Thursday, October 1, 2026
A new yoga studio focused on creating an inclusive, sensory-friendly environment for people with and without developmental disabilities is coming to Island Park this fall.
Kiind Studio, at 4389 Austin Blvd., is scheduled to open Oct, 1 in the former Spartan Kickboxing space. The studio will be operated by Sydney Rosenberg, who currently offers small-group yoga classes through Solstice Method at Hollywood Health Club in Long Beach.
The Island Park location will give Rosenberg a larger space to expand her classes while continuing her focus on making yoga accessible to people with different physical, developmental and sensory needs.
“I really try to just make it a calming experience,” Rosenberg said.
Since April, Nevin Diamond, owner of Hollywood Health Club, welcomed the yoga studio by making a dedicated space available for classes in the Long Beach location. The space has been adapted to reduce sensory stimulation, with sound-dampening doors and walls and coverings over fluorescent ceiling lights. Weighted sensory beanbags and other tactile elements are also incorporated into the room.
Rosenberg studied kriya yoga in India, which focuses on deep breathing and meditative poses, rather than more highly active movements. She has been teaching yoga for two years and previously worked as a direct support professional for six years.
Her goal, she said, is not to create a separate experience for people with disabilities, but to make the space genuinely welcoming to everyone.
“You could say that you can accept anybody, but if the table isn’t built to fit everybody, it’s not really inclusive, right?” Rosenberg said.
Her approach was on display Aug. 3, when she hosted puppy yoga sessions in partnership with V.I.P. Small Dog Sitting. Owner Latoya Benjamin brought eight dogs to the class, including goldendoodles, shih tzus, and five three-month-old shih tzu puppies.
Yoga classes aren’t always about bending and twisting to your body’s limits. Sometimes, yoga is about lying still, breathing deeply and letting a three-month old puppy run across your legs.
For Rosenberg, the Island Park studio is the next step in creating a place where people can feel comfortable participating, regardless of ability.
“Everybody's one accident, one mishap from disability,” Rosenberg said. “A disability affects everybody in their life, whether they know somebody with it or you are disabled yourself at some point.”
With Kiind Studio, Rosenberg hopes inclusivity can become less of a specialty and more of a standard part of the community.
