On & Off The Mat: Poses and Postures Are Her 'Saving Space'

"Live Your Life On & Off The Mat"

Lisa Horan-Sockol, Sacred Simplicity Yoga Learning Center

Think Space, Not Studio

Holmdel and Tinton Falls, New Jersey (Monmouth County) Yoga is a lifelong journey of love for Lisa Horan-Sockol, owner of Sacred Simplicity Yoga Learning Center, who credits the ancient philosophy and practice as a "provider of peace." The energetic Holmdel resident is busy planning yet another learning space for her students. She promises that the new space, opening sometime in February at an undisclosed location, will be something special. Horan-Sockol is very excited. "My dream has always been to share my passion of this beautiful and ancient philosophy as it was originally designed for, to bring more joy and less suffering into our lives," she added.

Describing her teaching philosophy and locations as spaces, not studios, Horan-Sockol moves far beyond the traditional yoga location in what she offers to students. “My purpose is to create a space, a special and sacred space, where all types of people can find peace and solace,” she stated. Horan-Sockol, who has an educational background in counseling and psychology, explained that all classes are taught therapeutically to help people heal mentally, emotionally and spiritually. “My teaching looks at the whole person. This creates a caring and close bond with shared purpose,” she said, nothing that she provides her personal contact information to students and encourages them to share life issues with her.

‘The Simple Is Sacred’ Philosophy

Horan-Sockol is an advocate of keeping both physical and emotional ‘clutter’ to a minimum. “Looking at our lives, it seems there is always more to do, more to get, more to complete in a day, an hour, a minute. We not only clutter our spaces, but our minds. Simplify, and find the sacred,” she emphasized. The new location will also have a meaningful name with a deeper message, a mantra for life.

Beyond The Yoga Postures & Poses

Many people are not aware that yoga is more than just a series of physical postures and a way to meditate. “Yoga is actually a philosophy written thousands of years ago to help release suffering in the lives of all human beings. Thus, the goal of yoga is to claim inner peace no matter what binds you externally,” Horan-Sockol noted. The motto of Sacred Simplicity Yoga Learning Center, in keeping with the original roots of yoga, is “Live Your Life On And Off The Mat.” Horan-Sockol explained that students can expect more than just learning how to do the postures in the new space and will be guided in a journey into eight different components of yoga, with the goal of feeling inner peace.

The next opportunity to experience a Sacred Simplicity class is on Saturday, January 12 at 4 p.m. The details are below:

Gentle Flow into Yoga Nidra, Saturday, 1/12 @ 4 pm.
Only at Sacred Simplicity Yoga Learning Center
Drop in for $18.
Www.sacredsimplicityyogalearni...

The complete schedule of classes for Sacred Simplicity Yoga Learning Center is listed on the website, www.sacredsimplicityyogalearningcenter.com. Lisa Horan-Sockol can be reached by phone at (732) 682-8341, or by email at ehoransockol@comcast.net. Sacred Simplicity Yoga Learning Center is located at Monmouth Therapy Associates, 1 Executive Drive, Tinton Falls, New Jersey.

Small Classes, Individual Attention

Similar to Sacred Simplicity Yoga Learning Center, Horan-Sockol's new space will offer a unique mix of classes including Beginner Yoga, Yoga For Anxiety & Stress Management (six-week series), Yoga For Special Needs Children, Chair Yoga, Therapeutic Stretch, Children’s Yoga (aged 5 to 8), Community Healing Hatha Flow, Sunday Stretch & Flow, and Deep Relaxation With Guided Imagery. Deep relaxation will be offered on a private basis as a 30-minute session. There will be morning and afternoon sessions and classes to serve as many students as possible.

Yoga For What Ails You & Mind-Body Connection

Yoga can help with issues that plague modern society like chronic stress, anxiety, fear, panic attacks, depression, and trauma, noted Horan-Sockol. “Our minds and body are intimately connected,” she said, “and what we hold in our minds is manifested in our bodies. Anxiety, fears and chronic stress can present themselves as chronic pain like backaches and other things.”

Breathe – Practicing Mindfulness

As part of the teaching philosophy and learning process, Horan-Sockol teaches breathing techniques to enhance feelings of relaxation and serenity and to promote greater awareness of the way the body reacts. “Yoga is a great way to put everything in perspective, to promote awareness and mindfulness. Sometimes it is as simple as taking a few deep breaths, and as a result, opening both the mind and the body,” said Horan-Sockol. “Just breathe,” she added.

About Lisa Horan-Sockol – A Helping Heart & Healing Journey

In 2013, Horan-Sockol received her 200-hour yoga teaching certificate through Yoga Works with Laurel Beversdorf and Laurel Yoga in New York City. She is certified in Restorative Yoga; Mindful Yoga for Anxiety; Yoga for Special Needs (children & adults); Yoga Therapeutics Level 1 with Jillian Pransky; and Restorative Yoga Using Minimal Props & Cueing Students Into Stillness. With her students’ health and advancement in mind, Horan-Sockol has continued her education on a high level with several teachers including Jason Ray Brown at Zinyasa Yoga & Wellness Studio in New York City, focusing on musculoskeletal anatomy and the prevention of injury; Jeff Migdow, M.D., at the Princeton Center for Yoga & Health, concentrating on releasing tension and anxiety and accessing deep relaxation through Prada Yoga; and the Kripalu Center For Yoga & Health in Lennox, Massachusetts. Frustration with finding a place to practice yoga after her return to New Jersey from Massachusetts led Lisa Horan-Sockol to start Sacred Simplicity Yoga Learning Center. At age 52 after finding the peace she needed in her life from practicing yoga and meditation at home, Horan-Sockol decided to make a major investment to get certified as a yoga teacher. This has allowed her to combine her counseling background with her love of yoga to help others. “I decided to get trained as a teacher and to realize my goal of helping others through a concentration on the healing aspects of yoga,” she said. Horan-Sockol earned a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Rosemont College and a M.Ed. in Counseling from Kean State College in New Hampshire. She is also certified in K-12 guidance counseling.

Contact Information

More information on the grand opening of the new location is available by calling Lisa Horan-Sockol at (732) 682-8341 or by emailing her at ehoransockol@comcast.net. The website address is www.sacredsimplicityyogalearni...