Main Street Yoga

Main Street Yoga Main Street Yoga provides mindfulness based Hatha Yoga and meditation classes led by Rita Wood Anderson held at the Mexico Public Library since 2004.

Hi I'm Rita Anderson, Certified Kriplau Yoga Instructor. I started practicing yoga in the 1990's. In 2001 I attended a week long Rest & Renewal Retreat at the Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health in Massachusetts. Doing yoga every morning and night while at the center, gave the experience of feeling so much better in my body. It was amazing! It was then that I fell deeper in love with this ancient healing practice. I knew I had to bring yoga to my hometown and share with the people here. In September of 2004 after receiving my 200 hour certification in March of that year, I began to teach classes here in Mexico. Years flew by giving me experience teaching beginner to intermediate yoga classes in CNY, but primarily here in Mexico. I am also a Licensed HeartMath Provider in which I often incorporate heart based practices into my yoga teaching. I am available to work one on one teaching stress reduction methods by using HeartMath techniques. For those wanting to learn to meditate, meditation has also been a big part of my life, as I've been a meditator for over 40 years, practicing various forms. You will find mindfulness instruction is woven throughout my classes. When not teaching yoga or practicing, I drive school bus for the Mexico Central Schools. A favorite hobby is dancing, of all kinds, and I go regularly to ballroom, including salsa and contra. Much of my time is the continuation of studying about mind/body science and health, attending various yoga trainings and meditation and spiritual retreats. I am also the mother of 3 wonderful adult children, who are all creating happy lives in various parts of the world. The intention of my work is to help people develop stronger, healthier, more flexible bodies, while gaining a deeper sense of well being. May you be happy, peaceful and free of suffering. Jai Bhagwan. HATHA YOGA SCHEDULE
Intermediate Yoga Class
Mondays 5:30 PM - 6:45 PM

Gentle Yoga Class
Friday's 9:15 - 10:30 AM

MEDITATION SITTING GROUP
Mindfulness practice 30 mins sit/30 share
Sunday’s 6:00 - 7:15 PM

Basic beginner workshops offered on a need be basis (please contact if interested). Private consultations in Yoga, Meditation, iRest Yoga Nidra and HeartMath are also available. Prices for regular classes:
$60.00 - Six week session
$15.00 - Drop in, per class
$12.00 - Reg student
Private lessons
$75.00 per 75 minute session or
$195.00 for 3 sessions. For more information or to reserve your spot, please call Rita at 315-963-3037. You can email me at mainstreetyoga7@gmail.com. First time students please call ahead. Looking for a class to fit your time or needs, please let me know!

Main Street Yoga's Weekly CLass schedule:Both classes begin with centering, breath-work and warm ups. At the end of clas...
02/04/2026

Main Street Yoga's Weekly CLass schedule:

Both classes begin with centering, breath-work and warm ups. At the end of class we lie down for shavasana where I lead you into a deeply relaxed state which nurtures and heals your body/mind.

Monday's Moderate Yoga Class
5:30 PM - 6:45 PM
This class is more advanced, sometimes we work up a sweat. We practice vinyasa (flow) and also hold poses for longer periods. Everyone is encouraged to safely practice with awareness of their limitations and to modify if needed. Beginners can join, they may need to modify or go at a slower pace, which is totally welcome and important to do.

Friday's Gentle Yoga Class
9:15 AM - 10:30 AM
We work with gentle stretching and strengthening while moving more deeply into the poses and breathing exercises. Modifications are taught. We develop focus, balance and concentration as in the other classes while practicing a more gentle focus with our experience. Everyone will be met and encouraged at whatever level they are at. As you gain strength and range of motion, you will be guided to safely challenge yourself. Beginners often start here.

Six week session (pre-paid) is $60.00/6 weeks (at time of class)
Regular student is $12.00 per class
Drop in is $15.00 per class

Forms of payment include:
https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/my/profile
https://www.venmo.com/u/YogawithRita-01794
Cash or check made out to Rita Anderson/34 Wayne St., Apt. B6, Mexico, NY 13114.

While I do not give rain-checks for missed classes, you are welcome to make up any class of your six week session by attending the other class I offer. Please be sure to be in contact with me before attending to be certain class is on. Please know if you are having financial difficulties, you can give a donation of any amount or come for free. This is a sincere offering, don't let money get in the way of you taking care of yourself.

