A great way to start the New Year was the takeaway, as 2,500 packed Mizner Park Amphitheater for Something BIG.
The turnout New Year morning made it clear that yoga is now mainstream.
A diverse crowd age-wise and more guys didn’t surprise Yoga Journey’s Leslie Glickman. Her team and 55 teachers stage this free, outdoor yoga class every year.
“We take Leslie’s class Saturday mornings. It’s a good expenditure of energy,” said school administrator and former Spanish High principal Geoff McKee with his wife. The city sponsored free yoga class is held weekly in Sanborn Square.
“I bring someone different every year,” yoga teacher John Diamond said from the crowd on the balcony Wednesday. “It’s about getting your body moving.”
Glickman conducted the class from the stage to the sea of people following in unison on colorful yoga mats. “We all come to the mat from different places,” she told the crowd at the close of the session. “Take off those jaded lenses from 2019. Anything is possible.”
Singer Marti Nikko led the crowd in song and dancing during the intermission. DJ Drez played as he does every year.
The event honored Kindness Matters, a global campaign for school children that started here. “Every child had to be educated about gratitude, compassion and kindness,” said founder Laura Reiss.
By Marci Shatzman
