Your Inner Yogi (YIY) recently released its free online yoga series on Instagram via its weekly Friday Night Live series, in partnership with the Downtown Memphis Commission (DMC). It was originally meant to be part of DMC’s Yoga in the Park program until COVID-19 put a wrench in those plans.
“Originally, we planned for these classes to be held outside at Court Square Park,” says yoga instructor Caroline Collins. “The classes were supposed to start in April, and it was really a way for us to engage with the community.”
But YIY and DMC were able to think quickly on their toes and take the series online, starting with a Vinyasa Flow session led by Collins. Now, two weeks later, Collins will lead the same class.
Julie Song
Caroline Collins of Your Inner Yogi
“In my upcoming classes in May, I plan to teach Vinyasa Flow, which essentially means one breath links to one movement,” says Collins. “It means that you’re tuning into your breath first. And you’re allowing your breath to be your guide, so that a movement comes on an inhale and another movement comes on an exhale.”
Yoga is an ancient practice that has been found to provide a slew of benefits, including boosting physical, mental, spiritual, and emotional health. Collins says that everyone should have access to these benefits, regardless of their ability to pay, and she stresses the importance of self-care during times like these.
“Right now, as we’re dealing with a new normal, I think a lot of us have found ourselves trying to figure out what our routines look like since everything was uprooted,” she says. “Facing these new challenges can impact everything from our thoughts and our perceptions, to even manifesting in physical ways. So yoga gives us the opportunity to come back home to ourselves to reconnect, take things one breath, one moment, at a time, and helps us focus on the present.”
instagram.com/yourinneryogi, Friday, May 1st, 6:30 p.m., free.