With each day that passes, it seems as though it’s harder to get away from technology as the Digital Age continues to fuel innovation.

With smartphones and widely available broadband, being constantly connected to one another and having instant access to almost any and all information is the new norm.

To escape, some people choose to head outdoors for a hike, while others turn inward by practicing yoga. With either activity there seems to be an immediate sense of serenity and an opportunity to slow down — at least for a little while.

Last October, staff members from Midlakes Central School District in Clifton Springs came together to share in that serenity along the Ontario Pathways Rail Trail in Phelps. Armed with their hiking shoes and a love for the outdoors, they made their way after school to take on the challenge of Hikyoga, a new form of yoga that brings the practice to the great outdoors by blending it with hiking.

“What I really loved about it is that everyone from all different areas of the school district came together,” says Krystina Danizio, a counselor at Midlakes High School, who organized the event.

Danizio, who helps coordinate the health and wellness program at Midlakes and is a certified yoga instructor, admits she was skeptical of yoga until a few years ago. Back then, she was more interested in cardio, until she sustained a knee injury.

“I was looking for different ways to stay active, and someone told me to give yoga a try,” she says. “I thought it was too slow. I refused to do it for a couple years because I said, ‘I’m not sweating and I need to run for two hours.'” 

Despite her hesitation, Danizio ended up giving yoga a try — and fell in love with it. She also quickly learned she was sweating just as much in comparison to a cardio exercise.

“My stress levels were down, my anxiety was down, my knee didn’t hurt, my back didn’t hurt, so that was something I knew I could stick with,” she says.

Danizio later met Nicole Kazimer, who founded Hikyoga in 2015.

“I started to become more into yoga and finding more holistic ways to relax and enjoy being outside, so then that really kicked in the whole outdoors with more therapeutic ways to relax and find time to be outside with friends,” Kazimer says. 

Hikyoga utilizes a normal yoga routine, but takes the moves outdoors, Kazimer says. Just like the event that took place with Midlakes’ staff on the Ontario Pathways, each session is nearly two hours and typically includes a 20-minute warm-up involving yoga, followed by a 10-minute hike, with stops roughly every 10 to 15 minutes for more yoga.

“We keep the trails we choose mostly to a light level, easy trail or walking trail rather than a strenuous walk so that we can keep it open to all,” Kazimer says.

Kazimer explains that one of the essential benefits of Hikyoga is that participants are outdoors as opposed to being in a studio. This creates a serene environment, and can also help relieve the stress or pressure that might result from going to a studio, particularly for first-time participants.

Jane Westfall, a teaching assistant at Midlakes Primary School, was among the staff members who participated that day.

“It was just a really nice break to do something totally different,” Westfall says. “I think it’s really hard for us to have those kind of moments on our own because we’re all so busy.”

The same rings true for school counselor Nicole Taylor, who says the event presented an opportunity to be active, but overall was relaxing and an opportunity to share peace of mind with others.

“I don’t think we take enough time to be quiet and present, and to experience our environment,” Taylor says, and adds that before the event she was an avid hiker but had not tried yoga. “It was a great opportunity to learn something new while doing something I love. I thought it sounded like a great way to decompress after a long day.”

There is no denying the benefits of walking and yoga, but one of the indirect benefits of Hikyoga is the social aspect. As Danizio and Kazimer have discovered, Hikyoga inspires a common bond, whether it’s the love of the outdoors or yoga — or, more often than not, both. It also inspires a social camaraderie.

During the Ontario Pathways hike, Kim Day, secretary for Midlakes Primary School, got the chance to share a meaningful moment with her fellow staff members as they came across a bench she had donated in memory of her father.

“My father used to walk along that trail and other areas because he actually grew up right in that area,” Day says.

The combination of togetherness, love of the outdoors and yoga created the perfect atmosphere for Midlakes’ first Hikyoga event. Danizio received nothing but positive feedback afterward, and Kazimer has plans to expand her business in the coming months to introduce more to the concept of combined yoga and hiking.

“The nice thing is anybody could participate,” Westfall says. “You didn’t have to be in great shape to do something like that.”