Yoga group sets stretch goal

To kick off New Moon Yoga Day, the community is invited to take part in a group practice of 108 sun salutations and other activities for the whole family at the Lincoln City Cultural Center this Saturday, July, 20.

There will be food, music, children’s activities and a silent auction inside the building. Craft projects for kids will be available in the art room from 10 am to 1 pm. At 1 pm in the auditorium, the band Your Song My Song will play funky music about taking care of the planet. At 2 pm, the studio will host a gentle, restorative yoga class, with admission by donation.

To complete the 108 sun salutations, participants will gather in front of the center along the poetry path. At 10 am, instructors will offer a brief demonstration and some guidance. It will take roughly 90 minutes to complete, and the event will conclude with about 15 minutes of collective stillness and meditation. Participants may bring their own mats or borrow from the studio’s inventory.

“This auspicious meditative practice is meant to propel us as individuals and collectively as a community toward expansion and prosperity,” yoga instructor and New Moon Yoga studio manager Brady Jansen said. “The number 108 holds significance in Hinduism and Buddhism, and Indian culture generally, and is considered auspicious.”

Jansen assures participants that they do not have to complete all 108 salutations.

“As you move through this repetitive practice, observe and listen to your body.  If you get too tired, simply stop and sit down,” he said. “I would invite participants to approach this, and yoga generally, with openness and curiosity, and try not to be bound by expectation.”

All members of the community, including visiting yogis or potential "New Mooners,” are welcome to participate in New Moon Yoga Day. The event will celebrate the affordable, accessible yoga that the program makes available six days a week at the cultural center. All proceeds and donations collected during the day will go toward the upkeep of the studio, and its goal of universal access to yoga.

The event will take place from 10 am to 3 pm inside the Lincoln City Cultural Center, located at 540 NE Hwy. 101. For more information, go to lincolncity-culturalcenter.org or call 971-303-9646.