Brooklyn-based bike tourism group Get Up And Ride is hosting this Saturday’s Free Yoga For Cyclists in McCarren Park. Instructor and GUAR VP Lisa Markuson designed the class to “tap into the needs of active, fast-moving, possibly stressed people” in its postures and meditations. Get on your bike and om.
Markuson explains the cardio affect of the quick vinyasa makes the class specifically beneficial to cyclists — but really, just like all yoga, Saturday’s class is accessible to all.
“Mentally, it’s about developing balance, flexibility, clarity and focus,” Markuson said. “Physically, it’s unravelling some of the stiffness that can develop, especially in the hips, from activities like cycling and running. Loosening, lengthening and bringing consciousness into a body that is all too often totally ignored or treated like a machine.”
And the biggest takeaway?
“The idea behind doing yoga and weird breathing exercises and whatnot is that your challenging your body and mind in a controlled way, so that when actual challenges and discomfort arise in the real world, you have a resilient coping system,” she said. “It’s not an end in itself, like, ‘Ooh, I can do the splits I’m so freaky.”
Freaks and not freaks are welcome at Saturday’s 11:30 a.m. class at McCarren Park’s Lorimer and Driggs entrance. More details via the Facebook event page. The yoga class is part of the larger event, OutdoorFest 2014 — which also provides free sparkling probiotic drinks (!!!).
If you can’t make Saturday, check out Markuson’s class biker-friendly yoga class Tuesday, June 3 in junction with Dinner and Bikes and Aftermath Screening at 3B Brooklyn.