South Street Seaport Museum to Host Vinyasa On A Vessel - Vinyasa Yoga On The 1885 Tall Ship Wavertree

South Street Seaport Museum will host Vinyasa on a Vessel, free Vinyasa-based Yoga courses on the 1885 tall ship Wavertree on Sunday, August 21, 2022 at 8:00am and 9:00am at Pier 16 (Fulton and South Streets).

The 60-minute sessions will take place on the deck of Wavertree, followed by a tour of the historic vessel for interested participants.

Space is limited to 15 participants, so reservations are required. If a class session is at capacity at the time of registration, interested participants are encouraged to try the in-person cancellation line, starting 10 minutes before class time. The class is recommended for ages 12 and up, and all levels are welcome. For more information and to reserve a spot, visit seaportmuseum.org/vinyasa.

Vinyasa links movement and breath to attain balance in the mind and body. Commonly referred to as "flow yoga," this technique is meant to break away from "fixed form" yoga styles, offering a variety of movements and postures. Vinyasa emphasizes transitions rather than holding traditional poses, offering cardiovascular benefits to yoga students. Led by Zak Risinger, Seaport Museum's Manager of Engagement and Public Programs, the session is a challenge for all participants, offering a peaceful and mindful start on Sunday morning. The session is also peppered with information about Wavertree itself.

Wavertree is designated on the National Register of Historic Places and represents the thousands of ships that docked along New York's waterfront over the centuries. Gaze up at the towering masts and miles of rigging. Learn how people worked and lived aboard a 19th century cargo sailing vessel, from the captain to the ship's officers, cooks, and crew. Look out across New York Harbor and see the Brooklyn Bridge and Brooklyn Heights. Or look landward and see the skyline of the Financial District, which flourished because of ships like Wavertree which brought in the goods that helped businesses thrive.

Vinyasa on a Vessel participants are encouraged to bring their own mats, as there will be limited mats available on site. Wavertree is permanently moored at Pier 16 and does not sail the harbor. Access to Wavertree requires climbing a small set of ladder-type stairs and an angled gangway.

About Wavertree

The 130-year-old Wavertree, built of riveted wrought iron, is an archetype of the sailing ships of the latter half of the 19th century that, during the "age of sail," lined South Street by the dozens, creating a forest of masts from the Battery to the Brooklyn Bridge. Built in Southampton, Great Britain, she circled the globe four times in her career, carrying a wide variety of cargoes. The ship called on New York in 1896, no doubt one of hundreds like her berthed in the city. In 1910, after thirty-five years of sailing, she was caught in a Cape Horn storm that tore down her masts and ended her career as a cargo ship. She was salvaged and used as a floating warehouse and then a sand barge in South America, where the waterfront workers referred to her as "el gran Valero," the great sailing ship. She was saved by the Seaport Museum in 1968 and towed to New York to become the iconic centerpiece of the "Street of Ships" at South Street two years later. From 2015-2016, Wavertree underwent a $13 million restoration generously funded by New York City's Department of Cultural Affairs with support from the Mayor's Office, the City Council, and Manhattan Borough President and managed by the Department of Design and Construction.

About Zak Risinger

Zak took his first hot yoga class in 2012 and was hooked. He ditched the gym, swimming, and running and made yoga his primary source of fitness. Zak believes that yoga should be challenging, fun, and accessible to everyone. By utilizing inventive sequencing and exercises, he pushes his students to go to their personal edge, build strength and flexibility that they never knew they had, and hopefully smile at least once, if not more, during class. He has taught extensively in Oregon, Connecticut, and New York City. He has been a certified yoga instructor since 2017 and was a senior teacher at bodenyc, the oldest hot yoga studio on the east coast. Currently, you can find him teaching at Hot Yoga Chelsea, leading concierge yoga classes at luxury buildings throughout Manhattan, and once a month aboard the tall ship Wavertree at the South Street Seaport Museum. Certifications: 200 YTT, Hot HIIT, Yin Nidra, and 26/2.

About the South Street Seaport Museum

The South Street Seaport Museum, located in the heart of the historic seaport district in New York City, preserves and interprets the history of New York as a great port city. Founded in 1967, the Museum houses an extensive collection of works of art and artifacts, a maritime reference library, exhibition galleries and education spaces, working nineteenth century print shops, and an active fleet of historic vessels that all work to tell the story of "Where New York Begins." www.southstreetseaportmuseum.org