Faces of Long Island celebrates the uniqueness of everyday Long Islanders. In their own words, they tell us about their life experiences, challenges and triumphs. Newsday launched this social media journey into the human experience to shine a light on the diverse people of this wonderful place we call home.

‘Yoga has taught me to just enjoy the ride and not feel like where you are is set in stone.’

Massapequa

“An unlucky injury led me to a lucky thing: finding yoga. I got into yoga 12 years ago. I was playing lacrosse for Adelphi and I hurt myself after one of my practices. My buddy gave me a yoga DVD and I gave it a shot. I stuck with the DVD for a long time, and it became almost a necessity. The repetition of that over months and years led me deeper into it. It got past the physical part and into more mental, emotional and spiritual until it became lifestyle.

“Before opening a yoga studio, I was driving a big truck. I started reading yoga books at truck stops and doing stretches and headstands between stops. I’ve sold insurance, worked in an auto body shop, delivered pizzas. I’ve been unemployed. But everything has led me to here. Yoga has taught me to just enjoy the ride and not feel like where you are is set in stone.

“I had been teaching in 2020 in a park in Massapequa. When it started to become cold out, the group we developed said, ‘Where are we going to go now? Where are we going to practice?’ So I started looking at places. Everything was small, low ceilings, not a lot of light. I became discouraged. I considered being a travel yoga teacher. One of my buddies found this spot on Facebook Marketplace and sent me the link for it. I saw high ceilings, big windows, open floors and multiple rooms. I thought if there was ever a place that could get people to continue their practice and open up, it would be in this big open space.

“I opened in December of 2020. I made it a goal in the beginning of that year that I wanted to open up a studio. I had a vision of creating somewhere that offered yoga around the clock and at all different levels and styles of practice. That wasn’t available in the yoga world with studios on Long Island.

“I’m blown away on how much these yogis are dedicated to showing up for themselves and their practice, and the friendships made between the students along the way, the bonding between everybody before, after and during the class. People come here and let their true colors shine. It doesn’t have to be that way. You can just come and get your practice in and leave, but something else draws people to each other here.”

Interviewed by Tracey Cheek

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Faces of Long Island is produced by Newsday Consumer Marketing. This content does not involve the reporting and editing staff of Newsday’s Editorial Department.