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With summer fast approaching, Winnipeggers will be looking for fun places to gather with friends, enjoy great local entertainment and even try some new activities. Le Patio 340 is set to offer all of those things with an array of summer programming that has officially begun this week.
One key element of that programming for the St. Boniface hangout spot is regular events like Yoga au Patio presented by Sport en Francais. Starting on June 12, yoga veterans and first-time participants alike will be gathering in the secluded patio space for regular early-evening sessions.
"We like to call it a unique urban yoga experience,” says Chantal Young, the executive director of Sport en Francais. “There’s a train coming by sometimes, there’s the traffic because it’s kind of rush hour... so it’s busy, but after a while, it kind of becomes that white noise. It just adds to the experience of it.”
The patio’s canopy of trees and secluded nature adds to the unique urban yoga experience at Le Patio 340. Young notes that the setting adds something a little different to the experience of yoga that one might not get in a more conventional yoga setting.
“In some of the poses, especially at the end where you’re in your shavasana and just lying there and you’re staring up at the sky and you’re seeing birds and the trees moving... that’s something you don’t get in a studio.”
Young also notes that the summer months are a great time to try yoga out for the first time, with the unique setting taking some of the pressure off for people who want to try it but don’t necessarily want to try it in a dedicated space. “We’ve had people come and meet their friends once yoga was done,” she adds about the patio experience. “They’d come join for a drink or join for a bite to eat. It goes beyond just a yoga session.”
The first of the Yoga au Patio series takes place on June 12 at 5:30 p.m. at Le Patio 340 on Provencher Boulevard. There is a suggested donation of $10 with all proceeds going to Sport en Francais’s programming. Yoga participants are also invited to stay for one of the patio’s first summer concerts featuring Winnipeg singer-songwriter Abrielle Turenne.
You can learn more about Le Patio 340’s yoga sessions and upcoming summer events at their website or follow them on social media.