All classes are held at the Mexico Public Library, 3269 Main St., upstairs in the Robert E. Brown room. Email Rita at Mainstreetyoga7@gmail.com with interest and questions. Always confirm class is happening if you plan to drop in and have not been added to my email list, thank you!

Jai 🙏🏽❤️

As you prepare your breakfast — think of others.Don’t forget to feed the pigeons.As you conduct your wars — think of oth...
01/25/2026

As you prepare your breakfast — think of others.
Don’t forget to feed the pigeons.
As you conduct your wars — think of others.
Don’t forget those who want peace.
As you pay your water bill — think of others.
Think of those who have only the clouds to drink from.
As you go home, your own home — think of others — don’t forget those who live in tents.
As you sleep and count the stars, think of others — there are people who have no place to sleep.
As you liberate yourself with metaphors think of others — those who have lost their right to speak.
And as you think of distant others — think of yourself and say
‘I wish I were a candle in the darkness.'”

Mahmoud Darwish (via Tara Brach)

Photo 1/24/2026 moon overlooking snowy shore of Lake Ontario

We’re living in times of turmoil within our country. How do we hold all that we’re feeling without it overwhelming us. ...
01/25/2026

We’re living in times of turmoil within our country. How do we hold all that we’re feeling without it overwhelming us. Please consider following these Buddhist monks who are spreading peace with every step they take on their peace walk to Washington DC. Follow them, listen to their daily talks, and to the folks who share their experiences and their questions. And please share this so that others may spread peace to those in need. And who among us does not need more peace? 

https://www.facebook.com/walkforpeaceusa

So many mindless things pull us this way and that. So many daily sad or painful stories in the news. We must start out o...
01/22/2026

So many mindless things pull us this way and that. So many daily sad or painful stories in the news. We must start out our day by claiming that we will have a peaceful day. And then protect it. Our peace truly is worth it. 🙏🏽❤️

Though we're conditioned to identify with the thoughts that pass through our awareness rather than with awareness itself...
01/17/2026

Though we're conditioned to identify with the thoughts that pass through our awareness rather than with awareness itself, the awareness that is our true nature is infinitely flexible. It is capable of any and every sort of experience - even misconceptions about itself as limited, trapped, ugly, anxious, lonely, or afraid. When we begin to identify with that timeless, pristine awareness rather than with the thoughts, feelings, and sensations that pass through it, we've taken the first step toward facing the freedom of our true nature.

~ Mingyur Rinpoche

from the book "Joyful Wisdom"

“When monks leave their monasteries to walk for peace, it's not symbolic, it's a warning. They don't seek attention. The...
01/03/2026

“When monks leave their monasteries to walk for peace, it's not symbolic, it's a warning. They don't seek attention. They don't ask for power. They walk only when the world is out of balance.
If you see them, offer food and water. They carry nothing but what's given to them.This isn't a protest. It's a prayer in motion.The fact that Buddhist monks are walking for peace in America should make us all pause. This is serious. This is rare. And it matters. please keep them safe.” - Kalani Ashona

May we all practice peace. 🙏🏽❤️

Yoga teaches how to slow us down, how to use our breath so our nervous system can assimalate and integrate overwhelming ...
01/02/2026

Yoga teaches how to slow us down, how to use our breath so our nervous system can assimalate and integrate overwhelming energy. We learn to meet our anxiety and impulses that often control us, with more awareness and conscious choice. Being present is a gift we give ourselves, which in turn, benefits those around us . 

End of year silent meditation retreat begins today. See you next year ...here are my blessings for all of us now and int...
12/28/2025

End of year silent meditation retreat begins today. See you next year ...here are my blessings for all of us now and into 2026

A Blessing for This Moment

May all places be held sacred.

May all beings be cherished.

May all injustices of oppression, devaluation, and theft
be fully righted, remedied and healed.

May all who are captured by hatred be freed to the love that is our birth right.

May all who are bound by fear discover the safety of understanding.

May all who are weighed down by grief be given over to the joy of being.

May all who are lost in delusion find a home on the path of wisdom.

May all wounds to forests, rivers, deserts, oceans,
all wounds to Mother Earth be lovingly restored to bountiful health.

May all beings everywhere delight in whale song, birdsong and blue sky.
May all beings abide in peace and well-being, awaken and be free.

