Inside a gutted warehouse in the Bridge Street buildings on the Irvington waterfront, Yoga Love welcomed me, alongside yogis and a community of followers, to find our inner strength.
On Thursday, June 4, I basked in the natural light and exposed brick while I waited for the Essential Flow class to begin. Shannon McGee, co-owner of Yoga Love, was instructing, while Nancy Puleo, fellow co-owner of Yoga Love, settled onto the mat next to me.
Both McGee and Puleo came to the practice in their own ways.
McGee grew up a competitive gymnast, accustomed to heat and high-intensity workouts. When her husband gifted her a set of yoga classes while living in Arizona, she was reluctant, but left the studio invigorated by the experience. Eventually settling in New York, she began teaching yoga and developing a following of her own.
Puleo had a different backstory. She was formerly an actor and dancer, and found her first love in Pilates, drawn by how it kept her dancing muscles warm. When asked to attend McGee’s yoga class by a friend, Puleo was apprehensive of the slow movements but always accepted a challenge. Over time, she came to a realization.
“It was changing me as a human being and my life, not just because my body was getting stronger, but because I was understanding more about myself and my relationship to challenge,” Puleo said.
Under the guise of wanting free yoga classes, Puleo enrolled in McGee’s first instructor training course. Quickly, she realized how special McGee’s approach was.
“What she taught me is how to actually teach people to do yoga — to understand the postures better, to practice the philosophy of yoga as you’re breathing and moving, and discovering this meditative process that expands you not just physically but mentally,” Puleo said.
Now certified, Puleo started teaching yoga with McGee at a studio in Tarrytown. That’s when she pitched the idea of starting a practice together.
In 2018, the women subleased several spaces in the River Towns while searching for a spot of their own.
Then the pandemic hit.
Moving to Zoom, both instructors made sure their students could still come together. In 2022, when they finally opened at 1 Bridge Street, they still had to overcome lingering effects of the pandemic.
From the one class I took, it became evident why Yoga Love endured.
The room was heated to about 85 degrees, and at this point, everyone was slick with sweat. My fingertips turned white as I gripped onto the mat and my limbs began to shake. Struggling, I peered up at my classmates who were steadfast in their flows and concentrating on advanced postures. Through collective discipline and Puleo’s breath at my side, I became determined to embrace the challenge. Once class ended, I felt transformed.
“There is a system to how we teach I wasn’t finding anywhere, and we just wanted to show the community that this is a really fun, safe way to practice yoga — and it’s life-changing if you really let the whole philosophy and system into your life,” McGee said.
Just from one 75-minute session, I already felt more resilient.
“Your body is a lot stronger than your mind wants you to think it is, and that is the ultimate thing that we’re doing in that room,” Puleo said.
Along with yoga classes, Yoga Love just started offering reformer Pilates. Given Puleo’s background in the exercise, she hopes that what transpires on the machines transfers onto the yoga mat
“For me, it is the ultimate side by side companion for yoga. In yoga, we are always building strength in the whole body just like Pilates is,” Puleo said.
This summer, they are also gearing up for a retreat in Madeira, Portugal, as well as a free sunset yoga series at the Tarrytown House Estate.
“The fact that we provide a space for people to come in and just be okay to be however they are—whether angry or sad or depressed or going through something or elated and happy—whatever it is, they can bring it all here, and they’re safe to be here,” MeGee said.
When I asked McGee and Puleo about the significance of the name “Yoga Love,” they both shared the same answer.
“It boils down to love, yoga, to me in the end. It is synonymous. It’s about loving yourself, loving your relationship with others, loving your relationship with us. Yoga is love,” Puleo said.
