About
Namaste & welcome to our site! Located in the center of Nutley, NJ, near many food, learning centers, as well as other wellness centers, Good Vibes is a community of yoga & wellness aimed to bring people together and leaving feeling good both in body, mind, & soul.
We are truly a judgement free & non competitive environment, welcoming all to the practice of Yoga. Yoga is definitely an individuals own practice but we find that the practice blossoms much more when together with others who choose to honor their bodies in the same way. Whether beginner, intermediate, or experienced it makes no difference to us, we love all who honor us by coming to practice and there is something to learn from everyone!
The Studio Space
Yes, you can practice yoga anywhere really – those with continuous practice can find there space anywhere, and today, even those with no experience have access to many avenues to learn about the practice outside of the studio. Nevertheless there is a special element about learning and practicing with others and creating “union” via community as is done in a studio. This is often referred to as “Satsang” in the east. We wanted to create an environment where such a community as well as individual “union” can blossom most comfortably.
We feel Good Vibes will provide the elements needed for such an environment of people coming together, take a break from egos and personal aesthetics, honoring & working on themselves, and have a great time doing it. Good Vibes space was designed with our practitioners comfort and convenience in mind, where one can truly get a balance of community as well as space where needed. We also kept nature & spiritual elements in mind in setting the mood or theme of each part of the studio. Our entrance/Kombucha bar area is open, illuminated, and has a pure vibrant setting where practitioners can have great conversation & replenish their bodies. Maybe here beginning to forget the stresses and anxieties we often carry with us from the outside. Once entering our practice area, “the zenden”, the mood becomes calm, quiet, and cool. Here is where the mind begins to silence and practitioners’ can begin to prepare before a practice or reestablish awareness after a practice. Amenities to clean, change, and refresh are present in this area, including private showers/change rooms, storage, and bathrooms.
Then there’s our yoga room, or as we call it the “Satsang” room, where the vibe can always vary but where the colors vibrant to symbolize the light and “fire” that we recognize in each other when we say “Namaste”. We use Infrared heat for our hot classes. Mat cleaners, cork blocks (which we find to be sturdiest) and straps are available for practitioners to use in any practice. Meditation cushions, Blankets, & bolsters are provided in restorative, non-heated practices.
Studio Etiquette
ARRIVE BEFORE THE START TIME. You may not be able to participate in class once it has begun.
No cell phones or electronics in our yoga room during the class times. Only teachers can bring their phones to manage music and keep time. Cell phones are not part of the practices offered, and it is not appreciated when they go off in class.
DO NOT PARK IN SPACES RESERVED FOR THE BUSINESS OR PERMIT PARKING SPACES. YOU WILL GET TICKETED. USE MUNICIPAL LOTS OR STREET PARKING WHERE AVAILABLE.
Kindly check in at the front desk before entering our yoga room.
Class space is limited. Cancel at least 90 min in advance if you can’t make it. In certain circumstances a fee or class deduction may apply for late cancellations, no shows, or late arrivals.
Reserving classes ahead is not required but recommended. There is a max capacity in classes, and if there are no sign-ups by a certain time, classes may be canceled.
No shoes or sandals on the yoga floor. Remove them before entering the “Satsang room” or “yoga room” where we practice. There is storage for belongings available in our facility.
Please leave our used wet towels from hot classes in the wicker baskets outside the yoga room after hot classes.
Cushions and blankets are reserved for restorative classes only. Yoga blocks and straps are available for all classes.
Respect general quiet in our yoga room at all times. Kindly speak softly when others are in the room before or after the classes.
If you do not wish to stay for Savasana (final resting pose) toward the end of classes, kindly and quietly exit before with respect to others.
Please return blocks, straps, cleaners, and cosmetic amenities to where you found them. Used rented yoga mats can be left in the appropriate bin.
Dispose of garbage and recyclable materials in the appropriately labeled bins around the studio.
Kindly practice self-restraint in and around the studio. Blatant abuse, harassment, fighting, disruptive behavior, or damage to the studio space is not tolerated. Violators will be terminated without refund and you will not be able to participate in the studio any further.
Mats are available for Rent for $3. We also sell quality yoga mats.
Enjoy your time here! We’re happy you practice here!
