Yes, you heard that right! Unfortunately, these free yoga and pilates classes aren’t offered in Singapore. They are offered by YMCA in the states to promote a healthy lifestyle for everyone. The classes will be conducted in Triangle Park in an outdoor setting. In the event of rain, the classes will be moved to a sheltered area in High Street YMCA. These classes are absolutely free and open to all members of the public. For more information, you can check it out here.
The reason for this initiative in the USA is because they believe that yoga can benefit everyone, no matter how young or how old each individual is. Thus, they are willing to conduct it for free to bring about awareness to the public. This will help to educate the residents and build their interest. They would definitely love it if that one session could point their citizens in the right direction, so that they could follow up on their own for a healthier lifestyle. Furthermore, the free class has no minimum age requirement or limit. In other words, it is trying to prove that yoga is suitable for all ages and fitness levels. It can cater to the young or old, fit or not so fit, healthy or injured. There are no boundaries when it comes to yoga, it is just a matter of how much you want to take out of it.
Secondly, classes will only be conducted indoors if there is bad weather. The reason they picked an outdoor venue (in a park) is because yoga first derived from the outdoors and is associated with nature. Yoga has never started out in the modern day studios. The ancient practitioners would always practiced it in an open field where they can be one with nature. This allows them to set their minds free from stress and soak in the natural environment that God created. Furthermore, the surrounding plants and trees provides them with fresher air compared to the modern day studios. This allows the practitioners to enhance their breathing techniques and meditate for longer periods of time. The modern day studios do have their advantages too. They are definitely much cleaner and provides students with showers most of the time. However, they still lack the peaceful and undisturbed element that nature has to offer.
Hence, if you wish to bring yourself closer with nature here in Singapore, check out OMG Yoga’s Group Yoga in the Park. Lessons are conducted in the open where you will be able to experience the untouched nature as it is. This will surely allow you to have a totally different yoga session.