Yesterday I attended an Open Level Vinyasa Flow class taught by Sonia Quintero at Bhakti Barn in Millburn, NJ.  I had been curious to try a class at Bhakti Barn for some time and Sonia invited me to come to her class on Thursday night. The studio was really adorable, the colors and lighting were very inviting and there was an altar at the front of the room.  The class was a Krama class and helped me to understand the idea of sequencing and building upon poses and adding binds and twists to slowly open the body and deepen the practice.   There were a few pregnant women in the class and it was valuable to see how Sonia modified poses for them, since they could not do the twists.

I had told Sonia that I was in the midst of my yoga teacher training so she provided some valuable hands-on adjustments which made me aware of needing to lengthen and lift from my torso in some of the poses I find most challenging, such as Triangle and Extended Side Angle because I tend to collapse into my lower back.  I really enjoyed Sonia’s class and found it to be restorative after several days of intense practice during our training weekend and my Advanced Vinyasa class on Tuesdays.  I really surrendered in Savasana… the music was so relaxing and the energy of the studio and teacher were so soothing, that it allowed me to just melt into my mat.

After class, Sonia offered us a cup of tea, which was the perfect ending to such a restorative class. I learned so much from this class and from Sonia as an instructor, including how important it is to create an ambiance and environment for your students through the space, music and personalized instruction you provide.