BOB RINGHAM/Courier-Post Darlene Depasquale, a yoga teacher and owner of the Yoga Center of Haddonfield, starts a class Friday by relaxing the stress away.

If you're looking for a safe method to reduce stress that just may alter your life, try taking a yoga class.

That's what Diane DePasquale did while raising three girls as a single mother. She enjoyed the experience so much, she went on to become a yoga instructor and now owns the Yoga Center of Haddonfield on Mechanic Street.

"I was really stressed and kept hearing people tell me to go take a yoga class," said DePasquale. "When I experienced the relaxation at the end of the class, I realized that was what I had been looking for."

She took classes with various teachers until her youngest child flew the nest. Then DePasquale took a large step and withdrew from society to study yoga at the Kripalu Center for Health and Yoga in Massachusetts. The center is in a monastery and has a large wooded estate with trails and a lake.

In this idyllic community of about 350 residents, she worked and took classes in hatha yoga, which focuses on its physical aspects, and raja yogaon, which stresses meditation techniques, under Indian guru Amrit DeSai. She also received teacher training and certification while living there.

According to Cathy Husid, a spokeswoman for Kripalu, the center has trained more than 5,000 instructors, who teach yoga all over the world.

"I recommend it highly," said DePasquale.

At the end of two years of training, DePasquale felt it was time to re-enter society. After teaching yoga in various venues from schools to churches, she had the opportunity six years ago to open the center in Haddonfield. DePasquale says the center flourished from the beginning.

"People come to yoga to relieve stress, quiet the mind and become more flexible," said DePasquale. "The ultimate goal is to maintain a quality of stillness as you walk through life. It's about being really present in every moment - finding the sacred in every moment."

According to Brenda Sorrentino, director of community health, education and wellness for Our Lady of Lourdes Wellness Center in Collingswood, the field of yoga is flourishing. That center offers yoga teacher training and more than 10 different classes - morning, noon and night - all of which are well attended.

"Enrollments are steadily rising. I think people are paying more attention to the holistic approach of caring for their body, minds and spirits," said Sorrentino. "Yoga offers a way of focusing your body, mind and spirit by centering yourself and getting away from your cares. It nurtures the spirit inside you."

At the Yoga Center of Haddonfield, business is also flourishing. Student enrollment ranges from 12 to 15 students per class. Three to four daily classes are taught by DePasquale, her staff of eight instructors and two substitutes.

"This is a community place where people can spend a quiet hour stretching and breathing," said DePasquale. "While I was living at Kripalu, some days I had to pinch myself to make sure I wasn't dreaming. I was really lucky to live in that place, but it's possible to find that level of peace in everyday life. People that take yoga classes can find that."