Brookline Shows Up For Yoga Day On Cypress Field

BROOKLINE, MA — With a final “Om” a circle of Brookline yogis sent out messages of love from Cypress Field Tuesday evening as some 150 people celebrated International Day of Yoga with a massive group class.

Among the rows of brightly colored yoga mats stretched out on Cypress Field in front of the high school were mostly women, with some men and children sprinkled in, following the instruction of one of three Brookline-based yoga instructors. Some stretched their bodies expertly, while others seemed to be there for the first time, but, all were welcome.

A little more than half of the participants wore dark bottoms with white tops out of solidarity for the event, which also marked Summer Solstice.

The event - the second annual - was co-sponsored by the Brookline Departments of Public Health and Recreation as a way to celebrate 5,000 years of yoga.

Lynne Karsten, Brookline’s director of community health said she was happy with the turnout this year, which was about the same as last year, though this year her son, who works for the Boston Celtics also participated.

The first International Day of Yoga was declared by the United Nations in December 2014 and organized in 2015 involved more than two billion participants across 192 countries. The day is actually, June 21, the first day of Summer, though Brookline's department of Health sponsored it the day before.

Instructors from Down Under Yoga, from Coolidge Corner Yoga and from HealthWorks led the class and walked around assisting participants.

Photos of International Day of Yoga celebration at Cypress Field near the Brookline High School on June 20, 2017 by Jenna Fisher/ Patch