Every Sunday, when it doesn't rain, yogis gather at Lake Eola under the big oak tree.

Instructor Frank De Le Cruz, in a voice low and soothing, guides 160 men and women practicing yoga on a grassy lawn at Lake Eola Park.

"Keep breathing, keep lifting. Let the knees float to the left. Take a few moments to honor your body. Maybe sip in a little air and sigh it out. Relax the arms, relax the forearms, relax the hands. Take some time to absorb the moment."

The Sunday morning outdoor yoga class has grown to as many as 218 participants since October. The crowd is as eclectic as the yoga mats are colorful: white, black, Hispanic, Asian, young and middle-aged, mothers with children, a father and daughter, nimble longtime devotees and first-time walk-ins.

Sunday was the first time for Tony Mix, dressed in blue jeans, who saw the group yoga exercise while at the Lake Eola farmers market a week ago and decided to give it a try.

"It's the community feel to it. You are enjoying the outdoors. And the other thing is it's free," said Mix, 34.

Nearby was Nicole Irvine, a 29-year-old yoga instructor who likes the idea of the open-air, open-to-all exercise class.

"It's accessible to everyone," Irvine said. "There should not be anyone who feels uncomfortable."

And that's pretty much the idea behind Yoga In Lake Eola Park, said organizers Ryan Lynch and Amanda Reh: return yoga to the outdoors where it belongs and open it to everyone. Too often, yoga classes can be expensive and restricted to indoor studios, they said.

"Yoga was meant to be done outside," said Lynch, 33, who started practicing yoga in 2007 as an antidote to stress, depression, addiction and weight gain. "The spirit of it is anyone who comes can join up."

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Free Lake Eola yoga class draws an eclectic crowd