“Inhale,” yoga instructor Pam Hong says to the class as she guides them, “fill your lungs completely, then exhale, out to the side, relax your shoulders, relax your jaw, inhale.”
Nestled in a wooded area tucked away on Los Poblanos Historic Inn & Organic Farm, a yurt — a circular tent with a lattice structure — with a wooden deck offers a serene and quiet place for the reflective practice of yoga.
Los Poblanos offers classes in the yurt for a range of skill levels, from the beginner “Gentle” class which involves slow-paced stretching and breathing, to the “Flow and Breathe” and “Vinyasa” classes which incorporate a “series of flowing sequences of movement” to calm the mind and address tension and stress in the body, according to their website.
Built almost 2 1/2 years ago, the yurt was born in the era when the COVID-19 pandemic’s impacts on physical and mental health were fresh. As the business began to see a demand for classes, it expanded its new spa area to include the yurt and began to host them there.
“It was the missing piece to just kind of our overall well-being model,” Melissa Rivera, the spa and wellness manager, said. “And after coming out of COVID it was like, ‘what are people really looking for?’ And that was wellness and well-being and just really taking care of yourself.”
The yurt also hosts meditation classes, Rivera said, as well as an astrology and yoga class during each new moon.
On Tuesday, noon light spilled into the circular structure through its large windows and crown skylight. Peaceful music filled the air as candles flickered and shoes were stacked near the door.
Instructor Pam Hong led the class from the center of the room, with others’ mats stretching outwards from the middle like sunbeams as the participants stretched and flowed with their teacher.
“Inhale,” Hong said to the class as she guided them, “fill your lungs completely, then exhale, out to the side, relax your shoulders, relax your jaw, inhale.”
