Sunday yoga stretches through Winter at Buffalo Creek Nature Park
BUFFALO TWP — Amy McKaveney said on Sunday, Jan. 12, that while she has not previously attended a session of Vinyasa Yoga at the Buffalo Creek Nature Park, she was drawn to it because of the location.
“I’ve been looking for different places to practice,” she said. “I thought the venue looked beautiful.”
Sol Power Yoga hosts sessions on Sundays during two separate times of the year in the classroom in the Babcock Nature Center.
Sylvia Maxwell, founder of the yoga studio, has a deep appreciation for the location after some prior struggles with finding a permanent location for the business.
“We had ourselves a brick and mortar location in Oakmont, but we opened our doors four months before the pandemic,” Maxwell said.
Maxwell could not give up on her business, however, as she felt a continued pull toward her passion for teaching yoga.
“Yoga is to yoke, to bring together,” Maxwell said. “To me, it’s not about the exercise, it’s about bringing people together and creating community.”
Maxwell eventually got in touch with Buffalo Creek Nature Park manager Karen Stine, who gladly welcomed their sessions into the nature center’s classroom space.
“She wanted to bring something to the community, and we wanted to offer something to the community,” Maxwell said.
While Sol Power Yoga has found a permanent location in Sarver, Maxwell still offers both a fall and winter series at the park, as it has become a yearly tradition.
“We don’t get a lot of bookings through the fall and winter, so it lets the classroom do something other than sit there,” Stine said.
Stine felt that the venue is the perfect location to host yoga. The windows in the building offer a view of the passing creek, as well as a snow-covered hillside.
“You can connect to nature in so many different ways,” Stine said. “I think yoga is absolutely one of them.”
Buffalo Creek Nature Park will host yoga classes on Sundays until Feb. 16. Sessions cost $6 for members of the Audubon Society of Western PA, and $10 for nonmembers. For information and an event calendar, visit aswp.org.
