By JEFFARAH GIBSON

Tribune Features Writer

jgibson@tribunemedia.net

THE opening of the Cosmosis Yoga Suite & Global Cultural Hub is yet another effort by yoga instructor Mychal Bryan to create a greater appreciation for the physical and spiritual practice in the Bahamas.

Cosmosis is designed to be an “eclectic experience of yoga, art and culture, providing a full schedule of yoga classes weekly that celebrate the Bahamas’ diverse backgrounds, goals and body needs.”

Mr Bryan is a Bahamian yoga teacher, a Reiki master and a dancer. Since returning from Cuba earlier this year, he has hosted one of the largest yoga events in the Caribbean, the “Downtown Nassau Yoga Festival”, held last month. Even though the event was a huge success, welcoming more the 300 persons at Pompey Square, he wanted to extend his reach and leave an impression that lasted beyond the festival.

Based on the interest the festival sparked, Mr Bryan said he saw the need to establish a space where people are offered as many opportunities as possible “to stay in the lab, on their mats, and work on creating their ideal body, mind through the practice of yoga.”

“I’ve always wanted my own space and I’ve lived outside of the Bahamas for the past seven years because I couldn’t find a space that I felt could further my life as an artist. I returned home from living in Cuba this past May and I thought to myself, I need to open my own centre that not only celebrates my travels and experiences as a yoga teacher and an artist, but also serves as hub around which all of my passions can be expressed,” he told Tribune Health. “Thus between coming up with the idea, finding our location and opening, it took us exactly one month.”

Mr Bryan said all of the efforts that went into making the Downtown Festival a success showed him if he were to continue impacting the country the this way, he would need to “set up shop” at in his home country.

“I’m 23 years old, and at my age that was a massive thing to consider doing. However, I knew more Bahamians needed to be exposed to the things that my life and my training had exposed me to, especially in this field where no one else seemed willing to take that bold step. So I returned home and in so doing made the yoga practice that much more visible as well as accessible for Bahamian people,” he said.

Cosmosis offers yoga classes rooted in the Caribbean spirit of movement that help people gain greater flexibility, core strength, balance, a toned and more supple body, fluidity and ease of movement.

“Our ‘Fix It Jesus’ class on Mondays and Wednesdays is particularly popular because that is where we really break down the foundations of the yoga practice – how to properly stand, how to correct posture and how to gain flexibility and strength in the safest and most sustainable way possible,” Mr Bryan said.

“We’re trying to keep these bodies healthy for 200 years, therefore we teach yoga rooted in correct physical use of the body in a way that the average Bahamian can grasp while still providing them the opportunity to gain suppleness and a toned physique through the practice. In the fall, we will bring on more classes that focus on breathing practices, philosophy and lifestyle, so people can experience a well-rounded approach to the practice, should they desire that.”

Mr Bryan said the vision for Cosmosis is for the suite to continue being a point of convergence for global culture, which he said will manifest through the international teachers, dancers and artists invited from all over the world.

“I feel the more exposed we are to global culture, the more we are forced to collectively define our own,” he said. “On the surface Cosmosis is a yoga studio, but you only need to step through the front door to realise it’s so much more. Cosmosis literally represents the rebuilding of bold new creative enterprises in the Bahamas, and we do that on a foundation of yoga, art, mindfulness in education, and global cultural exchange. For me, there is nothing that could be more exciting.”

Classes are held seven days a week.