The Riverfront Yoga Project kicked off its Riverfront Yoga series on Saturday morning in Wilkes-Barre.
Kevin Carroll | Times Leader
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WILKES-BARRE — On a day where freedom is at the forefront of everyone’s minds, more than a hundred people took to the River Common to practice freedom of mind, body and soul in the form of yoga.
For the 11th year, the Riverfront Yoga Project is bringing a series of diverse and varied yoga classes to the banks of the Susquehanna River, and yoga enthusiasts hit the Common on Saturday for an hour of focused meditation before indulging in some Fourth of July festivities.
“It’s so nice to get everyone out in the open air,” said Saturday’s instructor, Jennifer Ciarimboli. Ciarimboli is also the founder of the Riverfront Yoga Project, and a member of its board of directors. “Freedom starts here, it starts with the body and soul.”
She kicked off Saturday’s class by welcoming everyone and introducing some of the other directors and instructors. Thanks to a brand new sound system donated by the Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Commerce, Ciarimboli’s voice carried all over the Common.
With an early start time of 10 a.m. to beat the worst of the summer heat, and plenty of shade provided by trees, the conditions for Saturday’s class were as ideal as they could be.
With an entire riverbank of space, students were able to socially distance and keep themselves safe while practicing their yoga.
According to Ciarimboli, even with the outdoor setting COVID-19 threatened to derail this year’s series.
“We were looking at all sorts of alternatives, just in case,” Ciarimboli said. “We thought about recording the classes, instead.”
Saturday’s class was based around Vinyasa yoga, a form of yoga that focuses on breathing and flowing from one pose to the next.
Ciarimboli led the group from one pose to the next for a little over an hour, stringing together poses that varied from the basic “child’s pose” to some more advanced techniques. She also encouraged rest and breaks for those who needed them.
“We’re open to everyone here, whether you’ve been doing this for a long time or you just started today,” Ciarimboli said.
One such beginner was Melissa Santora, who came down from Moosic to check out the scene after reading about Riverfront Yoga on Facebook.
“This was so wonderful and powerful,” Santora said. “I feel great.”
Riverfront Yoga will continue next Saturday with instructor Priya Idgunji teaching a class centered on Gentle Yoga and Meditation.