A Floral Park studio dedicated to strength, flexibility, balance, serenity, clarity, and joy has finally opened its doors to the public after soft launching three months ago.

Here and Now Yoga, Wellness & Arts Collective — a studio for yoga, wellness, and arts — officially opened at 22 Verbena Ave. on Sept. 7. The studio had a soft opening on June 1, hosting some classes since then. Michelle Cavanagh and Dina Denis-Paolucci took a year to plan the opening of their studio.

Established in 2023, the studio is based on Cavanagh and Denis-Paolucci’s shared vision to create a space for yoga practitioners, wellness enthusiasts, and community members to gather, practice, learn, and grow together. Here and Now Yoga’s mission is to create a health-focused, goal-oriented community that fosters empowerment and self-confidence.

“I couldn’t be more thrilled to officially introduce our collective to the vibrant community of Floral Park,” Denis-Paolucci said in a press release. “So many members of this hardworking and diverse village share our values of self-improvement and positive self-development.”

“In today’s world, we are constantly inundated with messages from the external environment,” Cavanagh said. “Bombarded by opinions from social media, news, peers, colleagues and even other family members, our independent thoughts and original ideas are often stifled. We rarely find the quiet space to be alone with our own creativity. Our studio provides a sanctuary where we can reconnect with our innovative selves.”

The studio offers in-person and online yoga, meditation, tai chi, mat pilates, ballet, chair, and prenatal yoga. It also offers classes for people with disabilities and children, special guest workshops, and community-building events. Over a dozen instructors teach various yoga styles, levels, and wellness practices.

“We have classes for beginners. We offer private sessions if you want to just get your feet wet,” Cavanagh said. “And I’ve also been working with communities with disabilities for the past six years.”

Cavanagh said the studio works with the Mary Quinn Mark Foundation to carry out its mission to support the inclusion of individuals with developmental disabilities in the community.

The studio hosts a special workshop for children with inclusive needs. Cavanagh said any classes can accommodate anyone because of the well-trained staff that she and Denis-Paolucci handpicked.

“That’s what we feel really proud of,” Cavanagh said. “That everybody that we’ve hired on our staff can accommodate someone who’s just going to do chair yoga to someone who is very advanced.”

Denis-Paolucci, a photographer and dancer, and Cavanagh, an actress and photographer, used their creative backgrounds in the arts to create their business’s mission.

They also integrate their background into ballet classes and a caregiver and me class that incorporates yoga with sounds, music, and creative dance, and a comedy improv night.

“A lot of musicians are going to start doing workshops that can enrich and enhance a person’s everyday life,” Cavanagh said. “I really feel like Floral Park is the perfect place for that.”

A weekly meditation class invites members to donate what they can for 30 minutes of peaceful guided practice. There are a variety of weekly children’s classes for ages six months to 12 years old, such as “Creative Yoga Babies,” which is a class designed for caregivers and children ages six to 24 months to move, play and bond; “Tots Yoga” for ages two and a half to four for an early exploration of yoga and mindful practices and “Kids’ Yoga” for ages five to 12 that leads children on a creative exploration of yoga, mindfulness and wellness practices.

“We have a lot of activities and workshops and wellness is really important to us. Physical, mental, and spirtual,” Denis-Paolucci said.

The studio has a ground floor where all the classes will currently take place and a lower floor that is not utilized.

Denis-Paolucci said once the classes grow big enough on the ground floor, they will develop the bottom part of the studio to host multiple classes simultaneously.

Classes are held seven days a week. More information, schedule and memberships are available for purchase at HereAndNowYoga.com.