A Renewed Spirit at the Yoga Loft

Since it opened two years ago, The Yoga Loft at Bedford Post has received some unfavorable press, including rumors of disgruntled yoga teachers and last-minute class cancellations. Not one to believe the hype, I set out to take a yoga class there.

I walked away feeling renewed as if I'd had a full day at a spa.

A big part of the yoga experience involves the space where you practice. The Yoga Loft has created a beautiful, serene studio highlighted by a vaulted ceiling, old barn wood beams, honey-colored wood floors and wall-to-wall windows (which does make inversions at the wall a little challenging, but the natural light filling the room makes up for it).

Windows lined with flower boxes filled with hydrangeas, and two large sliding doors at the front of the room opened to reveal a verdant garden outside.

As I lay on my back, stretching out my hamstrings, I looked up to see three dragonflies buzzing overhead. In Eastern philosphy, dragonflies represent renewal, positive force and the power of life, appropriate symbolism for this space.

"It's hard to create a community after we've been burned by some negative reviews, but I believe in this studio," said Rebekah Jacobs, the studio's new manager, in an interview after my class. "This is a truly sacred space."

The studio offers an array of the yoga classes, including Vinyasa, Hatha, Anusara, Iyengar and Kundalini. The class I took was a workshop focused on opening up your hips and lower back. The teacher, Rita Trieger, is a seasoned yogi and author, whose specializes in yoga for healing. Trieger teaches a weekly class at the Yoga Loft and is the stress-management facilitator at Stamford Hospital's Center for Integrated Medicine. 

The breadth and depth of her experience added to her method, making the class enjoyable, instructional and rejuvenating, as a yoga class should be. I always felt I was in good hands in the class.

"We really want to pass along a message about the power of yoga to heal" says Jacobs. "We plan to offer more workshops, in addition to hosting guest speakers and book readings."

Bedford residents Richard Gere and his wife, Carey Lowell, own the Yoga Loft, along with The Inn at Bedford Post and the two restaurants on the property. While Jacobs says the yoga studio was Lowell's idea, Gere is a devoted Buddhist and the Yoga Loft offers weekly sessions in Buddhist meditation and enrichment classes.

Resting on my mat at the end of class, I could feel a light breeze on my skin. I was listening to the peaceful music playing softly in the studio and I could smell the summer rain that just begun. I rolled up my mat, returned my blocks to the beautiful built-in bookshelves in an adjacent room and helped myself to a glass of water with lemon courtesy of Jacobs.

For more information on classes and schedules, visit the Loft's website.