April 07, 2010

Cherry Blossom yoga

the Cherry Blossom Festival has been in full swing here in DC over the past week or so, and we've been granted absolutely amazing weather to go along with it.
(these photos are technically from last year, but you get the idea)

but back to this year! marie and i learned that as part of the festival activities, there would be a public outdoor yoga session under the washington monument. i gchatted her the link, and she basically replied back 2.4 seconds later with YES PLEASE SOLD LET'S DO IT.

i'm so glad we did. it was AWESOME. the unofficial count of people was something like 1700 (!!!) and the energy was absolutely fantastic. it started off fairly chilly and overcast...

but the sun came out and warmed us all up about halfway through.

i wish they'd do this more often - something about doing yoga outdoors was incredibly satisfying. having a thousand people ducking through throngs of tourists afterwards in yoga pants and carrying yoga mats (or, um, in my case, a bath towel) was pretty great, too.

and plus, where there are poles, there will be people hanging off of them:
(just out of sight: the huge concrete base of the pole, soooo no full inverting, alas)

24 comments:

  1. So, how many tourists do you think took your photo, too, as you were hanging off that pole? (Which looks like a lot of fun, btw.)

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  2. That is awesome! All those people doing yoga together... it looks so centered, or something.

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  3. So jealous. I wanted to go to this but alas I was getting my taxes done. *sigh*

    I did however manage to make it to the pillow fight on the mall later in the afternoon. I had a blast.

    AND I'm going "flavor tripping" on Friday thanks to your post!

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  4. Ugh, that looks freaking awesome. The cherry blossoms, the yoga, AND the pole-hanging!

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  5. omg - those are great pictures.

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  6. I used to have a cherry blossom tree in my backyard, they are so beautiful! Group yoga with a few thousand people sounds like a good time.

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  7. That looks fun! I think they do that here in Chicago in the summer, but it is usually butt-ass early and I can't make it all the way downtown. I'll have to try for it this year, though!

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  8. This looks so fun! I'm going to see if I can find some outdoor yoga in Dallas.

    Of course, it will have to be hot yoga, since soon it will be over 100 degrees outside. Cue me slipping on my own sweat and falling on my face.

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  9. I love yoga outdoors! I used to do it with the kids at the school I worked at in PA.

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  10. AWESOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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  11. I am obsessed with everything in this post. Cherry blossoms! (I think I took 300 pictures alone just of the blossoms last weekend) Group yoga near the monuments - awesome! I agree with Jess, there is something very centered with all that positive energy in one outdoor area! And to top it all of, you showing off your pole skills on a lamp post. You are my hero!

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  12. Feet up and together and the sun comes out!!

    I'm still convinced it's because of us the sun came out.

    Soooo much fun lady!

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  13. I almost feel brave enough to try yoga....

    That pole hang? Awesome.

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  14. LOL, only Alice would be pole-dancing, um, I mean hanging, at the Cherry Blossom festival! :)
    I feel like a failure this year for not getting down there to see them AGAIN. We got back around midnight on Friday night from NYC and I just. couldn't. walk. any. more. Or do crowds.
    NEXT YEAR. (That's what I keep telling myself.)

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  15. Oh, and I totally recognized that 2nd pic -- which actually made me feel less bad about myself missing the photo op.

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  16. I would totally do outdoor yoga. FUN! I love cherry blossoms.

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  17. Such fun!! I love it!

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  18. Alright, I am SO there next year. And maybe there's another one in the Fall or something when it's not ball stickingly hot.

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  19. Looks like it was a super time. Being out in a beautiful day automatically doubles the awesome of yoga.

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  20. I did a very short yoga class outside last year and thought it was great! Boat looks so much easier when done with a friend.

    Ha. Did people wonder what you were doing on that pole? Maybe not. I saw some strange things around the Washington monument when I was there (this guy was rollerblading and would stop at different spots around the monument and do head stands with his rollerblades on!).

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  21. I don't think I've ever seen anything like that before, looks like so much fun!

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  22. Love the pic of you & Marie. And also? YOU. ARE. CRAZY.

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  23. Yay!

    1700 people?!? That is amazing!!!

    Looks like you were doing some pairs/couples yoga, too. I always enjoy that. It sometimes makes me feel more forward bendy than I actually am.

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