Screenshot via TikTok/@marcardenas1
Audio By Carbonatix
There’s a unique wellness movement taking shape in the heart of Miami, something seen in a spare few other metro areas, though it’s probably needed all across the U.S. right now.
Meet the Miami Scream Team, founded by local yoga enthusiast Marissa Cardenas. Every Wednesday at 7 p.m., she meets with yogis at Brickell’s Margaret Pace Park, offering locals an unconventional way to let off steam and meet new people. Participants gather at the park for free yoga, then join in a group scream sesh facing the ocean — a deliberate choice to minimize any concern from onlookers, but also to maximize a collective emotional release.
“After we’re done with the yoga flow, we count down from three, and then we all just scream and release,” Cardenas tells New Times. “We make it very clear beforehand that this is a judgment-free zone, and the yoga kind of acts as a warm-up to that point. If some people want to come and just not do the yoga flow, that’s also an option. We’re here for you.”
Photo by Marissa Cardenas
Miami Scream Team, formerly Miami Scream Club, originated from a personal moment of vulnerability for Cardenas. “I had no intention of this becoming a thing,” she explains. “I was going through a difficult time, life was life-ing, and after walking out of a yoga class with a good friend of mine, I looked at him and just said, ‘Do you ever feel like screaming?'”
While she says she couldn’t scream in the middle of the street at that moment — for obvious reasons — she eventually proposed the idea to her yoga friends, leading to the weekly ritual. With a nascent presence on TikTok and Instagram, the community has grown organically since its inception in August, with faces old and new consistently showing up to the meetups. Some attendees have told Cardenas that being a part of the Scream Team helps them process emotions they’re typically asked to suppress.
“Miami is a place where everyone’s constantly on the go,” says Cardenas. “This ends up being sort of a quick release, which is not only different but necessary, based on the comments I’ve been getting on my videos. Miami also just has such a big wellness community, which I think does differentiate it from other metropolitan cities as well.”
If you have the urge to scream out in the open but feel intimidated, the founder offers a simple word of advice: “Don’t knock it ’til you try it. It’s open for everyone who wants to release and let go,” Cardenas says. “A lot of people are hesitant at first, but once they do it, they’re like, ‘Wow, I actually do feel a lot better.'”
No experience is necessary to join. Just bring an open mind — and some strong vocal chords.
Miami Scream Team. 7 p.m. Wednesdays at Margaret Pace Park, 1745 N Bayshore Dr., Miami. instagram.com/miamiscreamteam.