“In yoga, one of the methods is contentment. That’s not a goal, that’s a method.I can be content this moment, and the ne...
12/20/2025

“In yoga, one of the methods is contentment. That’s not a goal, that’s a method.

I can be content this moment, and the next moment I’m moving toward something else. When I am here, I am content. Even though I am going to change something the next minute, that doesn’t mean I cannot be content with what is in this moment. That is the basis from which you do everything in yoga.

When water flows downstream, it doesn’t have a model of contentment for what it is doing. It is being water, and water floats downstream because that is how water works.

It is extraordinarily hard to truly realize and have sufficient faith to accept that if you stop having views, having models, planning, desiring, organizing, and structuring, it will all be alright.”

~ Ram Dass

Eventually we learn to laugh when we dropthe glass and it shatters all over the floor,finding laughter more fun than a s...
12/19/2025

Eventually we learn to laugh when we drop
the glass and it shatters all over the floor,
finding laughter more fun than a shackle of curses.
We can wiggle our butt more when someone
says it looks big instead of trying to tuck it
tighter beneath our hips. Eventually we learn
there is no way to not be exactly ourselves.
What freedom then. We can listen to the sound
of our own voice without cringing. Can dance
in front of anyone. Can wake up grateful for our aging face
in the mirror. Can wear questions like exotic perfume
and see how they grow us. Eventually,
we can look at each other and say,
I’m so glad you are exactly who you are.

—Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer

New sessions begin with Friday's Gentle Yoga class on January 2nd and Monday's Intermediate Yoga Class on January 5th. J...
12/15/2025

New sessions begin with Friday's Gentle Yoga class on January 2nd and Monday's Intermediate Yoga Class on January 5th. Join us!

You didn’t “lose balance” because you’re old.You lost it because you stopped moving.Let’s stop blaming age for what inac...
10/22/2025

You didn’t “lose balance” because you’re old.
You lost it because you stopped moving.

Let’s stop blaming age for what inactivity caused.
You sat down for years.
You stopped training your legs.
You stopped trusting your body.
And the world told you that was “normal.”
That was graceful aging. It wasn’t.
It was decline...avoidable decline.

Balance isn’t something the young are gifted.
It’s something the active maintain.
And guess what? You can earn it back.
But not by being careful.
By being intentional.
By getting up.
Moving.
Challenging yourself.

If you’re afraid of falling, do something about it.
Train. Get stronger. Get steadier.
Because “just being careful” is exactly how people become fragile.

You’re not fragile. You’re deconditioned.
And that can change if you stop treating age like a diagnosis.

Address

Mexico Public Library, Robert E. Brown Room, 3269 Main Street
Mexico, NY
13114

Telephone

+13159633037

Website

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My Story

Hi I'm Rita Anderson, Certified Kriplau Yoga Instructor. I started practicing yoga in the 1990's. In 2001 I attended a week long Rest & Renewal Retreat at the Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health in Massachusetts. Doing yoga every morning and night while at the center, gave the experience of feeling so much better in my body. It was amazing! It was then that I fell deeper in love with this ancient healing practice. I knew I had to bring yoga to my hometown and share with the people here. In September of 2004 after receiving my 200 hour certification in March of that year, I began to teach classes here in Mexico. Ten years flew by giving me experience teaching beginner to intermediate yoga classes in CNY, but primarily here in Mexico. Main Street Yoga is going on it’s 17th year in the Fall of 2020! How wonderful that so many have received the benefit of this practice!

Summer of 2010 I became a Licensed HeartMath Provider/Coach. I often incorporate heart based practices into my yoga teaching, and am available to work one on one teaching stress reduction methods by using HeartMath techniques. For those wanting to learn to meditate, meditation has also been a big part of my life! In 1975 I learned Transcendental Meditation, since then I’ve practiced many forms. You will find mindfulness instruction is woven throughout my classes. If interested in a developing your own meditation practice, consider attending weekly meditation sittings at my home in Port Ontario.

When not teaching yoga or practicing, I drive school bus for the Mexico Central Schools. And believe it or not, I love being a school bus driver!

Much of my time is the continuation of studying about mind/body science and health, attending various yoga trainings, spiritual and meditation retreats. Since 2016 I’ve been a student of The Diamond Approach and am a member of the Diamond Vérité Toronto group, attending 2 retreats a year. The Diamond Approach is both an understanding of our deepest human nature and a path to realizing and developing our fullest potential.