A full tank of gas: $50. A latte from Starbucks: $3.55. A challenging, athletic yoga class to take your mind off the fact that you just spent $53.55 on gas and coffee? Priceless. That’s because yoga classes at Baltimore’s Parkside Power Yoga are donation-based. Founded by instructor Mike Robinson, the goal of the studio is to “make yoga accessible to everyone without financial commitments or obligations.”
What originated in ancient India as a group of spiritual practices, yoga is now, for many Americans, a form of exercise. Classes range from meditative and calming to heart-pounding and challenging. But one thing a lot of yoga classes have in common is that they are expensive — more expensive, in fact, “than the most expensive health clubs” Robinson says. In order to bring yoga back to the people, Robinson founded Parkside, where yoga classes are available to everyone, regardless of income. For a suggested donation of anywhere up to $12, everyone from parents to students to working professionals attend any of the eight weekly power yoga classes currently offered. The donations help cover the overhead and help keep the studio, which overlooks Patterson Park, up and running. For more information, visit parksidepoweryoga.com.
Donation-based yoga is spreading across the country and has its deepest roots in the San Francisco Bay area. Yoga Mob is a Bay-area movement that brings “yoga to the people” and encourages everyone to “join the mob.” Classes are “affordable, spontaneous” and taught in a “fun, funky environment.” For more information and to join its mailing list for updates, visit yogamob.com.
At Berkeley’s Yoga Layam, the mission since 1974 has been to “make accessible these ancient teachings to as wide a population as possible”, says Saraswathi Devi, an instructor at the nonprofit organization. In order to cross “socioeconomic, racial and class lines,” classes are available on a sliding scale or can be taken in exchange for work. Yoga Layam offers classes that combine hatha yoga postures with prana yama breathing techniques, yoga philosophy and mediation, and Sanskrit chanting. And in the spirit of unity that is the backbone of yoga, classes are also offered for children, seniors and the disabled. For more information, visit yogalayam.org.
Sue Saunders is a registered dietitian. E-mail her at [email protected].
