Yoga in the Park...or in Your Own Backyard

Way back in the day, when I was in high school, I remember how great it was when my English teacher, Mr. Murphy, would spontaneously decide to take the class outside on a warm spring morning. We’d settle upon the grass with the birds singing and bees buzzing around us and suddenly our subject matter would take on a new vibrancy. Whether we were discussing Crime and Punishment or Catcher in the Rye, everyone was pumped up by the sunny environment far from the chalky, dusty old classroom, where—in spite of Mr. Murphy’s remarkable teaching talents—things occasionally got a little dull.

            It’s sort of that way with yoga, too.  Just last week the Kundalini yoga class I attend (http://www.akalsukhsingh.com) made a trip to Edgemont Memorial Park on Valley Road, where we practiced in the early evening. Airplanes flew overhead, geese honked as they strode by and yes, a few little bugs buzzed past our ears. But there was something rejuvenating about practicing in the great outdoors. Says teacher Akalsukh Singh,  “By getting out of the studio and into nature, you can experience yoga as it was originally intended. Being outdoors gives you access to a whole other world of sensations. It helps you feel integrated with your surroundings, and at one with an intelligent and friendly universe. It also helps you feel connected with creation and the Creator."

          I decided to search around and see if there are other places in the area to practice outdoors. Sure enough, I came across a class at Anderson Park at Bellevue Avenue and N. Mountain Ave., led on Saturday mornings by Ayana Joseph (aka YaYa).  I asked YaYa about the benefits of outdoor practice. “Outdoors there’s a freedom,” Yaya observes, “I love practicing outside; it’s one of my favorite passions, and it helps me connect with the energy of my community and the energy of nature.”  According to YaYa, yoga outside stimulates the mind as well as the five senses; it awakens the body, and you immediately become present. “Outside,” she says, “you’re really connecting with the earth.”

            Yaya’s outdoor one-hour vinyasa class includes a 10 to 15 minute free-flow segment and the sessions are open to all levels (http://www.yayapoweryoga.com). Kids are welcome, too.

            Essex County Environmental Center in Roseland (http://www.essex-countynj.org/env_events.php) also offers yoga classes on Thursday evenings and Friday mornings that take advantage of the great outdoors. The classes are held inside due to potential bugginess, but the room has floor to ceiling windows so it’s the next best thing to practicing outdoors, explains teacher Gina Mongiello. Gina, who will also be teaching at Serenity Yoga and Wellness Spa in Woodland Park this fall (http://www.serenityyogaandwellnessspa.com), loves to do her personal practice outside each morning. “A big part of my practice is Surya Namaskar (Sun Salutations). Outdoors you really get to salute the sun. Inside, it’s imagination.”

            The sounds of nature, Gina adds, are naturally meditative and help with focus and calm. And last, but not least, outside air has a lot more “chi” or energy in it, which freshens and invigorates your practice.

            I also found some cool classes at meetup.com (http://www.meetup.com). You can practice yoga in Manhattan’s Central Park or at a number of other outdoor locales. If you’re at the shore, practicing next to the ocean on a beach towel is absolutely gorgeous. I spent two vacations on Cape Cod enjoying the waves, sand, seagulls, and breezes at a beach yoga class.

            Last but not least, you can always take your mat into your own backyard, or out onto your deck.  Yes, the neighbors (if they’re not yogis themselves) may think you’re a little “out there.” But that only adds to the fun of it!