LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Englewood yoga instructor enters final week of beach yoga challenge
To the Editor:
Facing off against what has proven to be a mean season of hot summer days under a blistering Florida sun, on August 6 Kris Hleuka of Loving Light Yoga is set to complete a streak of 31 consecutive days leading fellow yoga enthusiasts in their regularly scheduled morning yoga practice on Englewood Beach. Pinch-hitting for Loving Light owners Lata and Robert Coykendall, who after 15 years of sponsoring Englewood’s Community Beach Yoga each and every day (holidays included) decided to actually take a vacation, Hleuka was asked to lead during what turned out to be a record-breaking heat wave.
Hleuka could not have known what was in store for her when she accepted the challenge in what Singer might have called the Hot Summer Beach Yoga Experiment. But she had faith that she would be up to the task, barring stormy weather, the latter of which 24 days in has not prevented her from showing up to lead a congregation ranging from 20 to over 50 participants a day.
It may have taken a few massages and stints with a chiropractor, but when asked whether she had any doubts that she would make it for 31 days straight of yoga instruction without a break, the only concern Hleuka had was that she might be stricken with some form of contagion. Otherwise, she is confident that her long stint of practicing and then teaching yoga would see her through.
Given the unprecedented heat in what will no doubt go down in history as the mean summer season of 2023, the prospect that records for most consecutive days for attending beach yoga, as well as attendance under the brutal Florida sun, are likely to be broken on Englewood beach should not be that surprising. After all, during their practice would-be yogis learn about a breathing method that helps to cool down their bodies, pretend to dive into cool waters with a swimmer’s pose, or take a real dip into the refreshing waters of the Gulf after their yoga practice.
Those who want to learn how to cool down even on the hottest summer days should don their swimsuits, grab a sheet, towel or yoga blanket, and make it down to Englewood beach every day, starting at 8:30 a.m. Get there any morning until August 6, and Kris Hleuka will show you how.
B Shawn Clark
Englewood
(Photos by Sharon McKenzie)
