By Jessica Mendoza, Globe Correspondent

The early-autumn sun dips behind Fenway Park, and the lights come on at the 101-year-old stadium. But instead of the usual baseball buffs clutching beers in the stands, theres a long row of men and women striking one unusual pose after another at the edge of the parks celebrated field.

FenwaYoga the firstever yoga session in Fenway Park, and the start of what the Red Sox Foundation intends to make an annual event was held Monday, Sept. 23, to raise money for the Red Sox Scholars Program, the Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities program, and the Jimmy Fund. The three programs are designed to help young people find equal opportunity in education, sports, and quality of life.

Dr. Charles Steinberg, executive vice president for the Boston Red Sox, said the Red Sox Foundation landed on the idea of yoga while looking for new ways to raise funds while connecting to the people of New England We felt that the obvious popularity of yoga plus the use of Fenway Park may strike a chord.

Locals responded. More than 150 participants took to the stadium to do their favorite asana sequences along the warning track of Americas most beloved ballpark, all in the name of charity.

Its a great opportunity to do yoga at the greatest ballpark in America, said Marie Ruzzo, who came with her friend Joyce Chan, both regular yogis and Sox fans.

While most of the participants were female, there were also men, including Adam Blake, a Mohawk-sporting graphic designer, and Jim Masterman, a gray-haired trial lawyer. All were happy to raise the minimum $250 requirement to participate with some even going so far as to bring in over $1,000 for the cause and to go barefoot on a windy fall evening, when temperatures dropped below 60 degrees as night fell.

Gena Borson, interim executive director for the Red Sox Foundation, said the group picked yoga because it has become mainstream, in terms of health and wellness. She said that although the event drew fewer participants than the venues capacity, the Foundation was still able to raise more than $50,000 well beyond expectations for a first-time event, on a Monday in September.

Continued here:
Yoga-for-charity takes over Fenway Park