Yoga is a practice of self care, awareness and nurturance. It keeps me calm, grounded and focused. It preserves my body and extends my life as a dancer. Mostly, it allows me to have a very high quality of life spiritually, mentally, emotionally and physically.  -Claudia Jill Stoltman

Each yoga practice has a unique energy signature. Regardless of the particular school or style of yoga, no two teachers approach the practice in the same way.  Hastings resident and yoga teacher Claudia Jill Stoltman has developed her own method of teaching yoga, based not only on her extensive training at the Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health, but also on years of education and professional work as a ballet dancer. 

Stoltman has been dancing from the time she was 6 years old, and now has a consummate resume as a dancer and choreographer.  Having trained with some of the most reputable teachers in the Balanchine tradition, her solo performance and choreography credits include Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Portland Ballet and Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival. Her education includes a B.A. in Art from Brown University and an M.A. in Dance and Dance Education from Teachers College, Columbia University.  She continues to perform as a dancer and has taught dance at Brown University, the Masters School, Greenwich Academy, the Ballet Class in Rye and Conservatory of Dance in Wilton, Connecticut, where she is still a guest teacher.  She is also the founder and director of the Hudson Valley Center for Dance, Inc.  

Stoltman believes her extensive background in dance has significantly enhanced her yoga practice and shaped her yoga teaching style.  "My deep understanding of the body, coupled with a very refined kinesthetic awareness, which all dancers have, has enhanced my practice and my teaching. Being 'in my body' as a dancer allows me to have a great awareness of the breath and use of the voice in teaching in a way that is sensitive to the needs of my students. I think of it as a kind of musicality, so it is also approaching yoga as a classical art, which it truly is," Stoltman said.

Yoga has been a constant in Stoltman's life since her teenage years.  Through her yoga practice, Stoltman has found a source of spiritual, mental and physical renewal that perfectly complements her life as a dancer.  Recalling her beginnings in yoga, she explained, "I was seeking a calming, gentle practice which continues to this day.  It serves me well.  I find yoga, much like dance, to be a great landscape in which to explore and balance the soul as we integrate body, mind and spirit in a focused, dedicated practice."  

She added: "One builds up a reservoir of calm and inner strength with time and consistency.  It's like drinking from a great well of water, which sustains and replenishes us constantly."

Dance, like yoga, is a physical practice with a strong spiritual component.  The origins of yoga are more clearly spiritual while dance has its foundation in physical artistry.  Dancers are not commonly viewed as spiritual teachers, yet Stoltman perceives the involvement of the spirit in the work of a dancer. 

"I feel as dancers, we uplift and educate, as well as 'entertain,'" Stolman said.  "This requires a great ability to be centered, and also 'quiet' in one's delivery, which has great power, much like yoga and meditation i. I think this is a very special level, but one which is the most moving for people, almost like being a channel for beauty and excellence with a great spirit of generosity."

Yoga emphasizes awareness of the soul and care for the body through graceful physical movement, making it a perfect reflection of Stoltman's core values.  In her yoga classes and through private instruction, she helps her students to grow spiritually while cultivating a gentle and loving approach to the body. 

"By practicing the asanas (poses), we deeply nurture the body. I believe the body truly is a temple for the soul and spirit, so if we treat it well, we will be happy and healthy on all levels. By this, we grow spiritually, being balanced and in tune," Stoltman said.  She believes that yoga's benefits accumulate with continued practice: "As we practice more and experience deeper levels of joy, well being and relaxation, we naturally want to be in that state more, so we continue to grow and radiate well being on many levels," she said.

Stoltman's teaching style has a particular focus on meditation and meditative awareness. "I feel the best style of teaching is to be in touch with myself and respectful of my own body's wisdom. That way, I am teaching from a genuine place of experience, a very loving, spiritual place, which is what I feel the practice of yoga is all about," she said. 

Stoltman's approach is restorative and affirming.  "I hear from my students that my classes are gentle, strengthening and healing, and so many keep coming back and practicing. In my classes, I am fully present.  I truly love to be able to give this gift of self awareness and care of the body, soul and self to my students."

Claudia Jill Stoltman teaches yoga classes at Human Bodyworks in Hastings. In addition, she offers private yoga instruction. For more information about her individual and group instruction in Hastings, please contact Claudia via e-mail at cjill222@optonline.net or by phone at 914-844-1785. 

For more information about Claudia's classical dance instruction and her work as the director of the Hudson Valley Center for Dance, Inc., visit her company web site at www.hudsonvalleycenter.org.