Bending over backwards: celebrating International Yoga Day in Brussels

Next Sunday, 21 June, hundreds of people will roll out their mats in the Bois de la Cambre for an enormous fresh-air yoga session to celebrate of the first International Day of Yoga.

Spearheaded by India and declared a holiday by the United Nations General Assembly in December, the International Day of Yoga is about bringing the already popular practice of yoga even more into the public eye. Cities all over the world from Brussels to Berlin to New York will offer free sessions led by yoga instructors in public spaces to welcome people to the practice. While for the past several years Brussels has held its own Brussels Yoga Day, this will be the first time the event has been held in conjunction with the international movement.

In the Bois de la Cambre, the day gets underway at 10.30 when a yoga instructor leads participants in a 90-minute session of meditation, poses and relaxation. The session begins and ends with a few minutes of guided sitting meditation.

For those curious to explore other forms of yoga, at 12.00 following the group session, several workshops will be held on various themes. These include yoga for children, prenatal yoga, yoga for older people as well as workshops focused specifically on yoga for stress and for those with back problems.

Yoga in Brussels

The practice of yoga has long been a popular pastime in Brussels, whether as part of a weekly workout schedule to stay fit or as a more holistic practice of spiritual wellbeing.

Opportunities abound in the city to follow courses of all types of yoga, whether it’s hatha, flow, kundalini, hot yoga or one of a dozen other schools, each of which claims its own benefits, from intense muscle toning to more esoteric gains.

Almost any of the main schools of yoga will offer courses in English or with instructors who speak English. Ashtanga, a dynamic form of yoga that will leave you sweating, is easy to find. Try visiting the Yoga Loft, the Ashtanga Space or the Ashtanga Institute of Brussels. Vinayasa, Iyengar and Zin yoga are also readily available at studios such as bYoga and Brussels Yoga Pilates. Also, the Sampoorna Yoga Studio near Rue Dansaert gives all of its classes in English.

Other teachers and studios mix and match styles. Zen Yoga / Zen Mom’s Tatiana Nozdrenkova, for instance, has created her style of yoga that she calls Zen yoga, which blends elements of Iyengar and Ashtanga, along with meditation, qi jong and self-massage.

If you feel overwhelmed by the choice, the Brussels Yoga Cooperative is a good resource to find yoga instructors of all schools throughout Brussels offering classes in English.

Yoga for everyone

If you think that yoga is only for the young, lithe and sinewy, know that there are also a range of courses for people with special requirements. Most larger studios will have courses for mothers-to-be, or pre-natal yoga, for instance. These can be in any school of yoga, but the poses and movements will be specifically adapted to the needs of pregnant women.

Another excellent offering in Brussels is Yogaccessible, which puts special focus on offer classes accessible to everyone, including people with limited mobility due to disability or injury.

Photo courtesy brusselsyogaday.be