In the middle of a heat wave stifling Connecticut, a few dedicated students laid out their mats and began to stretch. They were part of a recent free yoga class at Waterbury’s Bucks Hill Park, courtesy of ConnectiCare’s social equity program Yoga in Our City (YIOC).
“I've seen some beautiful friendships blossom, because people have connected with others out in these parks,” said Katlyn Hagley, a teacher with Waterbury Public Schools and YIOC instructor. “I have some pretty great groups of regulars that show up to classes. It’s a beautiful way to connect with themselves, each other and nature.”
YIOC brings free yoga classes to parks throughout Connecticut from May to early October. The program’s goal is to promote yoga as a public health and community wellness tool, providing easily accessible classes to cities that have limited yoga exposure.
During the class, students followed Hagley’s instructions, going into various poses like sphinx and crescent moon. The class lasted an hour. Throughout Hagley stressed the importance of comfort – encouraging the modification of certain positions if they became painful.
And while students focus on poses and yoga’s physicality, participants in the Waterbury classes tend to also benefit psychologically, Hagley said.
“Some of the feedback that I've gotten is how it has helped people with their mental health – to help them relax and reduce anxiety,” Hagley said. “There's really an infinite number of benefits depending on the person and what they're coming to the mat for.”
Waterbury, a community that is heavily Latino and Black, sees nearly half of households considered “cost-burdened,” meaning that at least 30% of their total income is spent solely on housing costs, according to research from the Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments’ 2021 Equity Profile.
A 2017 study linked poverty with higher rates of depression and anxiety in children and adults. Black adults are more likely to have feelings of sadness and hopelessness, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
YIOC is the brainchild of TJ Clynch, the founder of social impact agency CivicMind. More than a decade since the initial idea launched in Hartford, classes are now offered almost every day of the week in Bridgeport, Hartford, New Haven, Waterbury, Willimantic and New London.
The classes are taught by local yoga instructors and located in several parks throughout each city.
“Exercise and wellness and mental health in a public park can be intimidating – you are in a vulnerable space,” Clynch said. “You're with a bunch of people who are at first strangers, but as you consistently go, you're building this sense of community.”
But no matter where you live, Hagely said, yoga can be for you. Even if you don’t necessarily consider yourself “young” or “athletic.”
“You can sit on your mat and observe the whole class, just hang out until you get comfortable. Unfortunately, there's this perception of yoga in our culture where it's all physical, and it's not,” Hagley said. “There's a huge mental, emotional and spiritual component to yoga as well. If you think you can't do it physically, you can. There's a pose for everyone.”
