Yoga Your Own Way

Yoga on a Budget

Think you need to shell out serious cash to get expert yoga instruction? Think again. Free and donation-based yoga classes are available so that everyone can get fit. The best things in life are free, right?

With free yoga classes and an extensive calendar of community-based fitness events, Lululemon Athletica is taking a community service approach to selling athletic gear. "We want to make our stores a hub of health and fitness," says Lululemon Community Manager Kerry Brown.

"We can work with the best instructors and provide the space for people to practice yoga," says Brown. About 40 people regularly attend the free yoga classes at each Lululemon store in the country and the numbers are growing. "More people are coming to yoga because it helps them do other activities and sports," says Brown. "They feel great afterwards. Everything's free, so if they like it, why not stick to it?"

At Yoga to the People's studios in New York City and Berkeley, California, the emphasis is on your yoga practice and experience, not how many sessions you'd like to buy.

Students can walk into a Yoga to the People studio and take part in a 60-minute class. As they walk out at the end of each class, they can discreetly drop their donation into a tissue box by the door.

With money taken out of the equation, Yoga to the People founder Greg Gumucio says the focus shifts to each individual's yoga practice, not the yoga teacher or the style of yoga. Yoga teachers are not announced and classes are structured so that beginners can participate without feeling overwhelmed.

Gumucio wants each student to get empowered through their practice. "You create your own experience," he says. "You are responsible for your body. You are your best teacher."