Integral Yoga Institute of Princeton, located on Ridge Road in Monmouth Junction, which celebrated its grand opening on Saturday, January 5, has roots in West Windsor.
The founder, Jayadeva Mandelkorn, has been teaching classes in West Windsor for more than 10 years both through the West Windsor-Plainsboro Community Education and in classes at private dance studios.##M:[more]##
And one of the instructors, Cindy Calotta, is a West Windsor resident who began her integral yoga study seven years ago with Jayadeva through WW-P Community Education.
“I have been taking yoga classes on and off for most of my adult life,” says Calotta. “I decided that I wanted to deepen my practice and asked about teacher training. I chose Integral Yoga because it is the most comprehensive practice I have experienced.”
Calotta is working on a mini yoga retreat on Saturday, January 26, from 2 to 5 p.m. “We will move through a full length class at a slow, relaxed, unhurried pace, and explore the poses in depth,” she says. “Pranayama and meditation go to deeper levels consistent with the whole practice.” Multi-level instruction will be given and beginners are welcome. Light refreshments and a sharing experience will conclude the retreat. The price is $40.
Calotta, whose spiritual name, Sandhya, means twilight, was born in Summit and raised in Clinton. After graduating from Villanova University with a degree in business, she was a financial analyst at Goldman Sachs in New York City.
She and her husband, Jeffrey, who works for IBM, have three children. Paul, a freshman at Emerson College, is studying writing for film. Mia, a sophomore at High School North, is involved in theater. Leigh, a fifth grader at Village School, plays basketball and lacrosse and swims. The family moved to West Windsor from Maplewood about eight years ago.
Calotta, an assistant teacher at Millstone Upper Elementary’s preschool for the disabled for close to four years, is looking forward to teaching yoga for kids in the near future. “I always walk out of an Integral Yoga class feeling peaceful and restored,” she says. “The flow, poses, deep relaxation, and breathing practice are perfectly balanced.” — Lynn Miller
Integral Yoga of Princeton, 613 Ridge Road, Monmouth Junction, 732-274-2410. www.integralyogaprinceton.org.
West Windsor resident Cindy Calotta teaches Level 1 Yoga on Saturday mornings at 9:45 a.m. The 90-minute basic class includes chanting, hatha yoga postures, deep relaxation, pranayama (breathing practices), and meditation. The instruction explains the foundations of a complete hatha yoga practice for both beginners and seasoned practitioners.
The first class is $5 and the drop-in rate is $15.
