Fitness club holds free yoga classes on the beach for ‘International Yoga Day’

By MIKE SAVINO, ROB POLANSKY

Click here for updates on this story

    MILFORD, Connecticut (WFSB) — Monday is International Yoga Day, and Edge Fitness Clubs helped members get a little extra Zen by bringing yoga classes to some local beaches.

The gym said its goal was to help loosen up and destress people.

“Yoga brings me to a place where I can be comfortable in my own mind,” said Rob Minalga of Seymour.

Many yogis said they turn to yoga as much for the mental as the physical, finding it relaxing to combine exercise with spirituality and a focus on breathing.

Edge Fitness Clubs used nature to up the relaxation factor for International Yoga Day.

It held yoga classes on the beach in Milford and Fairfield on Monday morning. It’s an annual event for the gym, although last year the classes were put on hold because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants in this year’s event enjoyed the chance to be around others again.

“With everything that’s gone on in the last year and a half it feels amazing to be out around people, just stretching,” said Veronique Stocks of Milford.

For experienced yogis, doing stretches on the sand made for a new challenge.

“It’s nice [with] nature, [but] a little tougher to hold the positions,” Minalga said.

It also brought out new members who wanted to take advantage of the free class. The event was open to the public, not just Edge members. The gym chain is planning more beach yoga events this summer.

“It’s a great opportunity for us to bring our community together, to get outside,” said Jenn Kuehn, national exercise director, Edge Fitness Clubs.

Roughly 50 people showed up for the class in Milford. For instructor Kimmarie Credidio, it was the perfect way to kick off summer and spend international yoga day.

“It’s peaceful and people kind of resonate with it to really let go,” Credidio said.

Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.