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Natural Awakenings Westchester / Putnam / Dutchess New York

Breath-Centered Yoga at the Yoga Garden

Patty Holmes, owner of the Yoga Garden

“The past two years have seen a big shift in how I teach yoga,” says Patty Holmes, owner of the Yoga Garden, which is celebrating 17 years of yoga at St. Bartholomew’s Church in White Plains, NY. “Forty years ago I fell in love with yoga, but the yoga I did in my twenties is certainly not the yoga I do now.”

So what happened? Two years ago, Holmes began studying with Leslie Kaminoff, coauthor of The Yoga Anatomy Book and co-director of the Breathing Project in Manhattan. Holmes says she learned how an individualized, breath-centered yoga practice shifts the emphasis from form (How do I look? Am I doing it right?) to function (How do I feel? Am I balanced?) This style of yoga is inspired by the work of TKV Desikachar and his father, the famous yoga teacher Krishnamacharya.

“My work as coordinator of the Anatomy & Breath Clinic at the Breathing Project has shown me the importance of seeing every person who enters my yoga studio as a unique individual, with unique abilities and challenges,” Holmes says. “All instruction can, and must, be adapted to suit the individual. My students at the Yoga Garden learn about adaptability, options and ways to move—in yoga class and in life—that encourage respect, joy and creativity.”

Kevin McGovern is now offering Yoga for Golfers at the Yoga Garden. For info, contact him at [email protected] or 914.325.4556. The Yoga Garden is located at 82 Prospect St., White Plains, NY. Contact the studio at 914.325.7180 or [email protected], or visit YogaGardenWP.com.