Yoga organization Sutra Studios held their last free Sutra in the Park yoga event of the year at the Margaret T. Hance Park.
“We come out into the community and give back by doing free programming all around the city,” Matt Fritz, the co-owner of Sutra Studios, said.
The events they hold are for all ages and for people in all yoga levels. Children, teenagers and adults all participated in this specific event.
Sutra Studios has been holding these events for about ten years and have provided their services at hotels, rooftops, in house at their studio and other places around downtown Phoenix.
“It’s a good way to get people interested in yoga because it’s free and its outdoors … there’s no pressure on it and there’s music, which makes it more entertaining,” said Michelle Palaima, a Sutra in the Park attendee at her second event.
Fritz said Sutra Studios came up with the idea for these events because they wanted to bring their wealth of knowledge regarding health to the community.
Rebecca Fritz, Fritz’s wife, is the other co-owner of Sutra Studios and was the instructor for Sutra in the Park.
“I know the two owners from previous events that I’ve gone to, and I go to their yoga studio occasionally, and I thoroughly enjoy their yoga classes,” Arlinda Bajrami, an attendee at the event, said.
Fritz is the designated DJ for the event and plays upbeat music to keep the energy going, while Rebecca has a microphone to announce the different poses and lead the session in a fun and positive way.
While teaching, Rebecca Fritz joked that attendees should twerk in poses and had them hold hands for stability and for them to feel together as a community.
“I really like the teacher because she’s articulate in knowing how to do the moves, so it’s not very intimidating,” Bajrami said.
Genesis Ortiz had never attended one of these events before, and she was unsure of what to expect.
“I was a little nervous to go since I’ve never done yoga with a group this big before, but it ended up being really fun,” Ortiz said.
Palaima said she loves that the events are not very “aura-oriented” and that they are more focused on fitness.
“With this kind of yoga, you can go as deep as you want to go, I love it for physical benefits, but then ultimately it’s just been very healing,” attendee Amanda Bills said.
Matt and Rebecca Fritz started Sutra Studios to bring people together, establish meaningful relationships and to share the benefits of a healthy lifestyle.
“It’s communities like you that make this the best job in the world,” Rebecca Fritz said.
Contact the reporter at leberman@asu.edu.
