4 September 2026

International Yoga Day on the beach

On 12 June 2026 we took the whole centre out of the hall and onto the sand at the Blue Flag beach in Chennai, for International Yoga Day 2026. Mats, towels, children, parents, the water coming up behind us. These are the photographs.

A student stretching both arms overhead in the morning light at the beach

Before the sun was properly up

We start at half past five most mornings anyway, so an early beach session was no hardship. People arrived in the half-light, spread mats and towels on the sand, and waited for enough light to see the person in front of them.

The group seated on mats as the sun comes up over the water — Settling in, with the sun coming up over the water.

The whole group seated for the opening of the morning, water behind — The group gathered for the opening of the morning, the backwater behind.

A hall has walls, a fan and a floor that does not move. A beach has none of that, and everybody notices within the first five minutes.

Everybody came

The thing that made the morning was who turned up. Children who normally practise beside their parents in the 6:15 batch. Parents. Retired members. The men who come to the evening class. Whole families on one towel.

Students seated on mats at a Happy Yogis beach session, the sea behind them — Students settled on the sand, the sea behind them.

Men from the centre seated on their mats at the beach session at sunset — The men's group, waiting for the practice to start.

A young student speaking into a microphone at the beach session — One of the younger students, on the microphone.

The teacher with one of the younger students after the challenge — Karthika with one of the youngest of them.

What we practised

Much the same as any morning: warm-up, standing postures, forward bends, then seated work and breathing to close. The sequence was not the point. Doing it in the open, facing the water, with a hundred unrelated people walking past, was.

The group holding a standing forward bend on the beach — A standing forward bend, the whole group together.

Students in a wide-legged forward bend together on the sand — Wide-legged forward bends on the sand.

A row of students in a seated forward bend, the city skyline behind — Seated practice, with the city on the far shore.

A young girl on her hands in the sand, smiling at the camera — Not everybody was concentrating the whole time.

Sand is harder than it looks

Nothing is level. Standing postures that feel settled on a wooden floor wobble on sand. Balance work gets genuinely harder, which is a decent argument for doing it occasionally.
The light is unforgiving. Even at six in the morning the sun is on you, and Chennai does not need help with heat. Nobody held anything for long.
You cannot hear the teacher. Wind and waves take half of every instruction, so people watch instead of listen — which, for children especially, is not the worst way to learn a shape.

The photograph everyone wanted

At the end, the group photo. Students, parents, children and teachers, all in the blue t-shirts, squinting into the sun.

The Happy Yogis group photographed together at the beach session — Everyone together at the end of the morning.

And then back to the hall

The same morning also carried the 108 Suryanamaskar Non-Stop Challenge, which has its own account with the rules, the two slots and the finishers.

The rest of the year we teach where we always teach — a hall in SSM Nagar, New Perungalathur, four batches a day, Monday to Friday, fan on. There is a 3-day trial, and you need not wait for June.

A note on health information

This article is general information about yoga as we teach it at Happy Yogis Yoga Centre. It is not medical advice, not a diagnosis and not a treatment plan, and it is not a substitute for care from a qualified doctor. Nothing here is a promise of any particular result — what a practice does for one person it may not do for another.

If you are pregnant, recovering from an injury or surgery, or under treatment for any condition — including PCOD, a thyroid condition, blood pressure, heart or joint problems — speak to your doctor before starting yoga and keep them informed. Tell your teacher as well, before your first class, so the practice can be adapted. Stop, and seek medical attention, if you feel pain, dizziness or breathlessness in class.

Our teachers give yoga instruction. They do not diagnose conditions, prescribe treatment, or give dietary or medical advice, and students practise within their own limits and at their own risk. Our terms of service set out the health disclaimer and limitation of liability that apply.

Come and try a batch

Four batches a day, Monday to Friday, at our centre in New Perungalathur.

Book a 3-day trial See the schedule

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