Caverns in Ohio provide unlikely setting for yoga
A dozen COLUMBUS, OHIO — yoga practitioners felt the cool, damp ground under their hands as they stretched out their yoga mats.
They breathed in the 55-degree air as they meditated in the dimly lit area.
And every once in a while, they were surprised by a little droplet of water falling from the ceiling onto their face or hand.
That’s the kind of thing that can happen, though, when you do yoga 75 feet underground in a cave.
“I’m glad I brought my yoga socks,” said participant Michelle Walters, adding that her long-sleeve shirt and full-length leggings were good ideas, too, despite the hot, humid August weather outside.
For Walters, who usually takes part in higher-intensity yoga classes or those in hot rooms, the recent session inside Olentangy Indian Caverns brought a welcome change of pace — both in terms of the environment and the speed of the lesson.
“It was very relaxing,” said Walters, a 36-year-old Powell resident who attended the cave yoga class with neighbor Amber Mabry. “It was nice to try something new in a new place. It had a very nice ambiance.”
The historic Delaware County venue last Sunday morning offered its first in a series of cave yoga workshops taking place this fall. The other two sessions will take place Sept. 19 and Oct. 10, and tickets can be purchased online at www.olentangycaverns.com for $29.
While the caverns have hosted yoga classes in the nontraditional setting before, these most recent events mark the first ones since before the coronavirus pandemic hit, said Katherine Meyerdirk, who runs marketing and events for the caverns.
She said they’ve offered yoga classes in the cave a few times over the years, but it’s always been a “special event that is super limited.”
Initially, cavern officials thought they might hop on the trend of hosting goat yoga classes since they own goats for their petting zoo. Their breed, however, is too big for that purpose.
Then, they thought: Why not take the activity underground?
“It’s a cool spot,” Meyerdirk said. “It’s really calm and relaxing. The cave is naturally cool — it’s 55 degrees no matter what the temperature is up here. It keeps you chill but alert and is the opposite of hot yoga.”
Participants might get their heart pumping a bit going down the 54 steep steps that lead them to the first opening, or room, within the cavern. Then they’ll be greeted by instructor Kelly Heiss, perched on a large stone structure in the middle of the area.
Once they lay down their towel and mat — both requirements for the class, as the ground is wet and muddy — the serenity of the space becomes apparent.
Heiss has a small speaker that plays calming music, but few sounds beyond her own voice — drips of water, breathing, soft movements — can be heard during the 45-minute class.
“This class is really gentle and slow,” Heiss tells the class of about a dozen students. “So often in this fast-paced world we’re going and doing ... and we don’t sit still. We don’t teach ourselves how to sit still, and yoga can be a way to do that.”
Especially in a cave, where several of the students could practice calmly in nooks created by rock formations or with the soothing effect of a constant echo.
The experience becomes multisensory, said Heiss, who teaches out of Pulse Yoga and Fitness in Marysville.
“It’s enriched by the environment,” she said. “The air feels cool. Touching the natural stone walls and floor are grounding for those who are often overstimulated or overwhelmed. The light is low. The gentle sound of water droplets making their way through cracks and crevices provides a soothing background melody.”
The class is open to students of all abilities and even provides a bit of privacy as participants aren’t all lined up in rows like in a studio setting.
Allison Fitzgerald and her boyfriend, Xzavier Tate, both of Worthington, were curious to find out what an underground yoga class would look like, and they delighted in the uniqueness of the experience.
“It’s really grounding being down here,” Fitzgerald, 28, said.