Teachers
Michael Giaimo
(E-RYT 500 & YACEP)
Cristin Shea
(E-RYT 200 & YIN)
Jess Aluotto
(E-RYT 200)
Dyana Bollander
(E-RYT 200)
Melissa Vadasserril
(RYT 200)
Genna Cimo
(E-RYT 200 & RCYT)
Renee Roman
(RYT 200)
Gabriela Guevara
(RYT 200)
Elise Warshavsky
(RYT 200)
Ewa Palczewska
(RYT 200)
Mihee Suh
(RYT 200)
Apusha Paghdal
(RYT 200)
Lauren Torres
(RYT 200)
Yoga Alliance Designation Guide
R.Y.T = Registered Yoga Teacher
E-R.Y.T = Experienced Yoga Teacher
R.C.Y.T = Registered Children’s Yoga Teacher
Y.A.C.E.P =Yoga Alliance Continuing Education Provider
R.P.Y.T = Registered Parental Yoga Teacher
Lissette Shakira
(RYT 200)
What is Kombucha?
Kombucha is fermented probiotic tea which contains live culture that is said to be beneficial for your digestive system as well as good as a defense for bad bacterias that can cause infection or illness. It has vitamin B to give energy, and also benefits your gut. It’s often flavored with fruit, spice, or herbs to give it all unique flavors and is often effervescent. Yeah, it has many benefits, but we love the way it tastes, too, and it often tastes even better right after a yoga class, enjoying it with friends. We choose the most simply produced and what we feel are the best tasting Kombuchas, and serve them in bottles and on tap for practitioners to enjoy before or after practices. Our bar also offers a variety of virgin kombucha based cocktails (or Mocktails), light healthy snacks, and other beverages to replenish and enjoy on one’s own or with fellow practitioners in conversation over before or after a class.
We do serve the general public from our kombucha bar, however our hours usually follow the times of our Yoga class schedule. For Growler refills from tap, please email info@goodvibesyogabar.com ahead of time to make pick up arrangements.
Kombucha Bar
What is Yoga?
Yoga’s literal meaning is “to yoke” or “Union,” but throughout history has been a set of heterogeneous practices, methods, and philosophical viewpoints all aiming toward “Moksha Shastra” or liberating one from suffering. It can also be defined on the internet as “the science of freedom,” and by cultivating our self-awareness we can work toward higher awareness that can provide separation from suffering and “union” to “Ananda” or bliss. It has its origins in the East, following the ancient texts of the Vedas and Upanishads of India, which laid the foundation for Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. Though not much expansion on yoga as a practice comes from the poetic texts of the Vedas & Upanishads, in the post Upanishad period known as the “Vedanta,” some of the first detailed explanations of yoga emerge, such as the epic text the Bhagavad Gita, which introduces three forms of yoga including Jnana Yoga (the yoga of wisdom), Bhakti Yoga (the yoga of devotion), and Karma Yoga (the yoga of action). This teaching is considered today the more active yoga path; whereas another canonical text that emerged from the Vedanta, the Yoga Sutra attributed to Patanjali, which may be considered as inactive yoga, introduced a more systematized, scholastic, and technical teaching which prepares and eventually leads practitioner into meditation toward a most pure state of contemplation, or “samadhi,” through a system of 8 limbs, or stages of what is essentially a renunciative practice. Most today don’t use Patanjali in its original direct form but mainly work within the first 4 of the 8 limbs, which work with control of ourselves in relation to the outer world, work on finding awareness of our inner world, or even spiritual connection; in the 3rd limb, “Asana” or seat, and in the 4th limb “pranayama,” Patanjali validates that work to make us comfortable and aware in a still seat or posture, and to work with our body energy as essential in the broader process.
Over time, the emergence of Hatha yoga (developed during medieval India) combined popular ideas of alchemy and tantric methods (dealing with subtle energy in the body, or “raising “Kundalini Shakti”), and it’s from these practices that the array of body locks, breathing exercises, and postures we see more commonly in modern postural yoga come from. Hatha yoga has evolved quite a bit from where it started. Today in the west we seem to have created systems which take from Patanjali (Raja Yoga), Hatha Yoga, and some of the many other forms that have been taught over time. Asana, or postural Yoga, is the most popular type we see in the west, with heavy influence from the systems developed by Tirumalai Krishnamacharya, his students B.K.S Iyengar and K. Pattabhi Jois, as well as some others. Sports medicine, western science, and exercise methodologies all play a role in shaping the forms of Vinyasa Yoga that we offer at our studio today.
No particular yoga is better than another, and if the physical side of it is all one wants to explore, that’s totally fine. The postural forms of yoga can be quite good for us to do. Whatever type of yoga works for you and however it may serve you is totally fine, as long as it does serve you and doesn’t harm others. Although the Yoga offered at this studio primarily deals with the postural side, the elements of Jnana, Bhakti, Karma, and the Raja yoga teachings are not ignored.
