About 500 camera-ready yoga practitioners and influencers began arriving at 5 a.m.
Bangkok:
Stretching their fingertips toward the reddish sky, hundreds of yoga devotees spread out their mats on the tarmac at Bangkok’s main airport on Saturday, practicing their downward dog as early morning flights passed overhead.
The unusual event on the airport’s third runway – which is still under construction – saw training accompanied by drinks, while participants were given coconuts, iced teas and water to incorporate into their routines.
About 500 camera-ready yoga practitioners and influencers began arriving at 5 a.m., walking in the dark to their mats on the run.
As the sun rose, the yoga instructors led the group through two workouts, happily enthusiastic despite the smog, industrial environment, and occasional roar from flights.
“Today is going to be very special,” shouted an instructor, before asking participants to “put the coconut in the air!”
“Feel like a beautiful bird,” she said, as a plane roared along the concrete and rose into the air behind the participants.
While many in attendance were influencers — and perhaps more focused on getting the perfect shot than the perfect lunge — most seemed to have come for a laugh.
“This was something fun, it was a cool event,” said lawyer Rugeradh Tungsupakul, present with a friend.
“Right now, because of our jobs, we are too busy to go to a yoga studio,” she told AFP.
Although Rugeradh was concerned about pollution – a constant problem in foggy Bangkok, which is regularly ranked among the world’s most polluted cities – she said they checked the air quality before arriving.
“Right now, it’s not that bad,” she explained.
Although there were a few men scattered throughout the crowd, the workout was dominated by women.
Most were dressed in the ubiquitous yoga uniform of black leggings and white cropped t-shirts — in this case emblazoned with the word “BREW” for Brew Yoga, which organized the event.
‘Why not?!’
“This is a very special event for me,” said instructor Pavadee Komchokpaisan, 30, adding that it was the first time yoga was practiced on the runway.
“We have so many people who come here just to take part in yoga classes and take pictures on the runway,” she told AFP, praising Bangkok’s yoga community.
One of the people who received instruction was Precious, who has lived in Bangkok for four years and said she was invited thanks to her Instagram-famous cat, Ernest.
“He’s been to Switzerland, Botswana, South Africa, so obviously that seemed appropriate,” she told AFP.
She realized it was unlikely she would ever be asked to do yoga on an airport tarmac again.
“Why not?!” she asked.
(Except the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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