The pilot of the plane that flew over the UA Recreation Center at 9:54 a.m. Saturday may have been startled by the unusual scene transpiring below, as more than 30 people were splayed out on their backs like corpses, completely still and silent.
The pilot was not witnessing the filming of a low-budget zombie movie, but rather members of the Tuscaloosa yoga community in savasana, or corpse pose, wrapping up their hour of participation in Salutation Nation.
Salutation Nation is an annual program, organized by yoga clothing company Lululemon Athletica, in which thousands of yogis in communities worldwide gather to practice simultaneously. Saturday marked the first time that Tuscaloosa has participated in the proceedings.
The event is put on in observance of National Yoga Month. The United States Department of Health and Human Services designated September as this month.
Jess Smith, a senior majoring in communicative disorders, organized and led the University’s Salutation Nation proceedings. She said that the primary purpose of the event is to promote feelings of positivity and unity.
“We’re doing karmic yoga, which is all about sending out good intentions,” she said.
To reach this end, Smith prompted the group to slow down and breathe at four separate times during the practice, reminding attendees to project their gratitude, both internally and globally.
Smith was not the only participant who picked up on the good vibrations.
“It was neat to know that we were doing yoga at the same time as people all over the world,” said Diana Jones, a yoga instructor at the Recreation Center.
Tuscaloosa resident Lynn Andrews was wary of the event turning into an advertisement for Lululemon, but thought the event struck a good balance between yoga and marketing. “At least they didn’t just hand out 20 percent off coupons or anything like that,” she said.
Some participants simply appreciated the opportunity to get some exercise in the morning sunlight. “It was a different feel to doing yoga outside,” said Tuscaloosa resident Cathy Elliot.
Smith is a yoga instructor at the recreation center and has completed her 200-hour teacher training through YogaWorks. She said she feels confident that the benefits of the activity are numerous for those who practice.
“Most people start yoga for the physical aspect,” she said, “but they usually find that they can’t help but take it off the mat and apply the benefits to the rest of their life. They keep coming back for the mental and emotional benefits that yoga promotes.”
Amongst a round of applause from the assembled yogis, Smith concluded Tuscaloosa’s first observance of Salutation Nation by challenging everyone to take their “gratitude off the mat and into the rest of the day.”
Maybe that baffled pilot was able to pick up some of the positive vibes and take the confusion off his mind.
