Photos courtesy of RedTail Power Yoga
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Maureen Benedict, founder of Hopewell Junction’s RedTail Power Yoga, reveals how connecting and grounding yoga in the Hudson Valley can be.
Feeling stressed, Hudson Valley? You’re not alone. Amid the twists and turns of life, not to mention the ups and downs of the pandemic, it can be hard to find calm amid the chaos. Fortunately, yoga can help you destress, unwind, and find your center no matter what each day brings.
“Yoga connects us to the present moment where life is really happening,” explains RedTail Power Yoga founder Maureen Benedict. “It becomes meditation in motion.”
Since the pandemic began, RedTail Power Yoga has gone above and beyond to provide relaxation and serenity for its Hudson Valley community. It transitioned immediately to online classes when in-person classes were not possible and has continued to adapt by offering outside, live-stream, and studio classes so there is something for everyone.
“We’re a true hybrid practice,” Benedict explains. “We’ve had people take us on business trips and vacations. What we do is so much more than a physical workout.”
To her point, each class at RedTail Power Yoga offers attendees the chance to find their own inherent strength and reconnect to it. The Hopewell Junction studio’s team of five teachers works cohesively to welcome everyone to yoga, regardless of skill level. It holds classes in a warm room to allow the body to become more malleable and roots its practice in the Baron Baptiste methodology to promote empowerment and rejuvenation. Classes range in format and function, with everything from “Journey Into Power,” which lasts 90 minutes and takes practitioners through a full sequence, to “Power Ease,” which incorporates vinyasa and Yin poses to increase flexibility. Plus, all classes are available as live-streamed and in-person sessions so everyone can learn on their own terms.
“You will experience support for whatever it is you need in your life,” Benedict says of the sense of community RedTail’s classes offer. “Connection runs through everything we do. We hold space for everyone to feel strong and feel powerful.”
Just as yoga at RedTail Power Yoga is all about strength and empowerment, so too is it about reconnecting with oneself. As Benedict notes, yoga offers support and a chance for individuals to reach outside of their comfort zone and find perspective amid the chaos of life.
“Yoga is unlearning,” she reveals. “We come into life full of passion and possibility, but it’s life that makes our bodies and our minds inflexible. Through yoga, I realize, ‘I am not my thoughts. I have thoughts. I’m breathing and I’m alive and I’m powerful.’”
It’s through this unlearning, as Benedict puts it, that people can destress and reprioritize their connection to self. Even after class ends, the mindset fostered through yoga can extend throughout life, whether that means finding patience during a traffic jam or seeking calm when anxious thoughts arise.
“Think about ‘Where in my life can I become present, breathe, and move forward?’” she recommends. “The tools we practice with on the mat are tools we practice with in life.”
RedTail Power Yoga
Hopewell Plaza
810 Rte 82, Hopewell Junction
845.605.2257
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