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KINGSTON TWP. — Yoga instructor Maria Genetti realized that Sunday afternoons often mean an increase in the stress level of those returning to work after the weekend, and she was hoping she could help.
Her love for the outdoors and her commitment to the mission of The Lands at Hillside Farms led her to begin a Tridoshic yoga class against the bucolic backdrop of the farm.
Genetti said she enjoys being in the midst of a positive setting that supports the spiritual and emotional needs of those in the community.
Sunday’s yoga classes, she said, are not a time for competition or judgment, but to learn to relax in stressful situation, focus better and ultimately live in a peaceful state.
“Done properly, participants move from pose to pose with their eyes closed in a meditative state,” she said. “It’s not about what you look like on the outside.”
Class participant Robyn Berg, visiting from New York, classified herself as a beginner when it came to yoga, but said she got a lot of benefit from the poses.
“I’m an artist, and as an artist, we all get ‘stuck’ in a certain position,” she said. “When I hold a pose for a while, I could work it out.”
Berg took a minute to simply lie on the ground, face down, on her hands.
“That’s actually a position in this type of yoga called the crocodile,” Genetti said. “It’s not difficult, but it is effective.”
Genetti said the Tridoshic form of yoga, with its origins in India, has changed her life.
“It works to reduce anxiety and to help people conquer their fears,” she said.
Genetti is donating half of the $15 fee participants pay for taking the class to Green Guides program run by Hillside Farms.
“This is a great effort,” she said. “I want to contribute.”
Suzanne Kapral Kelley, director of development and marketing at Hillside Farms, said the project perfectly dovetails with the organization’s goal of educating visitors.
Often she said, when someone has a good idea, it takes off.
“We had a mother call about her child with autism who was mostly non-verbal,” she said. “I scheduled a time for a tour and it went well. Soon, mothers were calling and asking to bring their special needs children up to the farm. Now, our Green Guides Program-based education for autistic and other at-risk youth provides a structured, supported environment that features nature-based programs and activities.”
The farm also operates a bereavement camp for children experiencing loss during the summer.
Animals at the farm, she said, are co-educators and co-therapists in the process.
Kelley said she is grateful for Genetti’s idea for the classes and donating proceeds to the program.
She said when colder weather gets here, the class will be held indoors within the cow pasture, on beautiful bamboo floors.