Lac-Mgantic yoga day 1st major downtown event since train disaster

Three years after the Lac-Mgantic train disaster levelled the city'score, residents reclaimed the downtown area for a day of outdoor yoga.

YogaMgantic wasthe first major downtown event since the July 6, 2013,train derailment that claimed 47 lives.

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The all-day event, organized by yogis and friendsSonia Dumont and SylvieBilodeau, brought together more than 450 people to Veteran's Park.

"[Those] two wonderful women decided to organize a happy event around yoga to bring the people of Mgantic together," Lyne St-Roch, a big-name yoga instructor who owns studios in Montreal and Magog, said.

St-Roch said the event was also meant to encourage visitors to come back to Lac-Mgantic.

Yoga Mgantic, which promoted wellness and spirituality for people of all ages,felt much needed in the town of 6,000, where two out of three residents stillshow signs of moderate to severe post-traumatic stress, according to a recent study.

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The event was also attended byLac-MganticMayorJean-GuyCloutier and Coalition Avenir Qubec LeaderFranois Legault.

According toCloutier, theinauguralYogaMganticwon't be the last.