The Work We Do: Colleen McCaffery, Aura Yoga

I’m Colleen McCaffery and I own Aura Yoga in Mattituck.

Aura Yoga was opened Oct. 1, 2017. Aura Yoga has yoga, it has a community, it has retail, it has a boutique, it has a salon so there’s a lot of different hats that I have. I think just waking up and knowing that this is where I get to come is my favorite part of the job.

I was at home in my salon in my basement and it was so comfortable. So it was just going to be yoga and then we brought the salon here. I’ve been doing hair since I was 14 years old. It’s just so nice to make people beautiful. To make them feel good inside and out.

I started practicing about 12 years ago in a cool room, in a room temperature room. It was nice. It added to my life but then I found hot yoga when I was diagnosed with MS. I was told heat would disturb me and I just felt that there was a challenge and when I left the room I felt really accomplished. It was invigorating, so Mattituck needed it.

It helps me deal with my MS. It helps me not take it so seriously. It helps me to focus on what’s right in front of me, on the here and now, and not worry about what’s in the future. It’s a life lesson but it’s such a beautiful place to experience it.

I started yoga because I wanted to just learn how to breathe. I had been a smoker. I held my breath. I was stressed out. I worked really hard. The hours was just unrealistic and the pressure I put on myself and one and half hours of yoga helped me to start breathing.

I’m an inviting motivational instructor. My instructors here teach me so much. They blow me away with their styles. “There’s a style and temperature for everyone,” is what we say.

It blows me away. I don’t even think that I own it. I think it’s a community event. I just turn the key every day.

Aura Yoga is located at 140 Pike St, Mattituck.

“The Work We Do” is a Suffolk Times multimedia project profiling workers on the North Fork. It is made possible by Peconic Landing in Greenport. See photos on Instagram @thesuffolktimes.