Instead of cleats and shoulder pads, it was bare feet and yoga pants yesterday at Woodman Field, where the Montclair Foundation for Educational Excellence held its first annual yogathon. More than 200 yogis showed up to do downward dogs, warrior and cobra poses, among others, with teaching divided between instructors from Yogadesha, Be Evolution, Asana House, Garden State Yoga, Starseed, Yoga Montclair, Lotus Yoga and Karuna Shala.
From the first Om to the last, everybody seemed to enjoy practicing outdoors in a big crowd. “From the moment I stepped thru the entrance gate, there was a feeling of peace, different from the typical fund raiser,” said one participant in a thank you note to MFEE. “There was something spiritual, a softness, a kindness that resonated thru out the entire experience from beginning to end.”
There was a little culture dissonance on the field when some of the songs played by DJ Barry Schwartz, a special education teacher at Glenfield, broke from the traditional New Age repertoire. It may have been the first time anybody’s ever heard Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons’ “Big Girls Don’t Cry” during a yoga class, but it was good for a chuckle. And nobody did cry, at least that we saw.
Altogether, including sponsorships, MFEE pulled in $10,000 to benefit the schools.
Photos by S.J. Streeter
Buttocks: atten-hut!
Caption: Butt cheeks of Montclair.
Right now, a yogi in India is sitting cross-legged on the floor, looking at this picture, laughing his head off.
A lot of ass for one afternoon! Looks like the local unemployment rate is up again.