Practicing yoga in parks, stadiums and other outdoor facilities is a popular way to release stress in Tokyo and other major Japanese cities.

One Friday evening at Tokyo's Jingu Stadium, some 1,000 people took part in a session of "night yoga," an event held a few times a month.

"Control your breathing, release the tension in your mind and body," instructor Arisa Takada, 24, said through a microphone to participants gathering in the home field of the Yakult Swallows professional baseball team.

Guided by her voice, and while listening to therapeutic music, people filling the outfield area moved like waves in the stadium lights.

The program, sponsored by companies, is free of charge and requires no reservation or yoga experience. Some participants were in yoga gear and some others were in T-shirts and short pants.

The most relaxing moment seemed to come when they lay flat on their back on the lawn in a pose called Shavasana, looking up at the night sky while the lights and the music went out.

"It was great. I felt like I connected to the universe," said a woman in her 30s after joining the event with her colleague.

The atmosphere of the stadium creates a "hideaway from the city because the stands seal you from the outside," instructor Takada said. "You have a feeling of unity with others."

"Jingu Stadium Night Yoga" has been organized by a sporting event management company since last year to help promote the local area.

Some local businesspeople have worried about a stagnant feeling in the area since the National Stadium, the main venue for the 1964 Olympics, was demolished in 2015 to build a new facility for the 2020 Olympics.

The organizers plan to hold 10 yoga sessions between May and September, inviting instructors including Ken Harakuma, a well-known yoga practitioner.

The event has been popular from the beginning with the number of participants at a single session peaking at some 1,300.

The participants are mostly women in their 30s to 50s who join after work, but there are also men and older people.

A photo session to help them upload their photos of the event on social media is also popular, organizers say.

There are a number of other outdoor yoga events.

The PARK YOGA website posts such events held in places such as Shinjuku Gyoen park in Tokyo, Yamashita Park in Yokohama, Nakanoshima Park in Osaka and Ohori Park in Fukuoka.

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Urbanites flock to outdoor yoga to release stress - Japan Today