Exercise Your Mind, Body and Soul at Still Point Yoga

Cathy Landschoot, owner of in the township's Laurel Springs section, says yoga saved her life.

Landschoot had a high-stress job and practicing yoga helped her find peace and health. She first practiced yoga while living in Hawaii as a teenager in the 1970s and then found the practice again in her 30s.

“I wanted to offer something that would help people in those stressful situations in life,” said Landschoot, who has more than 20 years of experience and training in yoga.

She has studied at Kripalu in Massachusetts and with teachers in India.

In its ninth year, Still Point Yoga Center offers classes for every yogi (or yoga newbie). Most classes are all-levels and all classes include meditation as an integral part of the practice.

Unique to Still Point Yoga Center is its Svaroopa yoga classes. Svaroopa yoga is a style of Hatha yoga designed to open the spine and release core tensions in the body. Blankets and blocks are used to help align the body in easy and effective yoga poses.

Still Point has 10 yoga teachers, all of whom have completed a 200-hour (or more) yoga teacher training program and are certified to teach yoga.

Joanne Gentile, who teaches the Saturday morning all-levels class, has been teaching for seven years.

“Yoga is about walking through life with awareness,” said Gentile, whose classes emphasize breath awareness and body alignment.

Still Point Yoga Center first opened in downtown Blackwood in 2002. The studio moved to its new location in May. Landschoot said that the new location has helped expand business and visibility in the community.

“I wanted to bring yoga to this area,” said Landschoot, who said that before Still Point opened in its original Blackwood location, a student had to travel to Haddonfield or Cherry Hill for a yoga class.

The studio has two separate classrooms, plus a massage room.

In addition to the 17 to 19 regular classes each week, Still Point also hosts special events, including a once-monthly charity yoga class available for just a $5 donation. The next class, on July 22 at 7 p.m., will be a Yoga Nidra class to benefit an autism charity. Yoga Nidra, sometimes referred to as “yogic sleep,” is an hour-long guided deep relaxation.

Class themes and charities rotate monthly.

In June, the charity class to benefit St. Christopher’s Children’s Hospital raised $125. The Aug. 19 class will benefit a local food pantry.

“We were pleasantly overwhelmed with the success,” Meg McAteer, who taught the June class, said.

Next Thursday, beginning at 7 p.m., Still Point hosts Dr. Bhagwan Awatramani for his class on silent meditation.

If you go, Still Point Yoga Center offers between 17 and 19 classes each week in various styles of yoga (Hatha, Kripalu, Svaroopa and Prenatal) and meditation. Classes are $15 for a single class and $110 for a ten-class card. 

Still Point is also licensed to offer massage services, Reiki and other healing arts by appointment. Schedule and contact details are available on Still Point’s website.