When the weather finally warms up in Toronto, everyone and everything goes outside — including, it seems, our workout classes. A new wellness experience is taking over Casa Loma for the summer, and it’s bringing Hollywood’s outdoor yoga trend to the city.
In June, Casa Loma is launching Breathtaking Gardens, a Sunday wellness series pairing pilates, yoga, stretching, breathwork and live music within the castle gardens. The experience is intentionally cinematic, the city’s newest answer to the luxury outdoor wellness culture often associated with sunny-skied Los Angeles.
The stately castle is opening its gardens for this series, run by Soul Expansion, from June 7 to Aug. 30. Each two-hour session kicks off at 9 a.m. on Sundays, so that you can start your day surrounded by the beautiful flowers and landscaping on the castle grounds.
“This summer we are opening up the castle’s best-kept secret for a wellness experience right in the gardens,” said Luca Di Donato, vice president of Liberty Entertainment Group.
The collaborative wellness classes will be led by a community leader in yoga, pilates or stretching before flowing into the Soul Expansion experience (which partly features breathwork set to live music) led by Freddy Gervasi and The Band of Souls.
Throughout the summer, expect to enjoy surprise offering from brand partners from other local wellness-minded companies, including DavidsTea, Blume and Formula Fig.
If you’re planning on picking up a totally new hobby for the season, you can sign up for a full summer of Breathtaking Gardens sessions. But if you don’t know if you can commit just yet, guests are also welcome to join for a single Sunday or buy a three-pack of tickets.
Said to strengthen mental health benefits, boost mood through sunlight, improve balance on uneven terrain, and increase vitamin D intake, outdoor exercise is trending for a reason. As the weather warms up, Torontonians can take advantage by practicing their movement routines in outdoor spaces. And Casa Loma isn’t the only venue taking wellness classes outdoors. Park Yoga Toronto runs regular yoga sessions at popular parks like High Park and Riverdale Park throughout the summer, and closer to the start of the season, quite a few wellness studios will launch their own outdoor versions of their top classes.
