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SUMMIT AREA YMCA

Yoga Classes Resume Indoors at the Berkeley Heights YMCA

The Berkeley Heights YMCA is thrilled to resume limited indoor yoga classes! Take a class to de-stress, align your posture, try a new pose, practice breathing and relaxation techniques and connect your mind, body and spirit through Yoga at the Y!

Please note, an active Berkeley Heights YMCA or Summit YMCA membership is required to participate. Not a member? Join now and take advantage of our $0 Join Fee.

Active members also gain access to the Outdoor Fitness Center at the Summit YMCA, over 50 outdoor group exercise classes each week and the option to reserve private access to workout in the Fitness Center at the Berkeley Heights YMCA or Summit YMCA. View our Reopening Guide to find out the latest on all available programs and services at the Y.

RESERVATIONS

Reservations are required to manage capacity as space is limited. Walk-ins will not be accepted. Reservations and session availability can be found on the Find a Class tab on the SAY Mobile App or via our Online Schedules.

Class Schedules

PARTICIPATION POLICIES

To learn more about class details, reservation rules, check-in procedures and participation policies, review our Yoga Class Guidelines. We ask all interested participants to please review these guidelines thoroughly.

PARTICIPATION POLICIES

 

PARTICIPATION WAIVER

All members must sign an updated Summit Area YMCA membership waiver online before participating in any Y activities. The waiver only has to be completed once.

SIGN THE WAIVER


YOUR SAFETY

Members can rest assured that we are working closely with the CDC and Board of Health guidelines to ensure safety and prevention of disease as detailed in the Yoga Class Guidelines. We ask all interested participants to please review these guidelines thoroughly. Similar to participants, Summit Area YMCA staff are also subject to health screenings and temperature checks, hand sanitizing, mask, social distancing requirements and more. Time is reserved before and after each class for staff to clean, disinfect and sanitize our facilities and any equipment (if applicable) to ensure cleanliness. The YMCA uses an electrostatic sprayer to disinfect our facilities and equipment. Wipes and disinfectant will also be available for member use if needed.

Respectfully we ask, that if you are not feeling well, have any COVID-19 related symptoms, have been in close proximity to anyone who has tested positive for COVID-19 or has any COVID-19 related symptoms, have travelled internationally or to any of the states on the NJ quarantine listing, you please stay home and postpone your anticipated visit to the Y.

HVAC SYSTEM

The HVAC system at the Berkeley Heights YMCA is equipped with the latest system in the fight against airborne illness such as COVID-19.

Global Plasma Solutions (GPS) needlepoint bipolar ionization is officially the first HVAC air cleaning technology to be tested and shown to inactivate the COVID-19 virus on surfaces. The latest testing shows that exposure to needlepoint bipolar ionization for 30 minutes lead to a 99.4% reduction rate on SARS-C0V-2.

 


ARE YOU NEW TO YOGA?

You might imagine the whole practice of yoga involving sitting on the floor with your legs crossed like a Buddha statue and fingertips touching while chanting “ohm” to achieve inner serenity. While this is certainly one facet of meditation, yoga is much more than ohm-ing with your eyes closed. A variety of yoga exercises can strengthen and make you sweat like no other workout! Continue reading for 5 reasons why Yoga is great for you!

 

1. It’s a fat burner that makes you stronger and more flexible!

Yoga is by no means a HIIT workout (which we also offer!) but is an awesome workout for any body type, no matter what your level. You can move at your own speed and you can always modify. Depending on the series of poses you do, it will test not only your balance but your strength and flexibility. Yoga can be a dynamic, full body workout that uses all the muscles in your body to achieve any single pose. Doing so consistently helps build up your strength and range of motion, making you more effective in your daily movements.

If you’re looking for a yoga class that is more challenging, or you like to sweat with constant movement, we recommend something like Vinyasa Yoga or even Hot Primal Yoga to burn some serious calories (not available currently). And in Hot Yoga, that’s a whole new level of burn that will both detox and sweat your body out in places you didn’t know existed.

 

2. It helps you lose weight!

Some studies say yoga helps to lose weight. Wow!! So we can just sit on a yoga mat with some blankets and the pounds will shed?

 

Nope. At least not in the traditional sense.

