25th Day in Rockaway: Free Beach Yoga with Parks

Every Saturday morning at 8:00AM the NYC Parks Department offers completely free yoga on the beach near 108th Street. I arrived this past Saturday expecting it to be a small group considering the hour but found a group of at least 60 people on the beach with a full sound system set up. 

The teacher, Helen Kilgallen according to the Parks website, offered a class that was easily accessible but included modifications for more advanced yogis. She had a distinct New York accent and instead of telling us to turn East or West used the more local "toward Far Rockaway" or "toward Breezy Point" as directions.

One notable difference with this class as compared to the last Beach Yoga class I took is that the age range was quite varied. Everyone from college aged students to retirees filled the beach and participated in the ways that they could.

This was an awesome, communal way to start the weekend. The classes continue every Saturday through Labor Day. 

By Sarah Knapp as part of 30 Days in the Rockaways