Yoga Practitioners Find Serenity In Times Square

June 23, 2009 5:20 p.m. EST

New York, NY (AHN) - With its horns and sirens and flashing billboards, New York's Times Square seems miles away from serene, but hundreds of yoga practitioners found solace in an early-morning workout session there Sunday.

More than 200 people rolled out their yoga mats for the five free yoga workshops put on by the Times Square Alliance to celebrate the first day of summer and the longest day of the year, the New York Post reported.

"It's amazing to be in the middle of Times Square and feel yourself actually get calmer," Daniela Vargas, 22, who works for an Internet advertising agency, told the Post. "You look up at the buildings and just say wow."

Participants traveled from as near as Brooklyn and as far away as Honduras to take part in the solstice yoga session, the New York Times reported.

The "Mind Over Madness Yoga" began with classes starting at 7:30 a.m. Sunday.