From the rushing water of a river to the wind blowing through the forest, the sounds of nature always have a calming effect on our state of mind. In this week's Adventure Arkansas, Sean teams up with Fayettechill to see their sunrise yoga class soak in those sounds.
It's bright and early as the crew from Fayettechill caravan departs into Devils Den State Park. After a warmup hike along Yellow Rock Trail, the 5NEWS Adventure Arkansas crew arrives at the overlook. As the sun begins to rise, the class begins.
Caty Mills, Yoga Deza Instructor, says, "Well it's great to be around nature especially here, and when you say reach your hands up to the sky, you are actually reaching your hands up to the sky, not in a studio. It's just nice to feel the earth around you. It's way different doing it on rocks than in a studio."
Caty Mills leads the class through poses accessible for all levels, including first timer Tanner McCord, who's ready to relax. "Yeah I've had a pretty long week this week, between school and other things so it was good to unwind just a little bit and just hang."
No matter if it's your first or millionth time doing yoga, Caty says your practice is all about you. "It's really your own practice. Don't worry about what someone next to you is doing. It's just about what's good for your body and right for you at that time.just keep practicing and keep flowing."
Even Tanner underestimated his yoga skills. "Yeah I did. I was a little more flexible than I thought I was. And it was just fun to discover that by myself."
Caty says, "It's really fun to do harder kinds of poses, and watch and see people grow and realize that they can do these poses and that it's not all about flexibility. Sometimes it's just about being able to be in the moment and concentrate. It's fun to watch people grow and do things they think they couldn't do."
The calming affect of hearing the morning birds and being willingly detached from cell service helps with that concentration too. Tanner says, "I thought it was great, just a really rad way to start the day between the views and the whole relaxation aspect of it."
Caty adds most of the benefits from yoga come from being still. "I would say just try it. Not only the workout aspect of it, but really try to challenge yourself to see if you can meditate a little and it opens a lot of doors for you."
For this week's adventure Arkansas, "Namaste."
Fayettechill hosts their Sunrise Yoga class the first Friday of every month through the summer. The next one will be May 6th and the cost is $35.
Click here for more information on Yoga Deza, click here.
Segment Sponsored by: Adventure Subaru