CANTON -- The Yoga Loft, 17 Main St., has named its teacher and student of the month, released its new September class schedule, and will be offering a series of Saturday Wellness Workshops.

The first workshop, Sept 9, from 10:30 a.m.-noon, is titled "Alexander Technique meets Yoga Tune-Up and will be facilitated by Cintia Hongay.

Emphasis will be on improving your posture.

Cost is only $15 or one block on your Yoga Loft class card.

New weekly classes beginning in September include:

Starting Sept 5: Tuesdays, 10:45 a.m.-noon, Postnatal Yoga with Sarah Oakley;

Starting Sept 6: Wednesdays, 6:30-8 p.m., Ashtanga Yoga with Kelly Burnham;

Starting Sept 7: Thursdays, 7-8:15 p.m., Iyengar Style Yoga with new teacher Liz Haney;

Starting Sept 8, Fridays, 9-10:15 a.m., Hatha Yoga with Efrat Ezra;

Starting Sept 11, Mondays, 10:30 a.m.-noon, Power Stretch Yoga with Efrat Ezra;

Starting Sept 12, Tuesdays, 5-6:15 p.m., Yoga Flow with Efrat Ezra;

Starting Sept 19: Tuesdays, 8:15-9:15 a.m., Kripalu Yoga with Alison Brant;

Starting Sept 19: Tuesdays, 9:30-10:30 a.m., Yoga-Pilates blend, also with Alison Brant.

The full Yoga Loft schedule (25 classes per week) as well as class descriptions, teacher bios, and contact information can be found online at www.yoga-loft.org.

Teacher of the Month

The Yoga Loft’s featured teacher of September is Sarah Scafidi-McGuire.

Scafidi-McGuire was introduced to yoga by her mother when she was a teenager. The first class that Scafidi-McGuire attended with her mom was in a studio overlooking a river in Red Bank, N.J. Near the end of it, she felt a sensation that she never had before. It was a mix of exhilaration and deep peace -- she was hooked.

Throughout high school and college, Scafidi-McGuire had an on-and-off yoga practice. It was after she graduated from St. Lawrence University that she found a brilliant teacher (Tina Stroh of Camp Hill, PA) and began practicing regularly. Stroh took her under her wing for a one-on-one teacher training. She also did a week-long training with David Swenson, and then, upon moving back to Canton, started teaching in the Ashtanga/Vinyasa style.

Scafidi-McGuire has been teaching Ashtanga, Vinyasa, and Power Yoga classes at the Yoga Loft since 2005.

In 2008, she started teaching Little Lotus, a playful children’s class. Scafidi-McGuire aims to keep all of her classes energetic, varied, and fun. She enjoys challenging her students, as well as making them laugh.

“I used to think the philosophical aspects of yoga were a bunch of “mumbo-jumbo,” Scafidi-McGuire said. “Now, I try to live my life mindfully and with compassion.”

She realizes that those practices are both more challenging and more rewarding than the physical practice.

For Scafidi-McGuire, yoga is part of living a balanced life.

“(Yoga) helps keep me strong and sane in a world that sometimes seems unhinged. I am always continuing to deepen my practice, and I absolutely love sharing yoga with my community,” she says.

Scafidi-McGuire teaches Vinyasa Flow, Power Yoga, and Little Lotus yoga in addition to private sessions and workshops.

Student of the Month

Erica Norton is the Yoga Loft student of the month.

Norton’s yoga story began five and a half years ago when she told her boyfriend (now husband) that she wanted to try yoga and asked for a yoga DVD for Christmas.

“I am not someone who really enjoys ‘working out,’ and I thought it would be good to learn a different type of activity to mix in with what I was already doing to help me stay motivated,” Norton said.

As soon as she tried her first yoga routine, Norton was hooked.

She practiced yoga with her yoga DVD and YouTube for a little over a year before she tried her first class at the Yoga Loft.

Norton has been attending Scafidi-McGuire’s classes regularly for more than three years. She said she enjoys Scafidi-McGuire’s enthusiasm for teaching and the way her classes contain a mix of challenging poses and moments of quiet and meditation.

“Sarah demonstrates challenging poses in a way that encourages me to give them a try without taking them too seriously,” Norton said.

“It does not feel like a routine, and I can adapt what I’m doing during my practice to match how I’m feeling that day,” she said.

Norton also appreciates the chance to slow down and focus on one thing at a time -- a good contrast to the multitasking that she does at work and during the rest of the day.