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We get it: we also fantasize about flowing to sunrise yoga on a Saturday morning, or strengthening our core, seaside, during a rejuvenating Pilates session. (Followed, of course, by a device-free catch-up over green juice with friends. Or, better yet: an organic facial.)
But wellness and fitness classes are unnecessarily expensive! So we’re excited to share these five, free yoga and Pilates events — all very different, but equally inclusive — coming up in August. The rest is up to you.
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Queer Yoga in the AT Center
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AT Center in Silver Lake is home to two free queer yoga weekly events that span until October. Hosted by With Love Projects, the sessions are focused on releasing tension and finding relaxation in a safe, inclusive space for LGBTQ+ community members. Starting Saturday, Aug. 1, Queer Yin Yoga invites attendees to join in a deep rest that doubles as a meditative practice to encourage presence and slow down. The 75-minute Yin Yoga session is led by a trauma-informed instructor. Queer Yin Yoga sessions are held at 3:30 p.m. every Saturday. Queer Candlelit Vinyasa Yogais held Wednesday, Aug. 5, allowing participants to find their zen in a candlelit space. Each session will be held at 8:30 p.m. every Wednesday. AT Center, 1773 Griffith Park Blvd., Los Angeles, Silver Lake.
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Goat Yoga in Grand Park
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Michelle Tritten of Hello Critter hosts rejuvenating goat yoga events around Los Angeles. Her crew of Nigerian dwarf goats (including Roscoe, Floyd, Billy, Burlap, Fanny, Lil’bit, Gigi, Felix and Hansel & Gretel) are playful and loving, with a fondness for riding on your back when you’re in plank pose or child’s pose (we’ve flowed with them, so we know). On Sunday, Aug. 9 — as part of Gloria Molina Grand Park’s Wellness Break Wild Card Series — Hello Critter will lead two, back to back (baaaack to baaaack) 45-minute goat yoga sessions outdoors, in the downtown L.A. park. The event — at which free yoga mats will be provided — is open to all ages and experience levels, though Hello Critter recommends participants weigh at least 75 pounds. Arrive 30 minutes prior to class. If sold out, join the waitlist, which is updated regularly as new spots open up. The Wellness Break Wild Card Series also puts on 45-minute yoga classes every Wednesday and Friday, noon-12:45 p.m. But flowing with goats is special. Goat Yoga: 4-6 p.m., Sun., Aug. 9; Gloria Molina Grand Park, 200 N. Grand Ave., downtown L.A.
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Yoga and sound bath at CAAM
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The California African American Museum in Exposition Park will offer a wellness combo on Sunday, Aug. 9: that is, a 60-minute yoga session followed by a 60-minute sound bath to unwind after flowing. Yoga and meditation instructor, Constance Hartwell, will lead the former; Sol & Sound, the latter. The yoga class is open to all levels, including beginners, but participants must reserve a spot and bring their own mats for both sessions, which will be held inside the museum’s spacious, airy lobby. While there, check out the exhibitions. One of them, “Free and Queer: Black Californian Roots of Gay Liberation,” explores how culture, across print, visual art and performance, has interpreted and shaped Black queer social and political movements. noon-2 p.m., 600 State Drive, Exposition Park, Los Angeles.
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Hatha Yoga at Holmby Park
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Unwind under the trees of Holmby Park, with a Hatha yoga session led by Alexia Gyorody. Gyorody is the founder of Peanut Yogini Yoga, and she regularly hosts free monthly gatherings Each month focuses on a different chakra. August is dedicated to the third eye chakra, which centers on intuition, insight and inner wisdom. Attendees are encouraged to wear indigo, deep blue or violet colors to get fully immersed in the Sunday gathering on Aug. 9. 10-11 a.m., Sunday, Aug. 9, Holmby Park, 601 Club View Drive, Los Angeles, Holmby Hills.
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Pilates at the Hub
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It’s Bigger Than Usis a South Los Angeles-based nonprofit offering educational programs, community health resources and crisis response to youth, families and neighborhoods in need. As part of that mission, it runs a free wellness series from June to November, including community Pilates classes at the IBTU Hub, located at the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza. (Other classes include yoga, sound baths and meditation.) The next yoga class is Saturday, Aug. 22, at which all bodies and all experience levels are welcome. The hour-and-a-half session will focus on core strength, breath and alignment. Mats will be provided but registration is required. Arrive 30 minutes prior to class. The end goal? “To make wellness feel like home,” IBTU says. 10 a.m.-noon, Saturday, Aug. 22, 3650 W. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Suite 224-226, Los Angeles.
The post Stretch your body, not your wallet: 5 free yoga and Pilates events in August appeared first on Los Angeles Times.
