The summer solstice marks the longest day of sun in the Northern Hemisphere’s year and has been honored in many cultures as a time to celebrate a fresh start. On June 21 between 5:30 and 7 p.m. at Thornden Park Amphitheater, Syracuse yogis are welcome to celebrate the beginning of summer. 

“It’s such a beautiful setting; it’s really just about taking advantage of the few months we have here in Syracuse to get outside without a coat on,” said Erin O’Toole, instructor at O Yoga. 

In the winter months of the year, yogis of all levels often practice in studios, said O’Toole. But practicing yoga outside can have healing benefits, said Kathleen Frizzi from Yoga Syracuse Pop-Up. Frizzi added that being in nature is powerful for some people. It allows them to do things they wouldn’t normally do or feel things they wouldn’t normally feel. 

“The closer you are with the earth, the more in touch with yourself you’ll be,” O’Toole said, “if you’re feeling kooky or unsettled, they tell you to go dig in your garden. This is our way to get people close to the source, the stuff that feeds you.” 

Allison Mitura, one of Frizzi’s students, said that in yoga, they discuss “grounding into the earth” and reaching the sky. By being outside, she said, you experience it rather than imagining it when practicing indoors.   

Mitura said in central New York, there’s a shorter window of time to experience yoga in nature because of the climate.    

O’Toole and Frizzi have held similar events in the past and previously filled the whole natural amphitheater. They usually have anywhere from 75 to 100 people come and participate in the event, O’Toole said. 

Yoga is for everyone, from 80-year-olds who can practice in their chairs to 8-year-olds who use yoga as a tool to learn how to clear their minds, Mitura said.  

“I think everybody should do yoga,” Mitura said. “Yoga is really the presence of body and breath together unified.”  

Frizzi started practicing about 20 years ago because she was a runner who was drawn to meditation; from there she started practicing yoga. 

O’Toole has been practicing for about 15 years. She started casually at the gym when she received a gift from her friend to try out a studio. At the time, she was getting over an injury, and after the first class, she said she was hooked.  

The people who come to the events aren’t just people who practice yoga regularly. They have an open format so that beginners can do poses at their level and more advanced yogis can perform poses at their level, Frizzi said. The 90-minute practice is designed to accommodate all ages and abilities. 

Mitura started doing yoga after she had heard about one of Frizzi’s classes with the Wellness Wednesday series in downtown Syracuse. Since it was free, she decided to try it. Mitura said that Frizzi broke down every position and movement so that yoga wasn’t intimidating.  

O’Toole said because the ground may be uneven at the amphitheater, they plan to make sure the flow at the solstice yoga is also one anyone can practice.   

“We just make it simple enough for people to enjoy being outside, being together as a community, celebrating the start of summer,” O’Toole said.  

Published on May 15, 2019 at 12:32 am

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