SunMoon Yoga, Jersey City

Artist Katie Niewodowski says she suffered from nearly debilitating, chronic migraines. That is, until she moved to Montclair, where she discovered holistic healing. This gradually led her into yoga, and as she began to look and feel healthier, she started practicing every day. Perhaps it was this decision that pushed her toward becoming a yoga instructor, leading to her education at the Bikram yoga school and Baron Baptiste's teacher training. She hasn't stopped learning since.

Today, as the owner of SunMoon Yoga, she leads a team of instructors who draw from backgrounds as diverse as acrobatics, poetry, and bending backwards to open doors. All lend their own touch to the studio's all-levels classes, in which they may help students align their chakras or teach them the meanings behind pieces of Sanskrit literature. Whatever their individual approaches, they all lead students sweating through traditional hot yoga, shifting through the fluid poses of vinyasa yoga, or chanting mantras and breathing rhythmically in Jivamukti yoga. Their breath and voices echo across the small studio's wood floors, where during the day, natural light filtering through light blue curtains contributes to the calming atmosphere.