News
Serenity at Iowa City’s First Downtown Wellness Festival
Aug
Downtown Iowa City held its first Downtown Wellness Festival on Saturday, August 22, and I had the joy of teaching one of the day’s free yoga classes. Hundreds of community members came out for the Iowa City Downtown District’s day-long festival, with a morning run club, free wellness classes, and dozens of local vendors filling the streets.
The Daily Iowan covered the festival, and I am grateful they stopped by our class. Two University of Iowa students who practiced with us told the paper they appreciated having a variety of ways to approach each exercise so that every skill level could take part. That is exactly what I hope people carry out of every class I teach. You can read the full story here: Iowa City downtown builds community through health and wellness festival.
Comfort comes first
I shared with the reporter the idea that guides every class I teach, whether it is a crowd at a festival or a small group at the studio:
“The most important thing is to make those people feel comfortable in class, and they can’t do that until they’re feeling comfortable with themselves.”
That is why everything at Serenity starts with a conversation. Before you join a class, we sit down together and talk through your injuries, health conditions, and medical history, so your practice fits your body instead of the other way around. It is the same approach whether you come to us for yoga, Pilates, or barre.
This might be your thing
My favorite part of the festival was watching people try something new for the first time. As I told The Daily Iowan, it is really fun to see someone light up and think, “This might be my thing. This might be something I could do.”
If Saturday sparked something for you, fall is a wonderful time to begin. We have three new classes starting this fall, including a beginner-friendly Intro to Pilates: Mat series, and you can always find the full lineup on our class schedule.
Scenes from Saturday
A friend caught a few moments from the morning. Here are some of my favorites, from our first standing poses to the core work that closed out the class.
