Great photos! And what an awesome event it was despite the rain!

Loved the event! Thank you.

It was great & we have more to look forward to! (How good is that??)

Except for the fact that hundreds of people didn’t get in because the line was so long and it start to downpour. Record check?

Yeah, could have been great but the entrance “procedure” was extremely disorganized and then staff lied to us about not having mats to give away. I think the least you could have done was given goodie bags to those of us who waited on line for hours only to be turned away.

This was a totally amazing event despite the rain. There was a great attitude amongst all the yogis even when the rain began to pour. Looking forward to the next yoga event with sunshine! Thanks!

Yeah I’m one of those people who waited over two hours, in the rain for some of it, only to see it canceled and TONS of people walking out with 2 or 4 mats each. FRUSTRATING. Excited to hear about the rain date! :)

My friends and I were SO disappointed in this event! After waiting over 90 minutes in line (yes we got there on time, well before 6PM) we still did not make it into the lawn. We had no idea how long the line was, if the class was starting at 7PM as it was supposed to or if it was worth our while to wait any longer once it hit 7:30PM. The rain could not be helped but organization and staffer updates could have really made things a lot less frustrating. Oh, and according to a friend who made it onto the lawn, the “class” lasted about four poses before they called it due to the downpour. Don’t think that’s record-worthy. Will not return to try again.

What a catastrophic event. Three points of view:

1) For those that made it onto the lawn, comments ranged from couldn’t see (screen too small) to couldn’t hear (helicopter flying above).
2) For those that got a mat, but didn’t attend the event, this devalued the generosity of a yoga community.
3) For those that stood in line (and only did that), the lack of communication was just frustrating.

But then, this is a PR event for Flavorpill and JetBlue.

There was no yoga, just a 2 hour commercial.

I was one of the people who waited for well over 90 minutes in line and did not make it anywhere near the lawn. I agree, wholeheartedly, with the comments related to poor organization and execution of the event.

If the gates did not open until 5:30pm and the yoga slated to begin at 7:15pm, as stated in event email communications, and 10,000 people were meant to enter, that’s an average of nearly 96 people per minute for entry onto the lawn. Add to this the fact that the goodie bags were not preassembled. I believe I saw stations for each item (at least 4 total) being given to participants. This slows the entry process considerably!

In the future, I recommend:
1) multiple entry points onto the great lawn
2) giveaways preassembled to quick and easy dispersement
3) staff stationed throughout the recommended park entry points, all the way from Central Park West to Fifth Avenue – I didn’t see any staff until I was near the Delacorte Theater (I was on the meandering line that began at Central Park West and wove through the park).
4) all staff should have radios for ease of communication at all points.

I was particularly disappointed since I drove 2 hours from NJ just to participate in what I imagined would be a wonderful experience of harmony, health, and peace. It was disheartening to see the mass exodus of people in scavenger mode after the event had been canceled…individuals desperate to hoard all of the generosity of the sponsors when others got nothing.

I hope the rain date offers the organizers the opportunity to better execute this great idea.

Our major upset was that the event was posted to run Rain OR Shine…well it barely started to rain and they called off the event. If they KNEW they might call it, then we felt that they should have called it far earlier as opposed to wasting the time of 10,000 (really?) yoga fans. Especially when there were plenty of people willing to stay through the rain. Most of us doubt we will return for the rain date, as our time is too important to us… Such a shame as we appreciate all the people working so hard to put it up…MANY thanks to them!

Um, yeah – wasn’t really feelin’ the love guys…

Weather was too close to call – but the “opening act” made me wanna claw my face off…

“spoken word” over experimental noisecore techno – seriously? Who thought that was a good idea? Whoever made that call should be beaten severely…

Bad entrance planning, too… And not a conducive environment to peace (inner or outer) – helicopters?

No way this could’ve been rain or shine, either – can anyone do yoga on a wet & slippery mat?

Some record… meh…

It’s not really a “yoga class” if it lasts only around 15 minutes.

You guys really should have started the class earlier, closer to 7p, and cut down the spoken word/thank-yous/sponsor plugs. There could have been at least 30-40 minutes (which counts MORE for a real class).

Please dont count this a “class.” I’ve done more REAL classes alone in my living room making up my own poses

For a bunch of people trying to “be in the moment” there sure are a lot of people taking pictures–of each other, of themselves, of other people taking pictures!

Bueno… por qué tánta queja… después de todo hay que tomarlo como un acto simbólico, que sirva para comunicar yoga al mundo…
entonces cómo se organizan las kumba mela en la India? quién se queja si llueve? o se pasa las uñas por la cara por frustración? jaja qué clase de mensaje es ese?
los antiguos no practicaba yoga en el bosque, acaso? miren si se hubieran quejado de que su mat estaba resbalosa… no nos hubiera llegado el yoga hasta estos días…!
Propongo imitar este acto en todo el mundo… todavía hay personas que no saben qué es Yoga, y que el Yoga puede llevar alivio a muchos de sus padecimientos.
Esta Primavera. o este Verano… también hacerlo en Buenos Aires!!!
juntarse en Plaza de Mayo para caminar por Florida hasta Plaza San Martín…, mats en mano.
Estemos atentos para organizarnos !
LA COOPERATIVA DE YOGA

I was one of the people who waited over 2 hrs. in line only to get to the front of the line and THEN find out that the event was cancelled. The communication to those waiting in line was non-existant. My friend arrived at the event at 4:30, but I only got there at 6p because of work, and when I arrived she communicated to me that she had just received her mat and was nearly at the front of the line waiting to go in. I chose not to join her at the front of the line because I thought this would me utterly unyogic, only to find that everyone else and their aunt was meeting up with their friends who had held places for them in line. Allowing people to do this, allowed hundreds to jump the queue as the rest of us watched the line in front of us get longer and longer. Many restaurants have a policy of not seating a group, until the entire number of members expected, has arrived. A similar policy needs to be put into effect, if you expect any of these large group events to be respectably and successfully managed. Additionally, when I got to the front of the line, I was also informed that there were no more mats or bags. As I exited the grounds I spotted large numbers of individuals hauling away 4-5 mats at a time. I asked someone on the train how he received these mats and he told me that he just asked for them for his friends and family….Nice.
I thought the event was a huge advertising ploy which was grossly mismanaged and poorly organized, with many people leaving the grounds frustrated, (not at the weather–but due to the lack of communication and respect and consideration for the hundreds of people waiting in line– most of who, sorry to say, will never return to any event ‘mis’organized by your organization.
MBE

What a load of corporate crap! This event was a disaster. All those yoga-matt grubbing New Yorkers. This event brought out the worst in people. Saw boxes of mouse cakes left in the rain after Flavorpill employees refuse to give them to yoga patrons who braved a three-hour wait in line only to be told everything promised was going to charity! Shame on Flavorpill!!!!

It’s yoga. Only a bunch of NYC whiners would take it sooo seriously. Relax

Reggie Watts was amazing.

[...] A little rain didn’t stop an estimated 10,000 people from coming out to Central Park’s Great Lawn on Tuesday for a free yoga event, Yoga on the Great Lawn.  Acclaimed yogi Elena Brower led the crowd of all backgrounds, sizes, and skill levels in a yoga session, even when it started to rain. The event was so popular that many didn’t even get in, as the weather and large crowd size combined with an additional problem… the organizers, Flavorpill, had communication issues when they didn’t clearly inform those who didn’t win a spot in the event, causing many to show up without realizing they didn’t have a reservation.  Flavorpill seems to have listened to the complaints, however, as those who waited in line and didn’t get a mat are guaranteed a spot at another class on the rain date.  Visit their event website for more details as they come out.  Just want to check out Tuesday’s event?  Click through for more of Flavorpill’s photos. [...]

Amazing concept…poorly planned. When I walked through the entrance there were only 2 people taking tickets, 4 people handing out mats and a few others handing out the other freebies. As a former even planner I am AMAZED as to how event this team believed they would be able to get 10,000+ people through two entrances, seated and ready to begin class in an hour and a half with so few people. It is mathematically impossible. I saw this video of the full line and was shocked. I can only imagine how long the wait was from the end of the line…it looks like Central Park West?

Video of full line: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHr9VoTWdJ8

I am greatly appreciative of the intentions behind this (great PR for them, great event for us)…and hope the next one runs much smoother. Live and learn.

I think this even was fantastic idea. The rain was not flavorpill’s fault (obviously). I think the entering and the exiting should have been better planned. Although the poets and singer guys were interesting and fun to listen/watch, I think that they should have cut that shorter and extended the yoga part (since they knew it was about to rain….) overall, I had a great experience, the instructor was very peaceful for the time we got to have with her, and the free bags, mats, water and brownie and other goodies were also very appreciated! With any LARGE event (liek this one) there are going to be flaws, sorry to the people who had a bad experience. Thank you flavor pill for trying :) I enjoyed myself!

ALRIGHTY ALL. We learned so much about the scope and scale, how it will be handled the next time, and how disappointing it was for those of you who didn’t get in. SO, for all those who were frustrated, please email me directly at elena@virayoga.com. I’d like to offer you a class – my treat. All the very best, Elena

My impressions of the event…a lot of good prana, volunteers who ranged from peaceful and helpful to dictators, a lot of loud rap music which made fun of yoga (good not to be too serious), some very meaningful poetry at times raging in presentation, a three ring circus of media( a side-show in itself), a lovely sun salutation of gratitude with Elena that brought on the rain, and an orderly exit…..I know that organizing an event of this magnitude was tremendous and thanks for all the perks of yoga mat, sweat band, carry bag and brownie (yummie). It was a very decent effort by all…THANKS!

We spent 2.5 hours standing in line before the rain started (and we did arrive at the recommended time). There were no line moderators near the West Side entrances – after an hour patiently standing in line, someone started feeding newcomers to the park in right next to us to create a triple-thick line. Some of these volunteers were very snippy and bossy, which wouldn’t have been so bad if they knew what they were doing.

[...] including last year’s Why S#!+ So Crazy?; and he was the emcee for Flavorpill’s own Yoga at the Great Lawn event last [...]