Make beach yoga part of fitness weekend in Indiana Dunes Country

The best thing about my recent decision to try yoga on the beach at Indiana Dunes State Park – in addition to getting a great workout – was that I was rewarded with amazing views of the sand dunes and the crystal blue Lake Michigan waters.

If you’re a yoga regular or just want to try something that will improve your fitness in every way – flexibility, strength, balance, endurance – then take a beach yoga class before the summer ends.

I exercise regularly, but doing yoga showed me that I need to work on my flexibility and endurance.

The best thing about yoga is that people of all abilities can do it. Some of the people in the beach yoga class with me did the movements with what seemed like ease. Novices like me, on the other hand, took a few breathers during the class and may not have held our poses quite as long.

My co-worker, Patti, has done yoga before and said beach yoga was fun.

“It was nice to be outside doing it,” she said.

Another co-worker, Kristina, said it was harder than she thought it would be, but was fun. She’d like to start taking yoga classes, and she said the beach is a perfect place.

As instructor Mary Chandler said, “Why be inside when you can do it outside? It’s the perfect setting for yoga.” She does move the yoga into the Bleu Lotus studio in inclement weather.

Beach yoga is at 9 a.m. CST Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays, and 6:30 p.m., most likely through September, and check the schedule for costs and details about the location. Keep in mind that a gate fee of $7 per car (in-state) or $12 per car (out-of-state) applies in addition to the yoga session fee.

Fitness enthusiasts should consider a weekend trip to Indiana Dunes Country, complete with an overnight stay to allow time to do beach yoga, try The 3 Dune Challenge (also at Indiana Dunes State Park), and do yoga at two other great locations in the area.

Taltree Arboretum in Valparaiso offers outdoor yoga 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. CST Saturdays through September for $5 for members. The gate fee into the arboretum is waived for yoga class attendees. The yoga is in an open-air pavilion. Click here for more information.

Finally, plan to do a yoga session at Asana Yoga Center in downtown Valparaiso. Instructor Dana Darr and her team offer a variety of class types. Darr has done regular training with Manouso Manos, the most senior lyengar teacher in the country, as well as Sri HS Arun of Banglore (The ChairMaster).

After your yoga session, be sure to try one of the great downtown Valparaiso restaurants and check out the boutique shopping.

Indiana Dunes Country offers 70 miles of hiking trails, numerous bicycling and mountain biking trails and other fitness opportunities. Click here to learn more.