In the spirit of Valentine’s Day, O Yoga Studio hosted a special holiday couples yoga event on Feb. 7 and will continue to host events throughout the week.   

Cynthia Powers-Broccoli, a registered yoga teacher, said that the goal of the couples yoga class was to highlight appreciation for the divine feminine, one’s expression of femininity and its nurturing energy.  

Despite yoga being her full-time profession now, it was initially her way to destress from the mental exhaustion of working in major metropolises. 

After graduating from Boston College in the 1990s, Powers-Broccoli relocated to New York City, where she was hired in a bank. During this period in her life, she observed that other women had difficulty balancing the stresses of work life and the home life.  

“They were pulled in a million different directions, you know, they wanted to be at home with their kids, but they also had great careers and they wanted to be hardworking there,” Powers-Broccoli said. “And what was left for their partners was exhaustion, instead of the female warm, nurturing, loving essence.”  

But 15 years ago. when her son was only a year old, Powers-Broccoli said she decided that she wanted to become a yoga instructor and has “never felt freer in (her) life.”   

The couples yoga classes help attendees appreciate the harmony between the divine masculine and feminine. 

SU graduate student Allie Berger said that couples yoga is more of a tantric approach to yoga, meaning that it functions on the principle of universal masculinity and femininity. Together, Berger said, they “create the world essentially.” 

However, Powers-Broccoli stressed that the couples yoga is open to any two people that simply want to destress. She added that anyone, regardless of sexual orientation, is invited to the classes. 

“I love teaching any yoga class that brings (couples) to a place of stillness and allows their essence to shine,” Powers-Broccoli said.  

And it was evident that Powers-Broccoli’s instruction brought the couples closer together.  

One of the students, Kt DeOrdio, said that she gets to see her husband with a new perspective in the classes.  

“I get to see Brian in a different way. I’m just focused on him, there’s no distraction,” she said. 

Her husband Bryan DeOrdio said that with three kids under the age of five, they use these couples classes as time to focus on each other. 

Another couple felt that the class helped bring them closer together. 

“I liked how (Powers-Broccoli) was able to help us connect better, because he’s usually shy and I’m shy too,” Celina Wagner said about her experience with her boyfriend Anthony Benhart. “But I feel like we end up having a deeper connection.”  

The class even encouraged the novice yoga practitioners among all the students to incorporate yoga practices into their daily routines. Benhart said that he has gained insight from the classes. 

“Honestly, I think I might start doing a little more meditating just before going to sleep to help me calm down” Benhart said. 

O Yoga Studio has another partner yoga workshop on Friday, Feb. 14 at 6 p.m., which is available for not just partners but also individuals who are open to making new friends at the class.  

In addition to teaching classes at various yoga studios in Syracuse, Powers-Broccoli holds classes in the Barnes Center at The Arch on Mondays at 1 p.m.  

“You’re moving, you’re becoming aware of your breath in movement,” Powers-Broccoli said. “It really brings you into yourself in a way that calms the nervous system and allows you to feel free.” 

Published on February 12, 2020 at 11:38 pm

Contact Jade: jchung19@syr.edu