Ocean City: Fitness
Local Yoga Instructor Does Facebook Live Classes
OC Beach Yoga
Imad Elali has been teaching yoga for many years in Ocean City and the surrounding area. He has a loyal following and taught classes as often as 5 times a day before the coronavirus brought life to a halt here in Ocean City. After several types of businesses were told to close by Executive Order including fitness facilities, students of Imad Elali asked him if he could hold his yoga classes on-line. Now, if you would like to get some exercise or relieve some stress/anxiety you can take one of Imad’s classes live through his Facebook page. Here are links to the previous classes Mr. Elali has taught on-line:
Live OC Beach Yoga Videos
(keep checking OC Beach Yoga page for updates for more sessions)
Yoga is a good option, anyone can do it. Doesn’t matter how old you are, what issues you have.
The FB Live classes, despite some connectivity issues, have been doing quite well as far as participation goes. Imad says the last video he did had over 600 views. He says he didn’t create this format to go on for a long length of time. “I am hoping this will pass fairly quickly, & we will be back at the local gyms and studios I teach at.” There is no fee to participate in his on-line class. Imad says, “I am not looking to make money out of it. I just want to keep my students motivated.” The on-line class Elali says lacks the give and take energy that a real class has, but at least he can put something out there for people until we get back to normal.
OC Beach Yoga Non-judgemental
Elali says people enjoy his class and his teaching because he can empathize with limitations. “I can relate to most people because people ‘say I can’t do this’, ‘I can’t do that’, and you know four and half l years ago, I couldn’t do nothing. Because I pretty much had to relearn how to walk. I know where they are coming from.” Elali suffers from lyme disease and that illness nearly took his life, and his yoga practice helped him regain what the illness had taken away. He worked for years slowly doing the poses that his strength and ability allowed. As he worked, he grew a little better with each class. He wants to help others in the same way. “Yoga is a good option, anyone can do it. Doesn’t matter how old you are, what issues you have.”
Outdoor Yoga Classes in Ocean City
Beyond indoor classes throughout the community, Imad offered a very special option of morning and evening yoga May through October on the beaches of Ocean City. For all that were looking forward to gathering this way, that option is now gray as we don’t know when all these special circumstances will be lifted. The year round indoor classes obviously are under the same restriction. To find where Imad has held classes and where they will be held in the future, you can go to his EventBrite page.
Ocean City Fitness: Life Without Yoga Face to Face
As with many of the small businesses that had to close due to Executive Order, fitness companies like OC Beach Yoga are not making money during this time. The Yoga community has started the hashtag campaign #SaveYourLocalYogaStuido. The community is encouraging people to buy gift certificates so studios like OC Beach Yoga can still see an influx of cash at this time.
Please let us know if you have taken part in any online fitness class or how your exercise plan has changed since the coronavirus pandemic.
