Victoria Weseley’s mother lives in La Jolla, California.
“You do everything outdoors there,” said the Great Falls resident and yoga teacher.
“I thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be wonderful’” to create a yoga class outdoors in Great Falls.
Depending on the weather — this season got off to a late start because of the rain — you’ll find a group on The Green in Great Falls starting at 9:30 a.m.
“People always say, ‘Yoga? I'm not flexible enough.’ Well, that’s why you come here,” said Weseley. “I don’t teach a pose, I’ll say, ‘Let’s start here, and then if it feels comfortable, ‘Let’s go here.’ I offer options.”
Raylynn Oliver and her son John Robinson, 22, have been regulars the last three years.
“Victoria is good at teaching to all people’s levels, teaching to where we are. Doing it on The Green, right before the Farmers Market, is just fantastic,” said Oliver.
Beverly Geserick came for the first time this past Saturday.
“I feel taller, I feel stretchier, I feel released,” said Geserick.
Geserick has been the caretaker of her family, giving her energy to parents and loved ones. People told her she should take time for herself, and she appreciates the chance to practice yoga so close to home.
“I love it when new people come, I like it even better when they come back.”
--Victoria Weseley
“Anybody can do this,” Weseley said. “I love it when new people come, I like it even better when they come back.”
Weseley teaches youth to people who are 100 years old, athletes to people who participate in their wheelchairs.
“I’m a diabetic so exercise is an integral form of my health maintenance,” she said. “I had a lot of stress and didn’t know how to release it. It was more mental, which separates yoga from exercise, so I’m sort of anti this aerobic craziness because that goes against the roots of what yoga is all about.”
When Weseley started teaching, she originally wanted to reach to high school students.
“All the studies showed how they have so much stress,” said Weseley. “The problem with high school students is the reason why they need yoga is they are so overcommitted.”
So what did she do? She went with the flow.
Now she teaches people at Great Falls Friends and Neighbors, seniors at Brightview Great Falls, people coming back from injuries, and anybody willing to give it a shot at The Green.
“I don’t think people should have a fear, it’s not a sport, it’s not a competition, and even though it’s a group, it’s also very solitary, you do what you can,” she said.
One more reason, she added. “I think it’s made me a nicer person, I really do.”