Free Yoga In Waikiki
Last Wednesday, I took part in a free weekly yoga class on the lawn at Waikiki Beach Walk on Lewers Street and experienced the best stretches my body has felt in years.
Led by Dennis Miller, a yoga instructor, massage therapist and owner of The Shiatsu & Massage Center at Waikiki Beach Walk, the class is open to the public and runs about 45 minutes.
“It’s a very beginner-friendly, slightly challenging fundamental mix of hatha yoga with dance conditioning and sports stretching,” says Miller on what people can expect.
Somehow, even sitting in the middle of Waikiki, where the sidewalks are typically crowded and roads are busy with cars and tour buses, you are able to tune everything out and focus on your body’s movements.
Miller, who has a bachelor’s degree in dance from University of Hawaii and performed with Iona Contemporary Dance Theatre, has been doing yoga for about 15 years.
“I started taking Iyengar yoga at Silent Dance Center and instantly fell in love with it,” he recalls. “Yoga has made me stronger and more flexible. It also has made me able to take stress in strides — for example: traffic jams, lines at the bank, or I don’t have enough money to pay rent. There’s a serious problem and it causes stress, but now I can step aside and be more objective. It’s helped me to find the confidence to wait and allow some natural process to happen.”
Miller also leads Beach Yoga, Park Yoga and Sunset Yoga classes, meeting at the standing surfer boy statue at the entrance to Kapiolani Park. Classes last 90 minutes and cost is $20 per class. Beach Yoga starts at 7 a.m. daily, Park Yoga at 9:30 a.m. every day except for Tuesday and Friday, and Sunset Yoga at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday and Friday.
He also offers indoor Circus Yoga at The Shiatsu & Massage Center.
To sign up for the free weekly Yoga on the Lawn class, stop in at Shiatsu & Massage Center on the second floor (suite 209) at Waikiki Beach Walk. Participants should bring a towel. For more information, call 922-0171.
ANTHONY CONSILLIO PHOTOS
