It’s time for the Friday Five and I couldn’t be more excited to contribute to this week’s Friday Five Link Up! But who could possibly need 5 reasons to try yoga and hiking together? It’s YOGA and HIKING! These are possibly two of your favorite activities combined to form one perfect workout – yum! It’s like chocolate and peanut butter! You love both and they are even better together. Imagine the stretching and strengthening of yoga and the cardio of hiking combined for 90 minutes of blissful outdoor activity! Need I say more? Okay…
1. This winter was brutal! More importantly, spring is here! You have been itching to get outdoors, take in the fresh air, and move your body. Yoga Hikes is a great and safe way to do just that while enjoying the fabulous trails of Rock Creek Park.
2. Root down and reach up for real! How many times have you heard a yoga instructor say, “Root down into the ground…reach up to the sky!” Only the “ground” was a hardwood floor and the “sky” was a studio ceiling? Not during a Yoga Hike! You’ll root down into the real dirt-based earth beneath your feet and reach up to the infinite canopy of the sky. It is truly energizing!
3. You love trying new things! Variety is the spice of life and this is not a 60 minute power yoga class or yoga in the park (though I like those too!). The Yoga Hikes format consists of intervals of 15 minutes of vinyasa based yoga and 15 minutes of hiking repeated for 90 minutes (it works out to roughly 45 minutes of yoga and 45 minutes of hiking). We break for YogaStops in three distinct locations, mixing up the scenery so you can take in a great new view.
4. 5 shining stars! Nearly 500 people went out on a Yoga Hike last season and I couldn’t be more grateful for their reviews on Yelp, comments on Facebook, and awesome blog posts! Having a great rating is nice, but reading positive reviews from actual clients is the best! I admit that I’m biased, so please visit these sites or our website to read more from others!
5. It’s just fun! You will quiet your mind, but this is not silent yoga. Yoga Hikes is a social, outdoor, small group workout. Bring a friend or make new friends on the hike. We keep our groups under 15 people so that you can get as much attention and instruction as you would like. And the socializing doesn’t have to end after the hike. Yoga Hikes are currently offered Saturday and Sunday mornings in Rock Creek Park and end just in time for brunch…detox retox, anyone?
Convinced? I hope so! The truth is I could offer dozens of reasons to try Yoga Hikes DC this season and hope you’ll give us the opportunity to show you why we think it’s time to take your yoga outdoors. If you’ve never tried yoga, I assure you that we are beginner friendly and you will catch on in no time. For those of you who don’t like bugs, I’ve always got insect repellant in my backpack!
Danielle M. Reyes (RYT 200) is the owner and lead yoga hiker of Yoga Hikes DC. Contact her at danielle@yogahikesdc.com or follow her at @danielle_reyes and @YogaHikes
Sounds like an interesting idea. I feel like I’d need to be able to handle yoga first before doing it on a hike, haha.
Hi, visiting from the Friday 5. This sounds like a wonderful activity. I wish I lived closer cause i’d love to try it!
What a cool idea! I’ve never heard of this. I will definitely check it out this summer looks like a blast.
Wow, I had NO idea this existed! Sounds awesome! I may have to check it out sometime!!
Thanks for linking up! I am SO excited to join again this season, woot!
Sooo when are you coming up to the Baltimore area with your program? Sounds like fun even though I haven’t done yoga in over 2 years and have not hiked since I was like 12. It’s all good though – always looking for new challenges. This sounds like a lot of fun.
I gotta be honest. This doesn’t look to appealing to me from a Florida standpoint, but I bet the weather makes it much more tolerable in DC area. I would definitely try this up there.
i’m not big into yoga, but this is really intriguing! thanks for linking up 🙂
This is such a cool idea! Sad I moved away before trying this, will have to check it out if I’m back in the area!
This is such a wonderful idea! I’ve only done yoga outside once but I loved it. This sounds like a great format. I’m definitely going to check out your site.
How cool!! I would love to do something like this 🙂