanwhile, surrounded by the local artists’ designs and the gallery’s vast history, Woolley brings exercise to the community in a positive, welcoming, and encouraging way. Set in the middle of the gallery room with tall wooden walls and a crisp clean floor, dim lighting, the aroma of lavender, and sweet-sounding blues, we learned to accept the ‘now’. “The foundation of yoga is now. And once you begin to honor that energy, you being to move forward.”
