Every Russian schoolchild knows Tynda as a major railway hub—the capital of the Baikal-Amur Mainline (BAM), the country's other trans-Siberian route. It also serves as a key departure point for the partially built Amur-Yakutsk Mainline, which reaches into the diamond-rich region of Yakutia, also known as the Sasha Republic. But for two women in the Amur region, Tynda represents something entirely different: outdoor yoga in the depths of winter. 'Yoga isn't very widespread or popular in Tynda,' remarked Yulia.
'We lack many impressive architectural sights here, but we have beautiful nature and freezing temperatures, and we decided to take advantage of that.' Photos: @lapik94, Yulia Usenko
'We considered trying to shift perceptions and wondered if striking images and videos could draw more interest.'
'We don't have many stunning buildings here, but we do have lovely scenery and cold weather, which we chose to use.'
The railway bridges served as their yoga mats in the freezing conditions.
'We need to plan which asanas to perform before the shoot; the cold weather doesn't give photography equipment a second chance,' explained Yulia.
Yulia (top) and Ekateriana (bottom) photographed in a typical Tynda setting. Photos: Yulia Usenko, @lapik94
'We keep a car nearby to warm up.'
'So far we've done several shoots at -30C and -41C. We haven't caught a cold.'
'I won't claim we weren't cold, but we enjoy the concept of demonstrating yoga's benefits so much that we find this weather tolerable.'
By The Siberian Times reporter
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