What is Vinyasa Yoga?
Vinyasa yoga is a more modern evolution of the physical techniques of Hatha yoga. It is also referred to or is similar to “Ashtanga Vinyasa”, “Power Yoga”, and even “Flow Yoga”. It involves sequences of poses which link together in harmony with one’s balanced cadence of breath. Each sequence typically works the right side and left side of body and is linked together with a “Vinyasa” or “flow”, which incorporates certain transitions learned in the Sun Salutations, Surya Namaskar A & B. A typical Vinyasa session can be in a hot or non-hot setting and includes seated poses, standing poses, balancing poses, inversions, backbends, supine movements, core movements, and of course Savasana (the corpse pose), which is often said to be the most important part of the practice, where after the physical work of action and force we provide equanimity through quiet, release of force, and acceptance. Vinyasa today can be more fluid than other types of postural yoga as some teachers are more mobile vs. static in the postural sequencing, and some may teach in a more traditional way vs. incorporating modern elements. This is really subjective to the teacher who is guiding the practice and the environment the practice is offered in. Nevertheless, the common denominators of what makes it Vinyasa are those which are mentioned above.
Benefits of Yoga
Some of the said benefits of Yoga and Hot Yoga consist of:
Hot yoga may burn an average of 500 calories per 75 minute class.
Sweating can serve to detox one’s body.
Yoga can support cardiovascular function and blood oxygenation.
Vinyasa Yoga is a unique way to work isometric strength as well as eccentric and concentric strength.
Yoga practice helps us support joints and promote the most optimal muscle profile.
Heat may allow more elasticity in the muscles in the body to assist us in moving through and holding the postures as well as avoid injury.
Yoga, in general, is said to improve focus and awareness as well as strength, flexibility, balance, cell function, endurance, cardiovascular function, and breathing, and it can relax both mind and body at the same time.
Disciplines such as yoga may improve awareness of one’s inside and outside environments, in turn, allowing us to act in ways that promote living in balance and more equanimous states.
Postural yoga (Asana) may often be said to be the pre-requisite to prepare the body for dynamic breathing exercises as performed in Pranayama. Both Pranayama and Asana can be said to be pre-requisites to prepare our bodies to go deeper into states of meditation.
Note: If you have any pre-existing medical conditions, you should always consult with a licensed physician before practicing in physical disciplines like yoga.
Our Philosophy
Yes, Yoga is becoming quite trendy, and as many become more open to the physical practices of yoga in the west, more and more studios are coming on to the scene. In some places it almost seems to be on every corner. It’s for sure a great time for those who enjoy the practice, but our particular motive in starting Good Vibes Yoga & Kombucha bar was not a product of popularity, trends, or money; we really believe in yoga! It was a realization of the community and benefits such a practice could provide for an individual, and the idea of how rewarding giving those same benefits to others would feel. Instructor Mike Giaimo, for example, whose life experience brought him to a place where he had difficult times realizing his capabilities, seeing the glass half full, started to lose purpose in his career in business, and even much of his faith. Through yoga and mindful exploration, he began to change his physical and mental perspective, in a way that he says, “allowed him to really communicate with himself, strengthen faith, accept and work through life’s natural polarities and challenges, and choose slightly more wisely”. Yoga is an avenue that he and many have decided to take to work on themselves on many levels. It is not the purpose of yoga to forcefully change anyone, but if you’re looking to explore yourself, physically, mentally, emotionally, and even spiritually, yoga has the possibility to serve you well. We aim to provide a safe, mindful, clean, empowering, and functional community where you can take care of yourself in this way.
Infrared Heating
We use indoor infrared heaters in our studio, which unlike forced air or heat fans, provide a natural even feeling heat that is most comfortable to practice in. It heats objects, like your body—not the air—and doesn’t blow particles and dust around like other heating mechanisms can. They do not emit UV rays like the sun, but they do provide the same comfortable, sun-like warmth. Therefore, a session under our infrared panels will provide a comfortable practice contributing toward the maximum level of performance while leaving you feeling cleansed and refreshed. It is also said that infrared heat plays an additional role in detoxification, relieving pain, oxygenating organs, and possibly lowering blood pressure. They allow us to keep more consistent control of our room temperature as well as are a more efficient way of heating our space, hence better for the environment as well.