It’s not hard for Ridgewood residents to find a place to find their spiritual center, stretch their bodies and minds, and create some inner peace in this time of turmoil.
All Yoga in Ridgewood offers a wide variety of classes at all levels for everyone, including children. Christina Rufin has been practicing yoga for 25 years and used her background in teaching French to become a yoga instructor, and eventually became certified to also teach yoga to children.
“At first, I resisted teaching yoga because yoga is my own practice. It is my pleasure. It is my personal journey,” Rufin said. “Then one day it just clicked; everything came together. I realized that yoga, for me, is a life-changing experience. And I realized I wanted to bring yoga to everybody.”
After becoming a certified yoga instructor, Rufin began looking to bring yoga to communities where yoga is not easily accessible. In 2015, Rufin moved to Ridgewood and she opened All Yoga at 780 Woodward Ave. in May 2016 to bring yoga to Ridgewood after noticing the community lacked a local studio.
“I realized there was no yoga studio here, so I decided to open one with the idea that it would represent the community, which is extremely diverse and very pleasant,” she said. “I love this community, and I call this studio All Yoga with the idea that we would offer all kinds of yoga classes for all types of people.”
Since opening, Rufin has brought in a diverse crew of instructors to teach a wide variety of classes, techniques and disciplines including beginner, intermediate and expert yoga classes; meditation; breathing exercises; groove dance classes; community classes and workshops; and many more.
And adults aren’t the only ones invited to partake in practicing yoga at All Yoga. Rufin has children-based classes for kids ages 3-8. The classes are an hour long and focus on both the physical movements of yoga and teaching the kids about their bodies, breathing techniques, and encouraging teamwork.
If you want to take your yoga experience to the next level and are interested in becoming an instructor yourself, All Yoga offers a teacher training program. The program is a 200-hour training course, spanning five months, that teaches the history of yoga with a contemplative practice.
For more information on All Yoga, their hours, class schedule and more, visit their website at allyoganyc.com.
