Old Ottawa East residents staying connected through yoga on the sidewalk

OTTAWA -

They may be staying two metres apart from each other, but some Old Ottawa East neighbours have never felt more connected.

Residents on Simcoe Street have been doing daily yoga together on their driveways since the start of the pandemic.

They call it “Sidewalk Simcoe Yoga,” and it is led by Meg Beckel, who is working from home in her job as president and CEO of the Museum of Nature and was looking for a way to stay in touch with her neighbours.

“It was actually my husband Stan’s idea,” she said, adding that he came up with it after they were not able to go to the YMCA for yoga during lockdowns.

“Stan said ‘Why don’t you lead a yoga.’ And we just started doing it every day. March 21 was the first one and we have been doing it every day since.”

Beckel says the sessions are for every neighbour and every ability. The poses are done on driveways to stay physically distanced and are all done standing.

She says it is about more than stretching and doing yoga.

“It allows us to connect with each other, it allows us to keep an eye on each other, and we have gotten to know each other better as a street,” she says.

Residents on Simcoe Street in Old Ottawa East have been doing yoga together every day since the start of the pandemic. (Leah Larocque/CTV News Ottawa)Resident Bob Beauregard says he started coming to yoga after his curiosity was piqued.

“I have never done yoga before, so I just decided to come out,” he said. Now, it’s part of his daily routine.

“Every morning, I get up, have some coffee and then head over to meet the gang for some yoga… I don’t why, but it’s the best neighbourhood I’ve ever lived in.” 

Chantal Beckman says the daily yoga is about getting ready to start her workday.

“I do this to see my neighbours, and I like to stretch out before I sit down and work all day,” she says.

Yoga sessions have taken place every day since March 2020 and have gone on no matter the weather conditions. Beckman says she started on the first day last March. It even continues during the winter.

“When it is minus-40, we call it parka yoga, my husband shovels off everyone’s spot and then puts sand down so no one slips,” Beckman said.

The group says it is a way to stay connected, to check up on each other, and to get outside during the lockdowns. They say they want to continue doing sidewalk yoga in some form or another when the pandemic ends.