Not only does Pascack Valley Band Director Craig Yaremko use yoga in his classes, but he is also an experienced yoga teacher outside the classroom.
Yaremko, former Holdrum Middle School music teacher, started doing yoga when he became a father in 2014. He realized he needed to prepare himself for the responsibility, however, he didn’t start in a conventional way.
“I started doing yoga with the Wii, [because] the Wii Fit had yoga poses. I started doing it in the morning before I came to teach at school, and I just felt better,” Yaremko said. “It’s not really [just] yoga, but it was sort of like a gateway for me.”
Though he didn’t start the way most yoga instructors started, he became registered with his RYT-500 in 2022, which means he has completed a combined 500 hours of yoga instructor training.
Before the pandemic, Yaremko started substituting yoga classes at a yoga studio in Montclair called Yoga Mechanics. However, when the pandemic hit, he had to start teaching online and was involved in a virtual yoga club at Holdrum. In 2021, he started teaching regularly at another yoga studio, Shree Yoga Saddle River.
He believes yoga is important both physically and mentally. As a musician, Yaremko can also connect yoga back to music.
“A famous study found that your lung capacity is the greatest indicator of lifespan,” Yaremo said. “So as someone who plays and teaches instruments, I can always connect it back to your breath.”
At Holdrum, Yaremko used yoga as a way to clear students’ minds and to create a stronger breath.
“Sometimes I would do mini-lessons where I would do things like meditation where you’re looking at your mind or trying to stop obsessing about certain thoughts,” Yaremko said.
Yoga is also interesting to Yaremko because of the anatomy behind it.
“It’s interesting to learn the way that your joints and muscles move, and if you can be aware of that, you can avoid injuries,” Yaremko said.
Besides being interested in how the body works, Yaremko is also intrigued by the history of yoga.
“I’m also into the philosophy of yoga, which has roots thousands of years back, but a lot of the problems people dealt with then can help you deal with the problems that you deal with today,” Yaremko said.
Yaremko has previously taught a class that combined music and overall well-being, called “Music and Mindfulness” at Holdrum. He expressed how he would be tempted to bring back a similar class for the high school level if asked.
There is also a new teen yoga program at Yaremko’s yoga studio that he frequently goes to, Shree Yoga in Saddle River, for teens aged 12-16 who want to start yoga.
“I’m 10 years into doing yoga almost every day, and it’s done so much for me. I would love to offer something [for students],” Yaremko said.
However, Yaremko says you have to have the right attitude for yoga. If you don’t have a good attitude towards it, it might not work out for you.
“If you think it’s stupid and pointless, it’s not going to help you much,” Yaremko said.
For students who want to get into yoga, Yaremko thinks that a great way to start is to go to one of the local studios but also to know that everyone can have a different viewpoint on yoga.
“The way I approach yoga is that everything in the world has a place,” Yaremko said. “Where you’re at is exactly where you’re supposed to be.”
