Faith Miller UPPER FREEHOLD — Several equestriennes in Cream Ridge have been trading in their saddles for yoga mats and practicing ways of channeling positive emotions with classes offered at a business in town.
Rick’s Saddle Shop, 282 Route 539, has introduced yoga classes for all levels on Saturday mornings. The classes are open to everyone — not just horseback riders.
The classes are taught by certified yoga instructor Faith Miller of the New Egypt section of Plumsted.
Miller has been teaching yoga since 2013 after receiving her certification in May of that year for completing 200 hours of vinyasa yoga from Evenflow Yoga, Red Bank. Vinyasa yoga is taught at a more advanced level, according to Miller.
Miller has also received certification for level one training in children’s yoga from Little Flower, New York, and she completed several online courses to gain additional knowledge about yoga.
“My interest in yoga started with my mom when I was 15. She gave me a yoga book, and I was immediately drawn to learning the different positions and breathing techniques. … I would just flip through the book, find a pose, set the book down, and just try it,” Miller said.
With yoga coming in and out of her life for several years, Miller really concentrated on her passion when she started taking classes with yoga instructor Donna Mezzina in Freehold.
“I started taking more classes with Donna and did whatever I could get my hands on that was yoga-related. I really fell in love with it again through her classes and after I got certified I began teaching on my own and doing classes like the one at Rick’s Saddle Shop,” Miller said.
While Rick’s Saddle Shop might initially sound like an unusual place to practice meditation and yoga, it is actually quite beneficial to area residents, especially those who have an interest in horseback riding, according to Miller.
“I think the classes I teach definitely benefit riders and it gives them the sense of body awareness. A horse knows when its rider is tense, so yoga allows the riders to relax. It also helps to strengthen legs and the core and it teaches them to have good posture while riding,” Miller said.
Miller said her classes are open to anyone interested in yoga and are for students of all levels.
“I start out each of my classes depending on the level of the people who attend. I usually give them a mantra and something to repeat at the beginning and end of the class that makes them feel positive. We do a lot of abdominal work and we also accommodate any special needs someone taking the class might have,” she said.
In addition to her classes at Rick’s Saddle Shop, Miller teaches gentle (beginner level) and vinyasa yoga classes at Yoga Solace Club in Freehold (inside Club Metro USA), at Wholetrition Wellness Center in Matawan, and at Dance Moves Mobile Dance Academy in New Egypt.
Miller said yoga is a great way to rid the body of negative emotions and to react more calmly to situations, which is something she tells her students.
“I think the most common feedback I get from the people who attend my classes is that they are now more relaxed and they know how to breathe when they are angry,” she said.
With the classes she teaches at Rick’s Saddle Shop and beyond, Miller said she hopes yoga is as beneficial to them as it is to her.
“The class is not only good for horse riders, it is good for everybody and it shows them how to walk positively in life. I hope it becomes very popular and I enjoy bringing the aspect of nature and the surroundings of the community like horse riding with people who live here and care about it,” Miller said.
The classes at Rick’s Saddle Shop are held from 9-10:15 a.m. Saturdays. The registration fee is $100 for 10 classes and dropin classes are $15.
For more information about the yoga classes offered at Rick’s Saddle Shop, visit www.saddlesource.com.
To learn more about Miller, visit the website www.yogawithfaith.com.