In Yoga, there is yoga meant for the mind and yoga meant for the body. Sitting on a mat might not directly cause weight loss, but yoga and meditation relaxes and relieves stress, tempering the mind in becoming more aware and mindful of your body and its actions. Knowing techniques to managing stress relief, having proper methods of stress relief (aka attending some of our great yoga and meditation classes at the Y) are great ways to keep the pounds off. Being in control of your mental state of mind helps us become mindful eaters, preventing us from binging on our next meal because we seek comfort through food or drink. But of course, in addition to being wizards of our own minds, doing more challenging exercises and yoga poses during your workouts will certainly attribute to an increased energy expenditure and help lead to weight loss. Don’t completely ignore the benefits of meditation and mind power though, because it will help your ability to focus and hone in on things that really matter in life.

 

3. Yoga is a great stress reliever!

Piggy backing off the last reason, yoga is a great way to clear your mind and focus on the present. Forget all your deadlines, your bills, your responsibilities to everyone else and all you have left is you and your heartbeat and breath. By spending a dedicated amount of time to simply meditate, or move your body in specific poses and keeping your mind focused on how to achieve those poses, you are exercising your brain strength to be attentive to only yourself.

Whether it be 10 minutes, 30 minutes or an hour of this kind of focus, you are essentially cleansing your mind and starting anew, and giving yourself opportunities to look at your life and its problems with a new lens after each session. Plus, it helps you sleep better because your mind won’t be wandering to all corners of the world and keep you up at night. When we’re well rested, we can function better during the day. Studies show that through yoga and meditation, this renewed focus makes individuals more successful in their careers and happy in their daily lives.  Do more yoga, meditate more, and maybe you’ll get a promotion or raise. 

 

 

4. Yoga is good for your heart!

And who couldn’t use some more love and improvements to heart health?

According to Harvard Health Publishing from Harvard Medical School, some studies have suggested that yoga helps to “lower blood pressure in people who have hypertension.” and “improved lipid profiles in healthy patients as well as patients with known coronary artery disease. It also lowered excessive blood sugar levels in people with non-insulin dependent diabetes and reduced their need for medications.” In the United States, according to the CDC, 1 person has a heart attack every 40 seconds. Taking an extra yoga class or two will definitely help in making sure your heart is strong and healthy!

 

5. You’ll make NEW friends OR SEE YOUR OLD ONES!

Because great minds think alike right?!

 

With yoga being such a popular practice and more than 35 million Americans engaging in yoga in the United States, it’s a great way to meet others and enhance your social life (with social distancing in mind of course). Whether you are new to yoga or a veteran, yoga is a healthy way to discover new friendships, teachers and communities. You can learn from others, suffer through poses together, or be proud of each other’s triumphs, or relish in each others company and/or solitude in mindful meditation. The world of yogis awaits!

 

BOOK YOUR SPOT

Since space is limited, reservations are required. Please register via the SAY Mobile App or via our Online Schedules.

CLASS SCHEDULES 

 

PARTICIPATION POLICIES

To learn more about class details, reservation rules, check-in procedures and participation policies, review our Yoga Class Guidelines.

PARTICIPATION POLICIES

 

QUESTIONS?

If you have additional questions about yoga classes or policies, please contact Lisa McQuilkin at the Berkeley Heights YMCA. We look forward to seeing you in person!

 

 

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SUMMIT AREA YMCA

BERKELEY HEIGHTS YMCA | SUMMIT YMCA | THE LEARNING CIRCLE YMCA

In 1886, we were founded as the Young Men’s Christian Association, but today, we are The Y; an association that values, and is made stronger by, its diverse people. We stand for youth development, healthy living and social responsibility — For a better us. We are committed to creating equal opportunity for all regardless of gender, age, disability, income, ethnicity, sexual orientation or religious affiliation. We strive to create a welcoming and inclusive culture in which our four core values — responsibility, honesty, caring and respect — are integral to everyday operations.

Each year, as one of the area’s leading 501(c)3 charitable organizations, the Summit Area YMCA serves more than 15,000 individuals with our free and fee-based programs and services in an area spanning the New Jersey communities of Berkeley Heights, Gillette, Millburn, New Providence, Short Hills, Springfield, Stirling and Summit. Our history is rooted in working side-by-side with our neighbors to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to learn, grow and thrive. Through the generosity of our members, donors, and partners, we are able to offer financial assistance for our programs and services to those in need.