Rockaway Yin Yoga, Sound and Calm

By Dan Guarino
Amid the swift swirl of everyday life, peninsula residents Dana Humphrey and Onel Mulet are offering something unusual even for Rockaway: stillness.
On Saturday, October 11, from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. they are presenting Yin Yoga and Live Flute, a session, they say, offering “an opportunity to unwind and reconnect,” at the Averne East Community Center, at 190 Beach 44th St, off Edgemere Ave.
The couple says, “Whether you’re new to Yin Yoga or a seasoned practitioner, these sessions will provide a perfect escape from the demands of daily life.” A “unique blend of yoga and live music is perfect for anyone seeking to enhance their wellness journey, de-stress, or simply enjoy a peaceful and soulful experience.”
“Every workshop is slightly different. As each season changes, we change, the spaces are unique,” said Humphrey, a Registered Yoga Instructor and regular teacher at Hot Yoga Rockaway Beach and many other venues. “Each class is created uniquely with various poses, sounds, poetry and themes.”
Sessions generally start with participants being greeted, offered a yoga mat, bolster, block or blanket and invited to take up a simple, comfortable pose. Each participant can then set an intention, a guiding thought for their session, such as a focus on well-being or being more present.
Humphrey introduces the class, welcoming all to connect with their breathing and settle in. As Mulet begins to play, allowing people to relax their minds and immerse themselves in the experience, Humphrey guides them through a series of yoga poses.
“Yin,” she explains, ” is a stillness-based practice. Whereas other forms of yoga are moving meditations, Yin offers a chance to come to an appropriate edge in a pose, choose stillness and stay awhile. Allowing a new opportunity to meditate in each pose,” held for a lengthier, but not uncomfortably long, amount of time.
They then add to this an enveloping tapestry of sound, noting “For busy New Yorkers and city dwellers who may have had trouble meditating or finding stillness in the past, we believe the live music helps to further calm the mind, by giving it a job to do: listen.
“The body can then also relax deeper into the postures, letting go of tension in the fascia. You may have heard the expression that we ‘carry our issues in the tissues.’ This practice allows the fascia to untangle and release.”
As Johns Hopkins Medicine explains, the “fascia is a thin casing of connective tissue that surrounds and holds every organ, blood vessel, bone, nerve fiber and muscle in place. When stressed, it tightens up.”
Mulet and Humphrey say other benefits include reduced anxiety, release of tension, increased range of motion, healing of bones and improved sleep.
The session’s “sound bath” experience is provided by Onel Mulet, a multi-instrumentalist (flute, saxophone, and percussion), composer and producer whose career spans nearly three decades. He has performed at prestigious music festivals and concert venues across Europe, the Middle East and Latin America.
Mulet began studying sound therapy, now adding indigenous percussion, xylophone, quartz singing bowls, gongs, chimes, and more to his sonic palette.
During the Yin Yoga and Live Flute sessions, he switches from crystal bowls to a gong and to a variety of flutes, both classical and indigenous, and other sounds, bringing each person deeper and deeper into the experience.
With Yin Yoga, “each pose is held for a while, anywhere from two to six minutes, giving time and spaciousness to meditate and go inwards. The flute is a very soothing instrument and provides a relaxing environment,” Humphrey and Mulet noted.
Speaking of their collaboration together as a couple, Mulet explains, “We have a shared interest in healing and wellness.”
During a relaxed at rest pose towards the end, Mulet walks through the room near each individual, imparting the benefits of the healing frequencies emitted from the gong.
From Yin Yoga and Live Flute, Mulet and Humphrey said, people “can expect an immersive and relaxing experience that leaves them feeling as if they had had a total reset with mind, body and spirit.”
“This process of listening to the body can also bring up deep emotions, we have had participants moved to tears,” Humphrey added.
Having offered their program across Rockaway and Queens, Brooklyn, plus as far and wide as Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Connecticut and even Ontario, Mulet and Humphrey report a number of surprisingly beneficial experiences. In upstate New York, “One participant reported to us afterwards that she had been experiencing a migraine headache for the previous 20 hours, and she almost didn’t come, and she credited Yin Yoga and Flute Sound Bath to relieving her migraine,” Humphrey said.
They note the ambience at Arverne East Nature Preserve “with its proximity to the ocean and the sound of the waves and the migrating birds, amidst the sunset backdrop, makes for a perfect complement to the Yin yoga sound bath to create a uniquely idyllic experience.” It features free parking and easy access to the A train, the NYC Ferry Shuttle and Q22 bus.
For those interested, they say, as a preview, “one of our Yin and Flute classes can be found on Spotify to listen to at home freely.” More information about this and upcoming programs can be found on their social media platforms, and Mulet’s yin yoga inspired music can be found on YouTube.
For more information and tickets for Saturday’s workshop go to Eventbrite.com and enter “Yin Yoga Dana Humphrey.”
Mulet and Humphrey will also be offering another session on Saturday, November 22, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., at Hot Yoga Rockaway Beach on Beach 116th Street.
As Humphrey concludes, “There is no yoga experience required! There are modifications for all bodies. It is a memorable experience your body won’t soon forget. We hope you will treat yourself and join us!”
Photos by Karenka.