Redemption Rock News

by Jake Lewis
The latest incarnation of Frog Pond Yoga Center is now welcoming students at its new residence in
the First Congregational Church on Mountain Road in Princeton. It had formerly taken up shop in
various other locations in town, as well as online.
With over 50 years of experience in the practice of yoga, including studying under gurus in India,
founder Diane Featherstone and her fellow instructors come from diverse backgrounds, reflecting the
many walks of life seen in their clientele. They are united, however, in their passion for the
innumerable benefits that yoga offers and are excited to bring new students into the fold.
“It’s like the missing piece of the puzzle,” Featherstone says, referring to why she’s been a
practitioner and teacher of yoga for most of her adult life. “It addresses the development of the body,
the mind, the soul.”
For David Beauregard, a Quigong teacher, it goes even further. “It’s one of the best decisions I’ve
ever made,” he readily admits. Being male, he understands the unfair stigma that might accompany
doing yoga, but that it has helped him mentally as well as physically as he has gotten “on the older
side of life.”
The center aims to help its students realize that the asana practice – the physical component – is
merely a vehicle for learning about doing something with a single-minded focus. Among those lofty
goals are living with integrity and spreading compassion, according to teacher Josh Tenpenny, who
passionately speaks of the importance of “being in your body, which we don’t get enough of.”
Featherstone acknowledges that people come to yoga from all age groups, backgrounds, and
different levels of experience. A core tenet of her “perennial philosophy” is to have students “be good
to themselves when they’re on the mat, not to force themselves or try to do something they can’t do or
can no longer do.” She admits that her practice has slowed down with age, but it remains about “being
good to each other, sharing with each other, and accepting that we’re all the same.”
Classes are currently offered Monday through Friday mornings, with an hour-long class each day
with a different instructor. Additionally, the center is once again offering its teacher training program,
beginning October 14th. An intensive course of study, its aim is to explore yoga on a deeper level,
from the history of yoga to personal development.
“That was my goal,” says Emily Zimmatore, referring to the philosophical aspect behind yoga. At
first, she didn’t plan to become a teacher, but now confesses she “wouldn’t have given it up for
anything.”
Featherstone and company are thrilled about using the new space at First Congregational Church
and bringing their love for yoga to an entirely new group of people.
Finding a home at the church is a wonderful collaboration and a nice bridge for existing and new
students to come together. Tenpenny adds, “Meeting in this space will be a more welcoming
atmosphere to folks who are a little more hesitant.” Indeed, current students are ecstatic at such an
opportunity to partake in yoga in person, versus the virtual lessons that Featherstone led over Zoom
during the pandemic.
Program director Anne Goewey sums up the core message of yoga and her center as “Living into
and out from my truest, best, authentic self in each moment.” With joy and privilege such as that, Frog
Pond Yoga will certainly blossom into a cherished place of growth and humanity in the community, to
which Featherstone rightly adds, “And don’t we all need more of that in our world?”
For more information on the center and classes, visit www.FrogPondYoga.org