All of us are aware of what hiking and yoga are. A hike is basically long walks that include ascending up and descending down hills. On the other hand, yoga tends to be practiced on a rather flat surface. So how is it possible to merge the two together? Well, this concept was actually developed three years ago in San Francisco. However, it was only brought to New York City this spring. The concept basically revolves around connecting with nature in an urban environment, while stopping along to practice yoga.
Currently, classes are held at both Prospect Park and Central Park. Each session of hiking yoga last for 90 minutes. During each session, students will brisk walk to approximately four different stops. At each stop, students will spend about ten minutes to practice on their yoga. One of the main aims of hiking yoga is to explore these parks on a more deeper level. In other words, students will get a chance to visit certain parts of the parks that even longtime city dwellers have never been to before. “People kind of have their favorite spots — they don’t systematically explore the park. I want people to raise their curiosity about their own backyard,” said Eric Kipp, the founder of Hiking Yoga.
“For 80 percent of the hike we take you to out-of-the-way spots. But the moments when there’s a dog barking or someone hitting a baseball, that’s a great opportunity to integrate focus into your practice,” stated Ms. Kelly, one of the instructors leading the hike and yoga poses. According to Eric, hiking yoga is meant to have more social interaction compared to that in a studio. At the same time, it is also for “balancing against the challenges of the natural world”. This also mean changing things up a little. For example, students will not have to be concern about overcrowding during a group class in the studio. At the same time, they will be able to remove away the daily stress that they face in their daily lives. Sometimes, we can get so caught up in the digital world that we can forget about the beauty of nature. By being able to escape from our daily routine, it can help us to find that balance. For the entire story, you can check it out here.
If you are looking for yoga classes in Singapore, check out OMG Yoga. We offer different styles of yoga to cater to each individual’s needs. For more information on the available classes, please visit our website.