International Yoga Day is annually celebrated on 21 June – the shortest day with the longest night in the winter in the Southern Hemisphere. This year, yoga instructors from Bloemfontein and Kimberley joined forces to celebrate the day with a morning of yoga at The Edge on Naval Hill.
Trudie Strauss, one of the seven instructors on the day, says yoga is for everyone.
“We wanted to demonstrate that yoga is a form of physical exercise that focusses on breathing and combining mind-body-breath. It is all about moving with mindfulness in going about our every-day tasks.”
The day began with Martin Maree and Chie Yamamoto presenting beginner’s yoga, where the basic principles with a focus on alignment, precision and the intelligent use of props were demonstrated.
Thereafter it was the turn of Darya Presnyakova and Strauss, with a power yoga session in which strong movements were blended with focused breath.
John-Willy Pelser then presented a session on breathwork and meditation for beginners.
“I teach people various breathng techniques that they can use in various life situations,” he explains.
“We are always breathing, so we might as well learn to breathe properly – our minds and bodies will be thankful.”
After this class it was time for Cindy Greyling and Wendy van der Westhuizen to get the hearts pumping with a Buti Tribal Yoga dance session.They explain Buti Tribal Yoga is as much about self-empowerment as fitness.
Although children did attend many of the previous classes, having their mats out in the sun at The Edge Trudie and Chie focused the last class of the day on family yoga. Parents and children could enjoy movement together.
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