The Manhattan Times

by Nancy Bruning

Yoga and sticky mats on hardwood floors have become inseparable. But this 5,000-year-old practice was originally done outdoors on the ground, and summertime in Northern Manhattan gives you the opportunity to experience yoga as it was originally intended.

This year, the traditional Wednesday night Sunset Yoga in Fort Tryon Park has company, and as a result you can enjoy free yoga in the fresh air four times a week.

There are many forms and intensities of yoga, but it is in general a gentle form of movement particularly suited to warmer weather and with a host of benefits. Yoga is a great complement to other fitness activities, and can help ease any stiffness or tightness in your muscles or joints that other types of workouts can leave behind.

Studies show that yoga is an effective way to reduce stress; increase your strength, flexibility, balance, and range of motion; and help you manage a whole array of health conditions, including heart disease, insomnia and depression.

Yoga outdoors provides new experiences – even if you’ve been doing yoga indoors for years, you’ll discover new challenges and new pleasures and, as a result, new benefits.

On a recent evening Edya Kalev, one of the Sunset Yoga class instructors, led us through a variety of poses designed to “open the heart… to feel how it is to be open to the breeze, the sun, the rustling trees, and even the bugs.”

Although we had our sticky mats and towels on the ground, we occasionally strayed off these familiar surfaces. It was at first almost shocking to feel the cool green grass beneath my bare feet and arms, but soon it felt good, and gave new meaning to the yoga goal of feeling grounded. As we moved through the poses, our natural surroundings resonated with what our minds and bodies were doing. The breeze became the physical manifestation of the universal energy (prana) that yoga taps into; the uneven ground presented a challenge for the balancing poses; and we got the chance to experience the tree pose in whole new way, surrounded by the real things. Enjoying the light of the setting sun gently poking through the trees, and wondering at the persistent butterfly who kept visiting the shirt of the woman in font of me, it seemed this was a positive form of multitasking.

Bread and Yoga’s Tuesday class in Inwood Park at W. 218^th Street is the largest class in the ‘hood. “Our world has become so technological, it’s a welcome change to feel the grass between our toes,” said instructor Shawna Emerick. She also noted that many of the poses in yoga have animal or nature names – tree pose, mountain pose – to help us emulate their qualities. She likened our breath to a stream traveling through us.

Uniquely, this class is sited close to and facing the estuary inlet in the park. During the class, the tide rose and the inlet filed with water, just as the end of the class we were filled with prana.

The classes taught on the Cloisters Lawn in Fort Tryon Park have a home grown, family-style feel. As Grisel Olivio, the instructor, guided us through simple movements, a dog appeared and then Grisel’s daughter. The dog quietly assumed a meditative pose and the young girl interpreted everything in her own style. At this location, nature had competition – cars whooshed by on the nearby drive, a Frisbee game played across the other side of the lawn – but there was enough sunlight, sky, and hopping, chirping birds to make the yoga-nature link.

Outdoor yoga, as Shawna said, gives you “a vast feeling” and helps you learn to trust your surroundings.

Sunset Yoga is sponsored by the Fort Tryon Park Trust Friends Committee, City Council, the Parks Department, and the local yoga teachers themselves. On Abby’s Lawn in Fort Tryon Park, Wednesdays from 6:45 to 8 p.m. Pre-register at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . For more information visit www.FortTryonParkTrust.org and click “fitness.”

Bread and Yoga’s classes start at 6:45 and end at 8:15 p.m. on Indian Road Lawn. Its studios are at 4951 Broadway (W. 207th Street), 2nd floor in Inwood. For information call 212-569-4112 or email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Yoga in the Park classes are Saturdays at 10:30 a.m. and Sundays at 1 p.m. To confirm time, visit www.yipdailyblogspot, or contact Grisel at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or 646-912-2928.

Nancy Bruning has a master’s degree in public health, is a certified personal trainer, and is the author or co-author of over 25 books on health and fitness. She also is the Chair of the Friends Committee of the Fort Tryon Part Trust and leads outdoor fitness experiences and weight loss workshops. Visit Nancy’s web site at www.NancyBruning.net, hear her at www.blogtalkradio.com/Nancercize, or email her at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .