Yoga studio gives area ‘Breathing Room’

The Breathing Room, a yoga studio located on Greenwood Lake Turnpike in Ringwood, offers locals a variety of classes to help reduce stress and improve overall health.

”The premise is to bring, to this neck of the woods, basically, a well-rounded approach to health and wellness,” said owner Toni Ferrarie. “It’s through mediation, it’s through exercise, it’s through movement.”

Ferrarie, a longtime resident of West Milford, said she saw a need for this type of offering in the area and opened The Breathing Room this past May.

“It was important to me to bring it to my population in West Milford,” Ferrarie said. “I wanted to have a place for the people from town and also availability to more places, because there’s not a studio like this (in the area).”

According to Ferrarie, so far, so good.

”We’ve gotten very great reviews, a lot of feedback that they like that this is now here,” she said. “That we needed it in this area.”

It wasn’t just the hometown connection that drew Ferrarie to the location, nor was it the easy access it provides from a number of surrounding towns.

The studio space itself was also a major factor in the decision.

“I walked in here and it was (on) the second story, in the trees,” Ferrarie said of the views from the studio’s windows. “And the light is amazing.”

Ferrarie, who has been practicing yoga for years, decided to get her teaching certification after visiting her mother in the Midwest and finding that there were few options for senior citizens to get some exercise.

According to Ferrarie, she opened The Breathing Room to give people of all ages and accessibility levels a place to come and get the benefits of yoga and the other practices they teach.

“A lot of people say ‘I can’t do yoga’ because the dancers on Instagram are going into these crazy backbends with their legs over their necks, but yoga is so much more than that,” said Ferrarie. “The mindfulness aspect is so important for people, especially with the stress levels we experience now.”

Those outside stressors are also what inspired the studio’s name.

“With all of the pressures of the world, it’s nice to kind of take a break, which is sort of where I got The Breathing Room from,” said Ferrarie. “It’s like, I just need some breathing room.”

The studio’s yoga classes are primarily hatha and vinyasa based, but they offer a variety of other classes and services as well, including guided meditations, wellness treatments, massage, reiki, acupressure, belly dancing, and pre/post-natal classes.

It’s that combination of the accessible location, large scenic space, and variety of offerings that sets the studio apart, according to Ferrarie.

“This is sort of a venue that can allow all sorts of practices and freedoms,” Ferrarie said. “I don’t really limit what is done here to my own beliefs.”

There are currently 12 teachers at the studio and, according to Ferrarie, they’re some of the most qualified and experienced instructors, therapists, etc., in the area.

The studio also offers chair yoga in addition to various events and workshops, which are hosted by both resident and guest instructors, therapists and other experienced professionals.

To learn more about the studio, classes, events and workshops, visit The Breathing Room’s website at www.thebryoga.com or follow them on Facebook or Instagram.