What's New
New Classes
at Yoga Agora
www.qns.com I LIC COURIER I SEPTEMBER 2018 13
BY JENNA BAGCAL
Yoga Agora in Astoria now offers weekly
classes taught in Spanish and another for par-ents
and their babies.
The two new class options are available at
their studios (33-02 Broadway, second floor)
according to Yoga Agora founder and instruc-tor
Nick Velkov. The child-friendly class runs
on Saturdays from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. and the
Spanish language class take place on Sundays
from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m.
Velkov founded the Astoria studio in 2010
after having practiced yoga since the summer of
2005. He said that his original intentions for starting
yoga were the physical benefits, but his focus shifted
toward yoga as a meditative exercise as he continued
to learn more.
Since he opened Yoga Agora in 2010, Velkov said
that he wanted his practice to be as "community-minded
as possible." Over the years, he had gotten
calls from residents — on behalf of themselves or
their parents — asking if the studio offered classes
in Spanish. After realizing the demand, he decided
that his studio should offer the option in order to "get
more people to the mat" and be as accessible to the
community as possible.
Velkov enlisted the help of yoga instructor Juan
Gomez, who hails from Colombia and has been part
of Yoga Agora since the beginning. Gomez teaches
the Spanish language vinyasa classes every Sunday
for $8 a session. Classes are "open level" meaning
that they will be open to all regardless of experience.
Another demand that Velkov noticed was for classes
geared toward working parents. He heard complaints
about how difficult it was for parents to get to yoga
classes after work and how classes held on
the weekends cut into time spent with their
families. The solution? Yoga classes that are
open to children.
The kid-friendly classes are taught by Yoga
Agora instructor and mom Anna Ahlin on Sat-urdays
and cost $20 per "family unit." Velkov
described the class as an environment that
"welcomes children to be children." Babies
and toddlers are invited to practice alongside
their parents but are also welcome to nap, play,
color or even cry.
"Parents don't need to be self-conscious
about bringing their children," Velkov said.
Velkov said that the studio does not offer member-ships
or class packages and most people drop in for
classes when the mood strikes them. Classes are
offered for as low as $8 and some accept donations
based on what individuals can contribute.
For more information and a full schedule of classes
offered as Yoga Agora, visit yogaagora.com. To con-tact
the studio directly, call 718-626-0680 or email
yogaagora@gmail.com. Those interested can also
learn more on Facebook @yogaagora.
Photo of interior courtesy of Rikki Gunton
/www.qns.com
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