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mokenamessenger.com life & arts
the Mokena Messenger | June 28, 2018 | 21
Yoga on the Bandshell
connects yogis to nature
GRAB YOUR GIRLFRIENDS
AND HEAD OUT TO
Rochelle McAuliffe
Freelance Reporter
“What a beautiful summer
day to be outside and practicing
in this wonderful air.”
Yoga instructor Sherie
Sloane began the session at
the Yunker Farm bandshell
Sunday, June 24. Some practitioners
opted to skip the
traditional yoga mat, and instead
used the earth for their
support.
As Sloane and her fellow
yogis were starting their
practice with a breathing exercise,
a gentle breeze stirred
within the trees to help center
and ground them to nature.
It was the first session of
Outdoor Yoga at the Yunker
Farm Bandshell. Led by
Sloane, who is an Experienced
Yoga Alliance Certified
teacher with over 12
years of yoga practice and
2,800 teaching hours under
her belt, the more than
25 yogis that attended this
first-time event were able to
breathe, stretch and meditate
their way with Sloane
to a new outlook in their
hour of practice.
For some of the students
who attended the outdoor
session, this was an extension
of the vinyasa class that
Sloane teaches at The Oaks
Recreation Center at 6:45
p.m. on Wednesdays. Vinyasa
focuses on postures and
breathing techniques
“There’s nothing like doing
sun salutation and looking
up to the skies,” Sloane
said. “It’s great to see community
coming up together
for an event like this. It’s the
first Yoga on the Bandshell.”
While The Oaks previously
has held outdoor yoga
events, Sloane said she
wanted to utilize the most
of the new space at Yunker
Farm and allow others to
practice outdoors with her.
“When I first moved here
[to Mokena,] they used to
do outdoor yoga, but that
was many years ago and
they weren’t able to continue
that. I thought, ‘OK,’ and I
suggested it over winter and
said ‘Why don’t we bring
back outdoor yoga?’” Sloane
said. “This is just a trial, we’ll
have two dates over the summer.
Maybe we can squeeze
a few more in the fall if it’s a
good turnout.”
The turnout was impressive,
with every type of yogi
coming out to enjoy the Mokena
summer afternoon. For
mother-daughter duo Tina
Burke and Angelica Merichko,
it was an opportunity for
an afternoon of bonding, and
for the younger to expose the
elder to something new.
“I’ve done yoga before,
but my mom hadn’t, so
we just wanted to try it,”
Merichko said.
“She heard it from me.
I was looking through the
Park District catalog, and
I just saw in there, and I
thought, ‘I would like to
try that.’ Plus, it was awesome
to spend time with my
daughter outside, I loved doing
that,” Burke said.
Sherie Sloan teaches yoga
at Vibe Yoga Room in Tinley
Park as well as at The Oaks
Fitness Center in Mokena.
The next session of Yoga on
the Bandshell is scheduled
for 5 p.m. on July 29.
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Sherie Sloan demonstrates the warrior pose to yogis attending Yoga on the Bandshell on
Sunday, June 24. The next session of Yoga on the Bandshell is scheduled for 5 p.m. on
July 29. Rochelle McAuliffe/22nd Century Media
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