Joanne, 63, has attended Park Yoga Poole for 3 years, and shares how Park Yoga’s supported her during difficult times in her life…
“I started yoga at a young age, 14, as my mother got me and my sister following a TV programme for yoga, and my love for it continued ever since. My mother’s been the inspiration for my yoga journey – she was doing it well into her 80s and still had amazing balance, she even got my father to start at 65!
I’ve been through lots of troubles in my life and yoga has always been the one thing that’s helped to keep me grounded and calm. I’ve recently lost my husband and every day since I’ve lost him, I’ve tried to do yoga. Because I’ve felt a little down, I don’t want to mix with people, I’m trying, but I’ve been isolating myself a little bit. So, I thought Park Yoga is the ideal thing to test myself and get out there again and mixing with people and just enjoying something. Park Yoga is part of my healing journey, even looking up at the sky and looking at the vastness, it makes you feel that there’s so much more out there.
Yoga is an exercise that I believe fits all because there is a type of yoga for every sort of condition, for every stage of life. I’m going to be 64 shortly, but I was getting problems with my knee and hip, and I couldn’t afford to get lots of treatment, so I thought, I’m going to try yoga exercises instead. So, practicing yoga for people that are aging is really beneficial as it helps your mobility as well as the mental side as well.
A lot of people are put off by cost of a gym membership or the hours they work, where I work our hours are ridiculous for trying to get to exercise classes, so a weekend class in the park, especially when it’s beautiful weather, it’s delightful. I’ve even done Park Yoga in the rain though!
It was the fact that it was outdoors that got me started with Park Yoga; since covid everybody’s realised that being out in nature is so beneficial. I love being outdoors, seeing the beauty of nature around you and you’re looking up at the sky and you feel the breeze, it’s incredible.
You can see that everybody’s at a different stage and ability at Park Yoga and that’s the beauty of it for me, because it’s so inclusive.
It’s fabulous, it ticks all my boxes.”
Park Yoga is suitable for all physical levels and abilities, and no experience is necessary – last year 30% of our participants had never tried yoga before. There’s no need to book, just turn up with a mat (or towel or blanket) and enjoy the session. Visit our venue page to find your closest Park Yoga location.