People who take Washington, DC yoga classes may consider them just one more example of the city's melting-pot spirit. Now, that idealism – and the sheer number of DC yoga studios – has landed the nation's capital on the Yoga Journal's list of "10 Fantastically Yoga-Friendly Towns."
The periodical's August issue grouped Washington, DC alongside the likes of Austin, Texas; Boulder, Colorado; Asheville, North Carolina and Portland, Oregon, in terms of being a yoga-centric locale.
The magazine noted that the capital of the U.S. currently has 38 yoga studios for a population just a shade under 600,000 people. These facilities house any number of yoga styles, from prenatal or family-based yoga to more fitness-centered regimens, many of which are offered by the Dahn Yoga studios in DC.
The city also hosts plenty of events that include or even revolve around the holistic mind-body system.
Probably the largest example is the yearly Yoga on the Mall meeting, in which thousands of Washingtonians turn out on the long expanse of grass to do yoga, meditate and reconnect with one another and the world around them. This event typically wraps up DC Yoga Week, the Washington Post stated.
Shawn Parell, a yoga nonprofit organizer, told the Yoga Journal that Washington, DC, is a beacon of positive flux and optimistic improvement in a time of national uncertainty.
"So many people come to DC because they want to change the world they live in," she said, adding that the residents of the town often have a deep, energetic spiritual connection, even if they are unaware of it.
Millions of Americans practice yoga every year, and the number of people attracted to the system is significant. A survey conducted by the yoga periodical found that more than 18 million people are intrigued by the ancient holistic regimen.
