Yoga with a view promotes a greater purpose

YBOALSBURG — When the snow flies, it’s a given that the top of Tussey Mountain in Boalsburg will be filled with skiers and snowboarders preparing to race to the bottom. It’s not quite as expected to find a crowd gathered there during the warmer months, but that’s exactly what happens three times a year, when the mountaintop fills with people balancing on yoga mats instead of on skis and snowboards to support an area charity. 

The brainchild of local yoga instructors Kristen Boccumini and Anne Williams, Yoga on the Mountain is offered to the community at large on three Sundays during the spring, summer and fall. Participants meet in the parking lot at the base of Tussey Mountain, where they are encouraged to donate to a charity with a local connection, and then hike to the top for an hour-long vinyasa flow practice presented by local teachers from different studios.

According to Williams, the idea for Yoga on the Mountain was hatched years before the first event was held in 2015.

“Kristen and I had been attending a big outdoor yoga festival, Wanderlust, on a ski mountain in Vermont for years,” she said. “It was very outdoors-oriented and community-oriented, and we thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be awesome if we could host something on smaller scale close to home?’

We also knew from the very beginning we wanted to find a bigger purpose in bringing people together.”

In fact, that bigger purpose has always been a driving force for Boccumini, whose humanitarian efforts, including with the organization “Off the Mat, Into the World,” have been a crucial part of her development as a yoga teacher for the past 13 years. 

“For me, a big part of my purpose in practicing yoga is the activism element — the smaller community within the larger yoga community that is focused on social activism,” she said. “That has always been important to me.”

Although Boccumini is part owner of a local studio, Yoga Lab in downtown State College, she feels strongly that Yoga on the Mountain should not be used as a promotional opportunity for any particular studio in the area.

“We pull the teachers for each event from all different studios and places in the area, and we are very conscious about not talking about where we teach. That’s not what our mission is about. It’s about letting go of those attachments and just connecting on a human-to-human level,” she said.

Williams and Boccumini choose a different charity to support at each event, and ask attendees for a suggested donation of $20. Representatives from the charities are invited to come to each event, interact with the participants and speak a little about what they do.

‘It really brings a nice focus to the event,” Williams said. “Their stories are often very inspiring, and we try to choose groups with some kind of local connection. It makes it a lot more personal to the people here.”

Charities that have benefited from past events include the Jana Marie Foundation, Central Pennsylvania Food Bank, the Jeremy Herbstritt Foundation and Big City Mountaineers.

The next Yoga on the Mountain is scheduled from 1 to 3 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 24, with an alternative date to be announced in case of inclement weather. Donations will go to the Centre County Women’s Resource Center.

The event generally draws between 60 to 80 participants of all ages and abilities, and participants can expect a challenging but accessible flow practice in a very casual environment. After the class ends, all are welcome to stay to meditate or take photos before hiking back to the parking lot at their own leisure.

For more information, visit www.yogaotm.com.