Leave the mechanical gyms behind and try doing yoga on the beach for a refreshing outdoor experience
People who have tried yoga are accustomed to doing shavasana, which is a relaxation pose, towards the end of the yoga session. This pose helps calm oneself, steady the breath and open one’s eyes to new found stillness. But how many of us have done this only to open our eyes to the beauty of a beach? That too, in Mumbai. Not many, for sure.
A new experience
I tried beach yoga and that too at one of the most crowded beaches in the city—the Juhu beach. Of course, I did it along with a fitness trainer and my experience was nothing less than phenomenal. My trainer, Bandra-based Shweta D’souza guided me through the session, which had a mix of asanas and contemporary warm-up exercises.
D’souza, who quit her corporate job to become a full-time fitness trainer, shares, “As children, we would always go outdoors but while we were growing up, it kind of lost significance. I feel that working out in the open air makes you stronger as opposed to working out in closed spaces or studios.”
Working out on a beach and surrounded by so many people who are also trying out various workouts was quite inspiring. It was like doing it with the community, yet doing it all by yourself. D’souza elucidates, “The reason I chose the beach for yoga is because when I started running and walking on a beach, I felt it was extremely difficult to balance and handle yourself. The slithery sand helps the body strengthen the core while stabilising itself.”
Breaking down the session
I started with locomotive and joint exercises to warm up the body, followed by a few interesting joint movement exercises as the joints are usually stiff after waking up. These exercises focused on the entire body, starting from the head to the toe. Moving towards getting flexibility and range in my body’s movements, D’souza made me do some dynamic exercises. After a diligent series of such exercises, I moved onto a few asanas and followed them by focusing on my breathing. The wonderful session was ended by shavasana,which was the highlight for me in the entire session, as I woke up to the early sunlight, breathing in fresh air and unknowingly, I smiled.
You can contact Shweta D’souza on 98204 01592 for similar yoga sessions at Juhu beach.
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