This year, on Monday, 24 October, the Wellington yoga community will be throwing open their doors and inviting everyone to join them for free yoga classes around the region! People can try yoga for the first time, attend a new studio, try a new style of yoga, and meet instructors.

Participating teachers offer free classes at yoga studios, fitness centres, pilates & yoga studios, parks, community centres and even their homes. Classes will be held from the early morning until the early evening. Everybody can try one or more classes to make the most of this public holiday.

The day will kick off with fun outdoor classes inCivic Square. The first class at 9am is a class designed for the whole family - from kids as young as four to parents, siblings, aunts, cousins and even grandparents. At 10am, we’ll have an Outdoor Yoga for Everyone class taught by Megan Sety. This class is open to people of any ability, and especially for those who may have never tried yoga before (rain venues announced on website). There will also be a unique opportunity to attend an outdoor class taught in Te Reo by Jase Te Patu of Power Living Yoga, offered in Civic Square, starting at 12.15pm.

Wellington Free Yoga Day encourages beginners to use this day of free classes to try yoga for the first time without the time or financial barriers that sometimes get in the way, and find a studio or style that suits them. There is no need to be intimidated as many of the classes on offer are for beginners, with no previous experience required. For students with some experience, there will also be a range of classes to provide a challenge.

Katya Mourits, a local yoga teacher says that she participates in the day because “Wellington Free Yoga Day shines a spotlight on yoga and the yoga community in Wellington and reminds all those who haven't started their yoga journey yet that there are many opportunities in our city to join a class and experience all those wonderful benefits yoga has to offer.”

It’s the perfect time to get together a group of friends or do something different with the family. Make a day of it and explore the city by walking to 3 or 4 different venues around the city, stopping for a yummy lunch along the way. Or take a leisurely drive out to Eastbourne and balance your yoga with a day at the beach! There will even be classes into the evening so if you plan to be away for the long weekend, what better way to unwind from a long drive home than with a relaxing yoga class.

In addition to the commonly known Vinyasa, Bikram, Yin and Hatha style of yoga classes, the day will also feature a range of specialty classes. For example, Yoga for Mature People will cater to a more mature audience in general good health, who are interested in practicing a gentle holistic style of yoga. Feeling stressed out? Perhaps a Yoga Nidra class is for you - a guided meditation focused on body sensing, which can aid in stress relief and help heal unresolved issues and traumas. Or if you are a native Spanish speaker, or planning a trip to a Spanish speaking country, you can practice Yoga en Español or Kundalini Yoga en Español. And if you love live music, Yoga Rhapsody will be offering a class to the sweet tunes of the guitar. There are simply too many classes to list here, but if you check out our website, you can view them all!

Classes will be offered from Miramar to Eastbourne, Wellington CBD to Kapiti Coast, from Newtown to Petone to the Wairarapa. Anyone can practice yoga, and this day has been created so Wellingtonians can find out what the practice of yoga is about.

Wellington Free Yoga Day was created in 2014 to make yoga more accessible to everyone one day a year. Off The Mat Into the World Aotearoa is sponsoring Wellington Free Yoga Day with the goal to make yoga more inclusive and more accessible to all communities. We want the benefits of yoga such as stress relief, digestive health, injury recovery and so much more to be available to everyone, whether you are able bodied or not, young, old, large or small. No matter what gender or social group you belong to, yoga crosses those barriers and is accessible to all people. Many people have a perception of what yoga is which holds them back from trying it. They think they need to be flexible. Our goal is to break open this perceived idea, and give everyone a chance to try it for themselves.

Wellington Free Yoga Day is voluntarily organised, with no funding received from Wellington City Council for the event. We have generously received pro bono printing from Rieger’s Print & Copy, and we held koha yoga classes in early 2016 to raise money for sound systems and website domain name/hosting. A small group of 4-5 volunteers spend over 200 hours working on the event to make sure the website is up-to-date and accurate, flyers & posters are designed and distributed, and Wellingtonians are aware of the event.

Off The Mat encourages the already vibrant yoga community in Wellington to reach out and access the yoga in your local community. By doing this, we really get to the heart of what yoga is about, building community and helping each other to overcome the day to day challenges of life.

Mourits says that “every new person introduced to yoga is another person who gets a chance to find a happier, healthier and more balanced life through practice and community connections. And this is no small thing!”

If you would like more information on class schedules, descriptions and participating studios, please visit www.freeyogaday.nz or www.facebook.com/wlgfreeyogaday.

Some general guidelines and tips for the day:

• Arrive early to guarantee your place as most classes will have a maximum number
• All classes are first come, first serve, unless noted otherwise
• Wear comfortable clothing that you can move in
• Please bring a towel, blanket or yoga mat
• Most yoga classes are taught barefoot
• Be sure your stomach is neither too full nor too empty
• Don’t worry about what everyone else is doing – go at your own pace and respect the limits of your body

For more information about Wellington Free Yoga Day, or to ask questions, please contact Amber Sturtz or Guadalupe Salinas on 021 239 0744 or wlgyogaday@gmail.com.

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